I'm Ashlea, I'm 25 years old and I'm a single parent to my two year old, Alfie and I live
in Trinity Gardens, Adelaide.

I'm Eleisha, I'm 25, I'm a single mum living in Munno Para West with my 5 year old son, Asher.

I'm April, I'm 22, I live at home with my daughter Adriana, she is 5 and we live in Orange.

I found out that I was going to be a parent just after I finished my degree and three
weeks before my graduation.

I wasn't planning on it happening, met my son's father, liked each other and the next
thing I know I was pregnant.

I dropped out of school, got in with the wrong crowd and one thing lead to another and then
I had a kid.

I was happy but I was like oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

Basically not having that nest egg that people in their late-twenties or thirties have.

Not having a job.

Not having any savings or any money already saved up.

When you're in your late teens and early-twenties you're still trying to figure out who you
are, what you want to do for the rest of your life, and then when a child is thrown into
that you go 'okay well now I have to rethink everything that I had planned for my life.'

I still felt very much a teenager, I didn't feel prepared.

Not having much support and being frowned upon for being such a young parent.

Being a young parent has affected a lot of relationships that I've had with friends, they
either don't get it and kinda expect you to be the same person you were before you fell
pregnant.

They were all going out partying and I was staying home bottle feeding.
Or they would want me to go out but I couldn't.

The best thing about being a young parent - a lot of people would say being able to
be a kid because you're not that far away from your childhood, you can still touch it and reach out.

Being more able to keep up with them because I'm younger, my body is still kind of young.

I think I can run around more and be more active.

Knowing that I could still be alive when he has his kids and hopefully, maybe great-grandkids.
That would be cool.

You're able to look at the world through these new sets of eyes. And you kind of forget all the of the little
things that we miss on a day to day basis.

When she learns something new, when we're driving in the car and she's like 'What's that' or 'What's that mean' or 'I know that
colour's green' or 'Red means stop'.

When she comes out with things like that it just makes me smile.

When I smile I know that I'm doing a good job at being a parent. I'm not gonna lie, I love being a young parent.

Speak to your family and friends, go to classes, go to playgroups, speak to other people in
similar situations.

If you've got a partner try not to argue with each other because you're going to need their support.

And also if you're a united front and a team it makes things so much easier.

One of the things I did to prepare myself was go to antenatal classes and sign up for
mother's groups and just read.

As much as you can prepare yourself things will very much be different once their born.

Advice I would give is that if you're a single parent, get family behind you, you're going
to need it, sometimes you're going to need rest.