Teens Face Realities of Young Parenthood

Teen dads shared a few facts of life with students at John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills on Friday.

“I can’t really hang with my friends anymore,” said Luis Carlos, 17, of Sylmar, whose 16-year-old girlfriend is due to give birth in about a month.

“That’s right,” said Juan Chaidez, 19, of Pacoima, who recently fathered a baby with his 22-year-old girlfriend. “With the homies, it’s not the same. My life has changed in a lot of ways . . . I’ve missed out on a lot.”

The two teens reflected on the new realities of their lives, speaking to students in Dave Ptashne’s third-period health class. The dads’ stories contrasted with those of two other men who also were invited by the Northeast Valley Health Corp. to speak to students. The point is to show that boys have as much responsibility as girls when it comes to pregnancy.

Ken Ohta, 23, and Juan De Paz, 22, are college students. Both told the class that they are sexually active, but said they use birth control. Both said they have neither time nor money enough to be parents.

“I’m an engineering student” at Cal State Northridge, De Paz said. “The money you make, if you’re a dad, you can’t apply all of it to books and school. You got a wife and kids, you have to take care of them.”

Said Ohta, who is studying psychology: “I start school in the morning at 8 a.m. Classes can last until 10:30 p.m. After that, I go the library until midnight. It takes a lot of time to raise a family. I probably couldn’t do it,” Ohta said.

Female students were asked a question: “Do you think girls have it harder than the guys?” A chorus of agreement rang out from the girls. “If parents have a daughter and a son, and the daughter gets pregnant and the son gets someone pregnant, the parents will be harder on the daughter!” one female student said with indignation.

“Yeah, it’s a double standard!” another girl said.