Mercury PressA girl took her two-year-old daughter to prom and proved everyone who told her she’d ruined her life by getting pregnant at 13 wrong.
Kayleigh Snaith got pregnant at 13 years old, and in response received hate from both strangers and classmates, with people calling her ‘disgusting’ and telling her she’d ruined her life.
The young girl hid the pregnancy from her parents for six months, for fear of how they might react. Thankfully, they were supportive of their daughter, and set about preparing their house in Stanley, Co Durham, for its new arrival.
Kayleigh explained her fears, saying:
When I started feeling movement in my stomach it was obvious what was going on but I was terrified of telling my mum and dad.
All these things go through your head. I was worried they would kick me out or make me get rid of her. I spent so many nights awake worrying about it, I couldn’t focus on anything else.
When I started to get a bit of a bump I knew I couldn’t keep it secret anymore so I asked my head of year to call in my mum. I couldn’t stop crying when I told her, I was so scared.
My mum was really shocked but I remember her saying ‘if you want to keep this child, we will support you and do everything we can for you’.
Mercury PressNow 16 years old, Kayleigh managed to prove everybody wrong by finishing secondary school, and celebrating the achievement by taking her daughter Harley to prom with her.
Determined to give her daughter a good life, the teenager completed seven GCSEs, and had support and encouragement from her parents as she juggled raising her daughter and finishing secondary school.
The two girls dressed up for prom together, with mum Kayleigh buying Harley a white lace dress. Unfortunately Harley couldn’t actually go into the prom, but mother and daughter drove to the party together.
Kayleigh described her hopes for her daughter, and explained why she took Harley to prom.
She said:
I hope she grows up knowing that she deserves the best and never to settle for anything or anyone that makes her unhappy. She should be treated with love and care.
I also wanted to show everyone else who thought I would never make it through school being a young mum that I did it. Here I am celebrating finishing school with my daughter.
I wanted everyone to see that Harley comes first. Nothing is just about me anymore, it’s about me and Harley. I wanted her to feel as beautiful and loved as I did on my prom day.
Kayleigh’s mum Sharon spoke about how proud she was of her daughter for proving people wrong.
She said:
But she is very determined and she has proved everyone wrong. It was such a special thing being able to watch her finish school and celebrate with her little girl.
She was showing the world ‘this is my little girl and I’m proud’ and we were right there alongside her.
Kayleigh admitted that being a new mum and finishing school at the same time was no easy task, but said that knowing her daughter was relying on her motivated her to study hard.
She explained:
At home I’m a mother and an adult to my child but then in school I was suddenly a student, a child there to learn.
I was so tired all the time and I would have people telling me I was disgusting, that I’d ruined my life, I’d never be a good mum and I’d never achieve anything in life. It was really hard.
But knowing Harley was at home waiting for me and that I was working for our future really motivated me. All the tiredness was worth it to build the best possible life for my daughter.
I remember sitting and crying because I was worried I would fail and I wouldn’t be able to get a job and do the best I could for Harley. It was a lot of pressure.
But Harley inspired me to keep going and gave me the big push I needed. I’ve worked really hard and I’m looking forward to getting my results in August.
PixabayBy sharing the pictures of herself and Harley, Kayleigh hopes that other young mums will be encouraged to continue to work hard and realise that getting pregnant at a young age isn’t ‘the end of the world’.
She said:
I hope by sharing the pictures from my prom, other young mums and their parents will realise that having a baby in your teens isn’t the end of the world.
No matter what people tell you or think of you, if you push yourself and work hard you can still achieve all of your life goals.
Yes, it is a struggle and it’s life changing but being a new mum always is.
There are mums in their twenties and thirties who find it scary. Your age doesn’t define whether or not you’re a good mum.
You learn to ignore the comments.
Harley is a beautiful, cheeky and happy little girl. She is a ray of sunshine and I’m proud to be her mum. I’ll never regret having her or be ashamed.
Continuing to prove her doubters wrong, Kayleigh is due to start studying music at college in September.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.