Tiana Yadao

Daniel W. Russell, et al. "Predictors and Correlates of Continuing Involvement with the Baby's Father Among Adolescent Mothers." Journal of Family Psychology 12.3 (1998): 369-387. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

At Baby Steps women get points if they bring support with them to their classes. They can use these points  to go to the store to buy their child diapers, cribs and clothes. According to the article, fathers were more likely to stay involved with the adolescent mother if the couple had an intimate and supportive relationship 6 weeks after delivery. As I read more and more women are more likely to become successful due to the fact that they have assistance and it takes stress off of them to take care of a baby on their own. There is a difference between an adolescent father and father that is old in age. Young boy do not know how to take care of a child according to this article. I find this discriminatory because fathers that bare in old age might not know how to take care of a child also. Young boys have a lack of parenting skills and knowledge of child development. Women reply on men for emotional support, married or not. Men have an impact on a women’s well-being and behavior. Without moral support, I don’t think any women can take  care of a baby on their own. 

Father’s have a positive impact on children. If he stays around the child is more likely to behave throughout their life. Fathers associated with their baby have advantages where as fathers who are not involved with their child causes problems with mothers and their success. The agency Baby Steps really stress these young ladies to bring support with them. They offer women points which makes no sense. The baby’s father should be involved regardless of the situation. These men are to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their infants. I find it fascinating that men effect women and their success. I find it bias that the articles looks only on adolescent father’s involved but it looks to me that everyone at Baby Steps are under the age of 25. 

Bibliography #1

1. “Help for low-income pregnant families women and families.” babycenter.com. BabyCenter. n.d Sun. 30 January. 2011.

2. Judy Meehan states that “getting medical care in pregnancy, and keeping all of your doctors’ appointments, is essential to your health and baby’s development. Eating healthy foods is important. Help is available, and government programs can connect you to care.” There are various organizations locally dedicated just to low pregnancy income families to improve infant and prenatal care. Some families do not have enough money for health insurance so they can apply for Medicaid or call the low-cost medical care for help.

3. This author is making an argument to help those families with low incomes to help pay for their newborn’s necessities. By placing baby pictures and videos on the website which gives us a reputable feel of the work. The website is effective but then again I feel like they should strictly focus on one key element which is the low-income pregnancy families. The audience is women who are having trouble coming up with money to feed their newborns due to low income or no health insurance. I intentionally thought it was a topic but it veered off. This ties into the agency because babysteps focuses on low income pregnancy families. The author is making a pitch about helping families out.

4. I believe this source is bias. They aimed more towards “advertisement” rather than strictly sticking to talking about babysteps. There was a picture of advertising a car at the top of the page and at the bottom of the page, they were advertising credit cards. This made me kind of skeptical because it was jumping from various topics on the page. 

5. I had a more better understanding of the source as a whole because I wasn’t reading it for the gist of getting the blog down but I actually thought of the material. I feel that I need to learn why they must put other advertisements on the website. I also want to learn why there is other subjects on the website such as baby shower tips, best celebrities, girl scouts and some other things which are irrelevant to low income families. I want to know why there is a list of other pregnancy topics on the side of the page.

Bibliography #2

1. Rinaldo, Denise. "The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom." Scholastic Choices 25.4 (2010): 4-7. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

2. In this article, “The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom” Denise Rinaldo describes how United States has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world. Every year the number of teen pregnancies increase. Rinaldo also discuss the downfalls of teen moms. Teen moms are likely to drop out of school and experience poverty. In this article, 16 year old Jesseca Heatherly talks about her story about being a teen mom.

3. This article is aimed towards teen moms. Jesseca talks about her struggles and what she went through to overcome those struggles. Between school, work, and caring for her daughter, Bella, Jesseca has no free time for herself. She is extremely happy with an organization called The Children and Family Resource Center. She relied on them for help such as food, diapers and everything a baby might need. I think that this article is a little bias due to the fact that it only aims to teen moms instead of pregnant moms in general. All mothers need help regardless if you’re single or not. Raising a baby is money. As for credibility, there is pics of Jesseca and her baby reading a book and eating cake which makes the story seem true.

4. This article applies to Baby Steps because just as in the article Jesseca used a program called The Children and Family Resource Center. The group helped her get medical care while she was pregnant just as baby Steps does with women of low income. The program also helped Jesseca enroll in a alternative high school with an on-site-day-care center. Teen moms as well as single moms are steadily increasing. Jesseca is raising awareness that teen moms can graduate from high school. That is a big accomplishment because most teen moms give up on their education. The program helped her get a job from day care and she applied to college. I agree with everything the Family Resource Center does because it parallels with what Baby Steps tries to aim.

5. I feel like why do single teen moms have to rely on an organization to get through their problems. Jesseca couldn’t rely on a family member to help her out financially? As I went to orientation the women there are in the same predicament as Jesseca is. Most of them are teen moms with no spouse and have no money coming in. Baby Steps is a good program to help with low income families. 

Bibliography #3

1. Jeffers, Glenn. "Single Dads: Fathering And Mothering." Ebony 57.8 (2002): 88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

2. Morrell plays the roll of a being a single father and mother. He cooks, cleans, washes and disciplines while providing a masculine role model for his son. Another man by the name of Dr. Forrest King Jr. is a single dad who also cooks for his son although his son will not eat his cooking. This article takes you inside the lives of two black single male parents and what they go through on the daily basis-with dating, day care and financial needs.

3. This articles aimed towards black single fathers that play that role of a father and mother. These two men are breaking the barriers that all black men are unwilling or unable to take care of their children. It talks about how thousands of fathers are stepping up and taking care of their responsibility. This article is bias because it looks at single fathers from one aspect of the spectrum racially. It also leans to single mothers and how men need to remarry so that their child can have a mother figure in their life and to share their responsibility with. As for credibility, the source is true because it’s a real life account of two single male fathers trying to provide for their children. Dr. King is financially independent and that’s a plus in his case. As for other fathers like Morrell he has help from his sisters. 

4. This article ties in with Baby steps because when I went to orientation there were single parents everywhere in that agency. Women who came with a support system gained points. At the end of the orientation, the women can take their point booklets to the baby store to buy diapers, clothes, cribs and other baby necessities with their points. This article ties in with me because my grandfather raised me and he was a single father with 5 kids. My grandpa was also  like my mother when she was away for a bit.  5. These two men had a goal of raising their children to be confident, strong, and responsible men which they lead by example. I want to learn why organizations don’t help single fathers out. Baby Steps only help women who are pregnant. I see a discrepancy between the two. Shouldn’t the agencies be able to help men too?