bad teenage mother?

[elisabeth160]

Here's my problem. I'm not a parent, but my friend who is lives with me and my family. She's only 20 years old and has a 2 yr old daughter. She's a beautiful, energetic and smart little girl. She seems to crave attention which is totally understandable for her age.

My problem is with her parenting. She's very short tempered and impatient. She had a daycare that she took sophia(her daughter) to during the week because she was in school. But for the past month she's not in school and still taking her to the daycare from 8am to 6pm everyday. While she stays home. She only spends from 6pm till 9pm with her and during then she's constantly yelling @ her for nothing. Because she's being to hyper or jumping around or crawling on her.

This morning my mom saw her spank her 6times hard for not sitting still while brushing her hair. My step father saw this and also heard her yelling and began 2 cry over it.

I don't know what to do because she's my friend but very irritable over people telling her what to do with sophia. But this little girl doesn't deserve this. She's never around her family except for a few hours a night and its filled with her mother yelling at her and hitting her at times. I feel horrible for this child.

What should I do??

[quankanne]

you're a good friend for being so concerned about Sophia and her mama, and it's good to know you are looking out for their well being.

 

your girlfriend sounds a bit overwhelmed by parenting a toddler, and may not know any other way to respond than the way she has. While she may be at her wit's end, she's not alone, nor is she without resources. Check online or in the phone book for a local Parents Anonymous chapter, those folks are a goldmine of information. They help parents by teaching good parenting skills through classes, one on one sessions, group activies, etc. This may help save your friend's sanity, knowing there's help for parents in her situation, whatever that may be.

 

while it sounds scandalous that she's dumping her little girl at daycare while she's at home "doing nothing," this is probably the healthiest thing she can do for now if she's grasping at straws at how to raise her child. It's not that she doesn't love her baby, but that she instinctively understands that she's needs this time to herself. There are a lot of very good parents out there who would give their right arm to help their child, who are very loving and caring ... but forget they need time for themselves to recharge their batteries. It doesn't mean they are bad or wrong or uncaring when they do this; they just need that mental and physical time for themselves so they can continue to do a good parenting job.

[BlahBlahQueen]

You know, you do have a right to request that physical violence and yelling not occur in your house. It is a reasonable "house rule"... she lives under your roof, she's gotta play your game.