MENTAL HEALTH SUPPLEMENTARY LEARNING

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I. Introduction

This module will discuss the different challenges of Middle and late
Adolescence. One of the challenges is the increasing number of teenage
pregnancy which has a domino effect on psychological aspect of life.
Congruent to Teenage pregnancy is Teenage Parenting which is timely
and useful learning especially to our ALS Senior High Learners.
May this topic will give a good impact to our learners on how to face
reality and be ready to accept the challenges. Reality and challenges of
Being a Teenage Parent.

II. Learning Competency:

Content: The Challenges of Middle and Late

Adolescence.
Content Standard: The developmental changes in middle and
late adolescence, and expectations of and
from adolescent.
Performance Standard: Clarify and manage the demands of the teen
years (middle and late adolescence)

Code: EsP-PD11/12CA-Id-4.1
EsP-PD11/12CA-Ie-4.2
EsP-PD11/12CA-Id-4.3
Objectives:
At the end of the session, 100% of the learners will be able to;

1. Discuss the facing challenges during middle and adolescent

years - “teen pregnancy = teen parenting”.
2. Express his/her feelings and opinion on teen pregnancy and teen
parenting.
3. Visualize a plan of dealing with such challenge.

Mental Health Key Message Integration:

Practice self- care and compassion. Learning healthy
coping skills is essential.(G7tug01)

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III. Pretest
Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer that corresponds to the
given question /statement.

10-item pre-test from objectives (multiple choice)

Divide the items into the number of objectives

IV. INFORMATION

5 Challenges of Being A Teenage Parent

Challenge #1: Difficulty Juggling School with a Child

School is time-consuming. High school students in attend school approximately 7

hours a day. Even more, high school teachers nationwide assign 3.5 hours of work
on average.

That means that students taking five academic classes have 10.5 hours of school-
related work each day. Of course, this number doesn’t include time for other
essential tasks like getting ready for the day and traveling to and from school.

Taking care of an infant is time-consuming, as well. The average infant nurses 8 to

12 times a day for 20-45 minutes. That’s over 2 hours spent feeding each day. In
addition, new mothers report exhaustion from waking up multiple times each night.
Changing, bathing and playing with a child all take significant time as well.

With all of these activities, most new moms have difficulty concentrating and finding
time to rest, let alone do homework.

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About 50% of teen moms do not graduate high school or get the equivalent formal
education by the time they are 22, and far fewer attend or graduate from college. So,
it is important to consider your life goals when thinking about raising a child.

Challenge #2: The Cost of Raising A Child

Infant care comes with large costs. Above, we talked about the time involved in
feeding a baby. It’s important to know the financial investment involved as well.

If you use formula exclusively or supplement with formula, you’ll have to budget for
this expense. Baby food, which most children begin to eat at 6 months, is another
cost to consider. New moms have bottles, diapers, clothes and toys to consider in
addition to healthcare costs. An infant requires larger ticket items, such as a crib,
highchair, changing table and stroller.Costs can create a heavy financial burden for
teen moms who do not have the support of a partner or family members.

Challenge # 3: Change in Social Status

Teen mothers often experience a vast change in their social lives. Some drop out of
school to devote time to raising children. Others may stay in school but must drop
extracurricular activities or find a job to support their child’s needs.

All of this causes a disconnect from previous social circles. Some girls report that
friends maintain contact in the beginning but that friendships change as the new
mother’s focus changes. Teen moms often turn down social opportunities to put the
needs of the child first.

Still, there are many opportunities in most communities for young mothers to meet.
Churches, community centers and social service agencies often have parenting
classes or drop-in groups for mothers of infants and toddlers.

Many new mothers often form social relationships for themselves and their children
at the park. Aside from motherhood, teen moms have little in common with older—
often married—mothers. Though the opportunity for connection is present, teen
mothers and older moms do not often have the common ground for deep, lasting
relationships.

Bottom line: Your social life will change once you become a parent. Make sure you
consider this factor when deciding whether you’re ready to parent.

Challenge #4: The Possibility of Family Conflict

Telling your parents that you are pregnant isn’t easy. Many parents are
understandably upset when they learn that their child is pregnant. In the worst-case

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scenario, parents have kicked their RESOURCE
pregnant daughters out of the house without any
support.

Even in the best-case scenario, where parents are supportive, family dynamics are
likely to change with a new family member. Parents may impose limits on the
amount of time and financial support they will give the new mother. She may be
asked to move into a different area of the house to accommodate her siblings’ needs
or make it more difficult to rely on her parents every time she faces a new challenge.

On the other side of the coin, new mothers may resent parents and siblings whose
lives seem more carefree. They may not understand when parents choose not to
assist them or babysit every time they ask. They may not feel it is fair to have to
abide by any rules or limits now that they are parents themselves.

Since each family is unique, your household changes will be different from that of
another teen mom’s. Take time to think about how your relationships with your family
members will change if you decide to raise a child in the home.

Challenge #5: Changes to Mental Health

Both becoming a teenager and pregnant are among the risk factors for depression.
When these two factors are combined, the risk increases. Only 10-15% of older
mothers experience prenatal and postpartum (after delivery) depression, in contrast
to 15% to 44% of teens.

There are several causes for mental health changes in teen moms. One reason is
that teen moms are more likely to experience pregnancy complications. The added
stress of this can impact mental health.

Teen parents do not have the time to devote to exercise, sleep, and self-care that
they may have had before giving birth. This can also negatively affect both mood and
outlook.

Further, not all teen mothers have the support of their families and friends. This
change in their support system can leave teen mothers feeling alone in a challenging
situation without caring or guidance.

SOURCE:https://texasadoptioncenter.org/blog/challenges-of-being-a-teenageparent/

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V. Activity
Gear Up!
Direction: Write down your thoughts accordingly. This can be written in bullet
form.
Share your How did you deal Visualize your act
experience, with such on how to deal
thoughts, and challenge? with such
feelings. challenge.
#1 Difficulty
Juggling School
with a child.
#2 The Cost of
raising a child
#3 Change in
Social Status
#4 The possibility
of family conflict
#5 Changes to
Mental Health

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V. Analysis: (The most important questions) affective domain

VI. Abstraction (content)

VII. Application. Implications/Application of the learning

VIII. Reflection (light questions)

IX. Post-test (10 questions parallel but not identical to pre-test-another set of skills are
being targeted)

X. Glossary (based on content)