| Am I Mature Enough To Become A Parent?
Dear Dr. Levister: I'm 14 and pregnant. My mom says I'm not mature enough to be a parent. I say I'm not too young to love my child. L.E. Dear L.E. It's noble to say your child will be loved but love alone won't put food in its mouth nor will it pay for your child's college education. Parenting is hard work that requires more than just love. It's pathetic that our schools don't require classes in what is probably the most important legacy you'll leave behind. Becoming a parent means being an adult 24-7. Becoming physically mature means you'll need to mature emotionally and mentally too. A parent has many responsibilities. When it comes to child rearing, providing food, shelter clothing and medical care are just the beginning of what is expected. A child needs mature guidance.
The parent trap
They're just merging into big conglomerates," and I know plenty of 20-somethings who would ardently agree. Just when their exhausted parents thought they'd seen the back of them, they fly back to the nest - and bring their girlfriends/boyfriends with them. Affectionately known as "Kippers" (Kids in Parents' Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings), recent research showed that 6,8 million over-18s in the UK still live with their parents and almost one million are still at home by the age of 40. With ever-increasing mountains of student debt, rocketing house prices and laissez-faire attitudes to the "serious" business of marriage and children, could it be that a cosy new family-demographic is emerging, which includes two parents and at least one of their adult offspring? I have at least 15 friends between the ages of 23 and 33 who still live with their parents.
Veteran actor encourages men of color to mentor fatherless kids
HOLLYWOOD-For the past two seasons, millions of fans of TNTs top-rated crime drama, "The Closer," have come to know actor Robert Gossett as the antagonizing Commander Taylor in the Los Angeles-based weekly crime drama. Gossett begins his third season on "The Closer," 9 p.m., Eastern and Pacific time, June 18 as the consistent "thorn-in-theside" of Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, played by the awardwinning Kyra Sedgwick. Gossett, in real life, has been a breath of fresh air to community organizations that mentor children. For the past several years, a young boy growing up in Los Angeles has come to know Gossett as his mentor and father figure. Gossett speaks proudly of his mentorship and association with a South Central Los Angeles-based organization, created to serve at-risk youth with programs and activities that foster lifestyles free of gangs and drugs.
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