A guy's 16 year old daughter is pregnant

[on_the_hill]

I don’t think you mentioned that your friend is Catholic?

No, not Catholic. They don’t practice any organized religion. He was nominally Jewish as a kid but that never had any meaning for him.

Yes, I’m judging, and sticking to it. There are other dynamics involved in their family, and I’m not surprised.

A parent has to be a parent, which means laying down the law when you have to. I have no tolerance for parents who abrogate their responsibilities because “kids are going to have sex anyway,” or “kids are going to get drunk anyway.” Sorry. I don’t.

Scratch that. I’m not sorry at all.

There is a widespread fantasy that if we provide children with all the information they need, they can make their own informed decisions. That’s…just nonsensical.

Science has the data to prove that teenaged brains are so screwed up that they, at times, border on insanity, and people are quick to forgive and justify youngsters based on such growing pains. Yet at the same time, people want to believe that kids can make good decisions for themselves and their futures. And so they try to play like Adam Smith’s invisible hand.

I think we see that doesn’t work.

The stakes are just too high.

 

[JimG]

No, not Catholic. They don’t practice any organized religion. He was nominally Jewish as a kid but that never had any meaning for him.

Yes, I’m judging, and sticking to it. There are other dynamics involved in their family, and I’m not surprised.

A parent has to be a parent, which means laying down the law when you have to. I have no tolerance for parents who abrogate their responsibilities because “kids are going to have sex anyway,” or “kids are going to get drunk anyway.” Sorry. I don’t.

Scratch that. I’m not sorry at all.

There is a widespread fantasy that if we provide children with all the information they need, they can make their own informed decisions. That’s…just nonsensical.

Science has the data to prove that teenaged brains are so screwed up that they, at times, border on insanity, and people are quick to forgive and justify youngsters based on such growing pains. Yet at the same time, people want to believe that kids can make good decisions for themselves and their futures. And so they try to play like Adam Smith’s invisible hand.

I think we see that doesn’t work.

The stakes are just too high.

I agree with everything you say here.
Leaving kids to their own devices is like letting them play with hand grenades.
The time for judging is before they get into trouble. And they need a lot of judging, not less!