Expert: Samantha E. - 1/21/2005

Question
i am sixteen going to be seventeen in about 2 months me and my bf have been on and off for 9 months now we have finally been in this relationship for 3months and we r really happy and have been havin sex ever sence we got back together and i really love him and i want to have a kid with him i know i sound crazy but everyone says i am very mature for my age and i feel a lot like a person who is 21 trapped in a seventeen year olds body almost all the time....and i think i am ready for a kid i have a job, great grades in school, in love with the bf, we even have talked about marriage no one knows i want to get pregnant but i want to he doesnt even know i am scared to tell him afraid he will stop havin sex but for the first time ever we started off sex without protection he didnt even act concerned about it so that kinda made me happy but i want to know.......is this right ? ? if i get pregnant how am i gonna tell him? how can i tell him i want a kid now without him freakin out? how can i stay in school once i have the kid since i'll be graduatin in 2006 next yr from high school i am a junior right now but senior soon i have a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and i am very mature as i have said before so is it right for me to get pregnant? how can i tell him i want a kid with him? if i get pregnant how can i tell my parents, him, his parents? and got n e advice on how to stay in school once the kid is born?  

Answer
Not only does it sound crazy, it is crazy! Don't ruin your life. Just wait until you are an adult and can offer your child everything he/she deserves. No 16 or 17 year old is emotionally, psychically, mentally, or financially able to care for a child. Go to college, get a great career than have a child. Right now, just be kid AND HAVE FUN!  Also, I can guarantee  you that if you get pregnant within 2 years you will kick yourself for being so foolish. I have never met a teen girl who, after the child was born,  still believed it the right decision. They all regretted it! One more thing. Most teen parents do not stay together. The chances of you staying with you bf after the baby is slim to none . I am not making this up! THINK ABOUT IT!
Good luck and feel free to write back anytime.
Sam