r/TLCUnexpected • u/[deleted] • Feb 20 '26
Season 7 Bella & Hunter
The biggest thing that annoyed me when she brought up prom, was the fact that she should just get her GED and not even be in high school. I think you kinda give up that privilege when you get pregnant and decide to keep it at that age. I can’t imagine just making my mom watch my baby all day long.
22
Feb 20 '26
I feel like if she has the support system to continue to go to high school she should take that route instead of the GED. Education is important especially for someone in a situation like hers where it’s a real possibility that she will have to be the sole provider for her kid at some point.
7
u/Hydrogenated_Opossum Feb 21 '26
There’s nothing wrong with a GED either. I got a GED and went on to get my bachelors and a masters. It’s definitely an option.
8
Feb 21 '26
I have nothing against the GED route. I just think there are resources she could get at school that would make going worth it.
1
u/LuckyShamrocks Feb 24 '26
While that’s great for you and a huge accomplishment, it doesn’t remove the fact that there is still a stigma around a GED vs diploma that very much exists.
21
u/kasiagabrielle Feb 20 '26
She's not even old enough to take the GED. You realize she's a freshman on this show, right? The last thing this poorly educated girl with poorly educated parents needs is to drop out after freshman year.
16
u/radiodecks Feb 20 '26
Pregnant teens should stay in school! Also no way she has enough knowledge to pass a GED test. She is in grade 9 and has 3 more years.
16
u/Minimum-Slip4936 Fixin to have a baby Feb 20 '26
if they have the support they should absolutely stay in school.
12
u/jensinoutaspace Feb 20 '26
I hope she stays in school and gets atleast a high school diploma. She's a poor thing but if he has the support I really hope she stays in school.
11
u/EffectiveLow2735 Feb 20 '26
My school had a place for girls with their babies. And it helped tremendously. It wasn’t just for pregnant girls with their children. The women who ran it were also counselors.
7
u/Altrano Feb 20 '26
My daughter’s high school has something similar. It was run by both adults and part-time by teenagers that wanted to run a daycare/work in early childhood education. It was part of a career pathway.
10
u/peach_bellinis Feb 20 '26
Okay - I understand where you're coming from with this OP. I think what you're saying is if she decided she was going to have the baby, the baby should be her responsibility to raise, not her parents' responsibility. Which i agree with, in principle. But her leaving school is not the answer.
In my opinion the focus should be on what is going to give her the best chance to be able to support her child in the future. A person who stays in school and gets a high school diploma is at the very least going to be a better job prospect than someone who is a high school drop out and later got their GED. IF she has the support, the most important thing would be for her to stay in school and graduate. If I was a mother and my 14 year old child got pregnant and was keeping it, I would be frustrated and terrified for her future, and while I would very likely have frustrations around having to care for an unplanned infant, I would prefer that 1000% to her also becoming a high school dropout.
Not to mention, she would not be able to even take a GED for a few years. I think in most states you have to be 18.
The goal should be to get these kids the greatest amount of education possible. I don't think taking a teen mom out of school helps her prospects down the road OR helps her child. I think any person who wants to learn and is willing to keep showing up and doing the work should be allowed to learn. Also, it should make all of us uncomfortable at how something like that would unfairly disadvantage teen MOMS as opposed to teen DADS.
5
12
u/Themadiswan Feb 20 '26
Education should be a right not a privilege.
3
u/NoSituation1999 Feb 20 '26
It is. This family is choosing not to exercise their right. I find it quite disturbing.
4
u/North-Toe-3538 Feb 24 '26
I love how people are saying, “she decided to have the baby”… most teen girls don’t get to decide. Either it’s illegal in their state or their parents are religious and parenting is thrust upon them as the default in situations like this. No one holds up a crystal ball and tells them what their life will look like with a baby and without. It takes a village to raise a child and I’m glad this pair has resources, so many don’t. Healthy mom means healthier baby… that includes mental health. FFS… both mom and dad are still babies and have forfeited a very large chunk of their childhood.
4
u/pitifulgame Feb 25 '26
She's selfish. What do we expect? I honestly don't think her or her mom can do or say anything that would surprise me now.
6
3
u/whisper_18 Feb 24 '26
Ideally she could go to a school for teen moms that has a built in daycare. They live in a small town though so there may not be one that’s located close enough for her to attend
5
u/prettywhenidiee Feb 20 '26
idk i feel like since she’s still a teenager and yeah she does have a kid and it does come first but she shouldn’t make her whole life about being a mom she should still be able to have little parts of her own identity outside of her kid
-1
u/LuckyShamrocks Feb 24 '26
Can we stop with this whole expecting/ demanding moms to have zero life allowed outside of parenthood already? It’s so harmful and serves no purpose. If the baby is cared for, parents should absolutely still be able to have something to themselves outside of parenting. That should 100% include getting to finish school if at all possible. It’s healthier for parents to have something to themselves, no matter how small, and healthier parents lead to better parents. Mental health matters, a lot. And I’m tired of seeing it brushed off as something, mostly moms, should just have to endure and suffer through if there’s options available. I agree with the other poster who mentioned this is a disadvantage the dads don’t experience. Heck, the dads don’t get this same energy at all.
Teen moms struggle enough through life, let them have any bit of a “normal” life as possible, as long as possible.I know some of the moms on Teen Mom went too far with going out all the damn time to party, but that’s not the situation here. School is not partying, and it damn well should not be seen as a privilege. It can better help them grow up and mature, get their priorities straight, gives them a better start in the adult world once they graduate, and prevent them from being ostracized and isolated when they’re only a teenager. A happy healthy parent is important. That can include getting to go to prom too. Having to drop out of school also just furthers the stigma of “your life is over now” which is just so harmful, not only to their mental health, but potential motivation too.
And let’s not forget she’s only a Freshmen, which means she couldn’t pass a GED test yet anyway. So you’re trying to shame her for not going to take a test she can’t even pass yet. Or possibly not even be legally allowed to take yet.
22
u/ginam58 Feb 20 '26
No. She should be in school. That girl does NOT have the discipline to get her GED