Real story: Jelysa and Kyje

The New York Daily News had an article recently, titled "Teen, interrupted: Youthful pregnancies, from 'Juno' to Juneau". One part of the article was a real story of a young mother:

"It's hard as a teen mom, but it motivated me ," says Jelysa Roberts, a Brooklyn mom who had her son Kyje when she was just 16. "I can't think about myself anymore. I'm thinking about somebody else, who is looking up to me to be their guide and protector. It really made me know I can't make any mistakes right now." So far, Roberts is succeeding. Now 19, she graduated high school with the rest of her class in 2006, despite having to switch schools. Roberts discovered she was pregnant just before she started her junior year at a Catholic school. When administrators found out, they suggested she attend a public school for pregnant teens and new moms. "I was used to competitive classes," Roberts recalls, explaining how the alternative school lumped her (then an 11th grader) into classes with kids from the ninth and 10th grades. "The classes I needed to keep on track with everybody else weren't available to me," she says. But Roberts stuck it out at the transitional school and eventually returned to her original school, and graduated with a Regents diploma. The dedicated mom is now a nursing student at Kingsborough Community College, where she's working toward her bachelor's degree while caring for 3-year-old Kyje.

If your teen daughter is pregnant, brainstorm with her how she can finish her high school education at a minimum.