Goyer, Tricia. "When children have children: how this unique mops ministry delivers help and hope to teen moms.(Teen MOPS)." Today's Christian Woman 28.4 (July-August 2006): 56(4). Student Resource Center - Gold. Thomson Gale. Centennial High School (MD). 23 Jan. 2007 http://find.galenet.com/ips/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&docId=A148003332&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=elli29753&version=1.0.


This article, titled When Children Have Children, is about when Tricia Goyer went from an honor roll student to a teen mother. The article mentioned some statistics. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 34 percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 (79 percent unwed). Almost 80 percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare. Also, children of teenage mothers have lower birth weights, are at greater risk of abuse and neglect, and are more likely to perform poorly in school. Tricia describes how she got through her hard times with mops. Mops is a group of teen mothers that get together share tips and are there for each other. It is also a christian group and Goyer says the women and religion have helped her along the way. Elizabeth Melvin, a coordinator for a group in Lakewood, Colorado said "Teen MOPS gives girls a peer group and an identity," In the group the girls swap strollers and clothes, while also babysitting for each other. A big part of mops is religion. The girls learn that they can turn to god and he loves them as they are. The article ended in a quote from Jennifer Drew about the women, "And they become more confident in their abilities as mothers. Isn't that what mothering support is all about?" I wanna know more about other programs for teen mothers and how to find out about them.