Valuing young families: child protection and family support strategies with adolescent mothers

Abstract

This article is based on a study about young mothers' experiences of parenting and their suggestions for child protection and family support strategies. This paper disputes the notion that young mothers are deficient parents, and instead highlights the social stressors faced by many young families. It is argued that, rather than focussing on the individual family or young mother, family work could be better oriented toward resourcing and supporting adolescent families to care for their members.