WITH the final exams approaching, she has to juggle studying with parenting her 11-month-old baby.
The 17-year-old matriculant from Khayelitsha, Cape Town, told Daily Sun that she was struggling to study with a baby on her lap, especially in the evening.
“He spends hours awake and I can’t ignore him because he cries. I can’t concentrate when the child is crying. My mother doesn’t want to hear him cry at night, and reminds me that she told me to stay away from boys,” she said.
The teenager said lockdown made everything worse because she had to deal with her son all day while trying to study.
She said she’s determined to pass matric to make herself and her mum proud.
She said when she fell pregnant, her mum, who sells fruit and vegetables, was furious and wanted to kick her out of their shack.
“I disappointed myself and my mother when I fell pregnant, but I will not allow that to bring me down. I’m struggling to study and I need to cover a lot of ground because of Covid-19, but I will do everything to ensure that I pass,” she added.
Her mum (45) said she has made peace with her daughter’s situation, and wanted her to do well.
“At first, I didn’t want anything to do with her. I was angry because I always told her about boys and she wouldn’t listen,” she said.
The mum said she sat with her grandson all day at the market while her daughter was at school, but she didn’t want to be disturbed at night.
“I used to have sleepless nights looking after her, and now she expects me to look after her child as well.
“She must find a way to study and take care of her child. It’s her baby and she must take care of him,” she said.
“I might sound cruel but if I handle her with kid gloves, she will bring another baby home soon.”
