I'm a role model!
If everybody had emotionally-dependent 6-year-old little cousins who hero-worshipped them, it would drastically cut down on teenage pregnancy.
That said, most people probably don't want one. It's fun in small doses, like when you're playing dress-up and decide to call them "Sparkling Princess Wysteria Wishing Well Jasmine of the Magically Glittering Butterfly Gardens" and they think it's the prettiest name ever. And when you walk a mile back to the cabin from the beach together because she didn't want to wash off the sand to get in the car, and you felt like walking, and you beat the car-people who said they'd leave in a few minutes and pick you up on the way, by a rather large margin at that and everyone stares at you like whoah for walking a mile with a 6-year-old in 15 minutes. That part is fun.
The part that would prevent teen pregnancy is the part where you end up playing with her all day to give her mom a vacation, and half the time you're also watching her 3-year-old-sister. And one will be deeply hurt and really really hard to cheer up if she feels like she's not being paid enough attention and the little one is -agressive- in her pursuit of attention. You do this all weekend and then when it's finally time to go home, she gets incredibly depressed because she won't see you for the three hours it takes to ride home. You manage to get her convinced you -can't- ride in the same car, and then your mom who is weak to her sad face talks to her and says she'll move the dog up from the back seats to your seat in the middle, and you and your cousin can sit together in the back. Luckily your mom is weaker to your tired-glary face and unconvinces her again, but then your aunt suggests that she can have a sleepover at your house, and your mom agrees before she tells you. Your cousin chickens out because she's afraid of bad dreams and no mother being there, so you have to go over to your grandma's where they're staying and play with her for a couple hours. She suggests that you have the sleepover at your grandma's house, which is stinky and you don't like to be in, but is luckily distracted before you have to answer. And then you end up spending two and a half hours at your grandma's watching your little cousin play a Lilo and Stitch computer game. The first level, over and over and over, because she keeps dying in the exact same places, and asking you tons of questions about this game even though you tell her you've never seen it and no nothing about it over and over. And she keeps stepping backwards on your feet. And every so often her 3-year-old little sister will run in and climb on you with all her poke-y bits digging in. And if she changes her mind, you'll still have a sleepover tomorrow.
It's sorta like babysitting, except I don't get paid, I can't decline, it's 24/7, the child is much emotionally-clingier, and I've been doing it since I was 11.
Like...when I was 12, there was a real babysitter there, and she was watching me, my brother, and my then 1-year-old cousin. My cousin clung to me, would not let me put her down, would not let go once she fell asleep, would not let the babysitter touch her even to change her diaper or feed her, and would not let go of me to even go to the bathroom or eat. And this was for at least 4 hours.
I hope that this message will help prevent the spread of teen pregnancy in America. Or something like that. Actually, I just felt like ranting.
That said, most people probably don't want one. It's fun in small doses, like when you're playing dress-up and decide to call them "Sparkling Princess Wysteria Wishing Well Jasmine of the Magically Glittering Butterfly Gardens" and they think it's the prettiest name ever. And when you walk a mile back to the cabin from the beach together because she didn't want to wash off the sand to get in the car, and you felt like walking, and you beat the car-people who said they'd leave in a few minutes and pick you up on the way, by a rather large margin at that and everyone stares at you like whoah for walking a mile with a 6-year-old in 15 minutes. That part is fun.
The part that would prevent teen pregnancy is the part where you end up playing with her all day to give her mom a vacation, and half the time you're also watching her 3-year-old-sister. And one will be deeply hurt and really really hard to cheer up if she feels like she's not being paid enough attention and the little one is -agressive- in her pursuit of attention. You do this all weekend and then when it's finally time to go home, she gets incredibly depressed because she won't see you for the three hours it takes to ride home. You manage to get her convinced you -can't- ride in the same car, and then your mom who is weak to her sad face talks to her and says she'll move the dog up from the back seats to your seat in the middle, and you and your cousin can sit together in the back. Luckily your mom is weaker to your tired-glary face and unconvinces her again, but then your aunt suggests that she can have a sleepover at your house, and your mom agrees before she tells you. Your cousin chickens out because she's afraid of bad dreams and no mother being there, so you have to go over to your grandma's where they're staying and play with her for a couple hours. She suggests that you have the sleepover at your grandma's house, which is stinky and you don't like to be in, but is luckily distracted before you have to answer. And then you end up spending two and a half hours at your grandma's watching your little cousin play a Lilo and Stitch computer game. The first level, over and over and over, because she keeps dying in the exact same places, and asking you tons of questions about this game even though you tell her you've never seen it and no nothing about it over and over. And she keeps stepping backwards on your feet. And every so often her 3-year-old little sister will run in and climb on you with all her poke-y bits digging in. And if she changes her mind, you'll still have a sleepover tomorrow.
It's sorta like babysitting, except I don't get paid, I can't decline, it's 24/7, the child is much emotionally-clingier, and I've been doing it since I was 11.
Like...when I was 12, there was a real babysitter there, and she was watching me, my brother, and my then 1-year-old cousin. My cousin clung to me, would not let me put her down, would not let go once she fell asleep, would not let the babysitter touch her even to change her diaper or feed her, and would not let go of me to even go to the bathroom or eat. And this was for at least 4 hours.
I hope that this message will help prevent the spread of teen pregnancy in America. Or something like that. Actually, I just felt like ranting.