Can I move out with my 18 year old boyfriend?

I know that you really want to have baby right now, but you are going to be burdening yourself with a responsibility that you just think you might be ready for. Babies are expensive! Health insurance, supplies for your baby, food, diapers, formula, clothes, blankets, strollers, cribs, toys, play pens, medicine if your child gets sick, hospital fees to deliver your child and bring it into the world, vaccinations and immunizations, shampoos, lotions, diaper wipes, solid and canned baby food…the list goes on and on…Did you also know that being as young as you are, you aren’t even fully developed yet… you still have a bit of growing to do, so getting pregnant now may change how your body may finish growing… babies are cute, but they are also messy too, and hard to take care of on a 24 hour basis.

I hope you dont want to do this because it guarantees that you, and your boyfriend would be together forever, because that is not necessarily true! Only one in five couples that get married and have a baby in their teens will stay together… I know you love your boyfriend now, but you do A LOT of changing between the time you are sixteen and 18, and even 18 and 21… You need to see what it is you want to do with the rest of your life, and you don’t want your options to be narrowed or harder to get because you made a flash decision to have a baby at sixteen.

Here are some things you could discuss with your boyfriend next time he brings this up:Are we ready to help a child feel wanted and loved 24 hours a day for the next 18 years and beyond? Will we have the support of our family and friends? Are we both ready to accept full responsibility for parenting and go it alone if we split up? Will we have enough money to support ourselves and a child? Are we mature enough to keep from harming the child physically or emotionally? (We won’t ridicule, humiliate, slap, hit, or threaten our child no matter what happens, no matter how frustrated we get.) Are we ready to seek whatever counseling we need to become better parents? Are we ready to give up our social lives with friends to take care of our baby? Who will be the primary caretaker of the child? Will the other partner be willing to put her or his school or career plans on hold and stay home with the child? Having a child would dramatically change how you and your boyfriend live your lives, so it’s very important to think these issues through before making a decision.

Take time to grow up and have fun. Party, hang out with your friends, wait until you are emotionally and financially stable enough to have a baby.