Welcome: We’re Doing it!

Since humans have graced this planet, we’ve been “getting it on”. Yes, you know what I mean. We’ve been “doing the deed”, the “horizontal tango”, “boning”, “rolling in the hay”, “planting the parsnip”, “jamming the clam”, and “whittling the love branch”. Whatever hilarious, crude, or tame euphemism you prefer, it happens. It has been happening throughout all of human history and all around the globe. And so does teen pregnancy and teen parenting. Whether planned or unplanned. Welcome or not. It happens.

Euphemisms are words or expressions used in place of terms that may be deemed offensive or taboo to discuss.

Teen parenting is a lived reality for millions of people worldwide each year. It is rarely ideal. Like parenting in general, adolescent parenting can be challenging. Poverty, disadvantage, mental health issues, and inadequate access to antenatal care can exacerbate the challenges and increase the risks (although some research also shows that becoming a teen parent can provide a positive impetus for behaviour change!). The social stigma of being a teen parent can also make things harder, more isolating, and traumatic.

Despite the challenges and stigma, many young people overcome adversity, parent well, and raise children who thrive. But these positive stories are rarely discussed or celebrated. Beyond Our Present wants to change this. We want to share the good news stories that you’ve never heard. Stories from throughout history and around the world. We want to smash negative stereotypes and provide inspiration.

To be clear, Beyond Our Present doesn’t encourage teens to become parents and we support the idea of individuals and couples having the ability to plan, space, and time their births. But we acknowledge that teens do become parents (for a multitude of reasons that are within and outside their control), and that many of them and their children go on to have wonderful and extraordinary lives.

Teen parents and their children have triumphed on the world stage and excelled in the arts, sport, science, business and life. They have received phenomenal global success, and become household names, yet often their teen parenting journeys are largely overlooked.

If you don’t believe me (or even if you do), read the below list of accolades - yes, they are all real - and see if you can name the teen parents and/or the children of teen parents who have achieved the following:

• won Olympic gold medals and multiple US NBA championships,

• topped the US and Canadian music charts, recorded multiple gold and platinum albums and singles, and been the most followed woman on instagram,

• been one of the best selling music artists of all time, received multiple Grammy awards and broke over 30 Guinness World Records,

• been voted as the greatest man of the millennium in a BBC poll in the year 2000, been President of the Indian National Congress and led global campaigns for non-violent resistance and poverty eradication,

• been the highest-earning woman on US television in multiple years and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,

• published seven biographies and several poetry collections, been awarded more than 50 honorary degrees, and received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom,

• been cited as the ‘greatest writer in the English language’ and the ‘world’s most pre-eminent dramatist’,

• won multiple Best Actress Awards in India with over 65 movies to her credit (predominantly Bollywood films),

• been regarded as ‘one of the most influential hip-hop artists of his generation’,

• been dubbed ‘the Queen of all media’, won numerous Emmy Awards, was once the world’s only black billionaire, has often ranked as one of the most influential women in the world and also received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom,

• been the second youngest person to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and the second Polynesian actress to be nominated for an Oscar,

• been the first African-American US president,

• been credited as one of the greatest rappers of all time, has sold over 220 million records worldwide , has over 10 billion view on his YouTube Vevo page, has 13 Grammy Awards, has been induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and played at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022,

• been referred to as the ‘Queen of Soul’ and named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time,

• been Hollywood’s leading child actress for four successive years, appeared in 29 films when she was between the ages of 3 and 10, and received a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award,

• became a nuclear physicist and the first African person of colour to experiment at the esteemed CERN centre in Switzerland, and/or

• been considered one of the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists with several works of hers being valued in the millions of dollars?

Well, how did you go? Hopefully, you could name a few. If not, don’t worry, we’ve got you. We’re spreading the word and getting these incredible stories out. Also, if you want to check off your answers, be sure to read our other blogs (‘Triumph on the World Stage’, ‘From Teen Mum to Celebrated Nuclear Physicist’, and ‘Pregnant Teen to Master Artist’).

Of course, we also celebrate teen parents and children of teen parents who have not attained global prestige too. Those that didn’t give up, sought help, loved well, kept learning, worked hard, helped others, followed their passions, and/or did their best. We understand that every journey is different. And that everyone’s story is likely to have messy chapters, which we won’t shy away from. We also recognise that families come in all different configurations, and that what is best for a child or young person in one season may differ from what is best in another season or for someone else.

So, whether you are a teen parent, the child of a teen parent, you know a teen parent, or you are part of a community that has teen parents (yes, that means everyone!), we love that you’ve made it to our very first blog. Journey with us. Be inspired. Share your story. Shatter stereotypes. Embrace diversity. Learn something new.

Speaking of learning, let’s bring this inaugural blog to a close with a few more euphemisms for “hanky panky” as popularised by William Shakespeare…

• “Groping for trout in a peculiar river.” (Measure for Measure)

• “Make the beast with two backs” (Othello)

• “Graze on my lips, and if those hills be dry,
  Stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie.” (from Venus and Adonis)

And when you slip these phrases into conversation, be sure to mention that William Shakespeare was not only a distinguished playwright, but he also became a parent at 18 years of age!

Follow up reading…

[1] For more details on research highlighting positive outcomes associated with teen pregnancy and teen parenting read our research related blog here.

[2] For more discussion on the factors contributing to teen pregnancy and teen parenting read our global issue blog here.

[3] To find out more about the renowned teen parents and the children of teen parents who achieved the accolades set out above, check out our blogs about triumphing on the world stage (here), a pregnant teen who became a nuclear physicist (here), and the unwavering master artist (here).

Last updated: 24 May 2024.