# "Love Child"...my, how the times have changed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622 "2009-08-07T13:03:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/21 "2009-08-07T23:35:40Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > For that matter, how is the OP so sure it was a teenager? Yeah. I just remember someone either in a thread or article or somewhere online posting about taking their kid sister/bro out for a walk and getting dirty looks from people who thought it was the result of a teen pregnancy. (Like what, Pops, you want her to retroactively abort the kid now?) And indeed, some people do look young. I have my suspicions that if I were to borrow a baby, people might think I’m just going out there, promoting teen sex and pregnancy, gasp! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/22 "2009-08-07T23:44:25Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yeah. I just remember someone either in a thread or article or somewhere online posting about taking their kid sister/bro out for a walk and getting dirty looks from people who thought it was the result of a teen pregnancy. (Like what, Pops, you want her to retroactively abort the kid now?) > > And indeed, some people do look young. I have my suspicions that if I were to borrow a baby, people might think I’m just going out there, promoting teen sex and pregnancy, gasp! Yeah, every year the Freshmen at NYU get younger, and to think it seems like just a year or two ago when I was fucking 'em. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/23 "2009-08-08T02:35:44Z")
Well, I don’t know for sure she was a teen…the baby was about two, she looked 18…though she could have been low twenties. She was dressed like all the teens…and yes, I assumed the child was hers without proof. Sheesh. And the kind of answers we hope to see on those applications, when they are filled out by teens (we don’t hire anyone under 18) is something along the lines of sports or educational achievements, scholarships, community service work, etc. And we have just as many older adults asking for applications, even before this current crisis. Heck, I didn’t start working for this company until I was 40! ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/24 "2009-08-08T02:39:34Z")
I remember my mom saying that she always hated the phrase “love child” - so, what, a ‘legitimate’ child was loveless? ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/25 "2009-08-08T02:47:26Z")
How about Paul Simon’s “[Kodachrome](http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/catalog/kodachrome64ProfessionalFilmPKR.jhtml)” ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/26 "2009-08-08T03:25:05Z")
Seems kinda arrogant to assume she’s a teen and probably unwed. I had to get a new ID card when I turned 21 because people wouldn’t look at the birthdate before trying to throw me out since I looked so young. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/27 "2009-08-08T05:27:26Z")
Oh, it’s great to be the recipient of those derisive stares, especially when I actually was 21 and married. :rolleyes: I got a few in my day. Strange how nowadays I apparently am not too young to parent a 12-year-old! ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/28 "2009-08-08T15:13:02Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > When you’re asking 17-19 year old kids what their greatest accomplishment is, what do you expect them to say? I guess not getting knocked up in HS is a greater accomplishment than winning a basketball tournament. I put down that Nobel that I won in 10th grade; but that’s me. Re the OP, there’s a song, “Mr. Rockefeller,” that Bette Midler sings, where at the beginning she’s talking to the operator about once again trying to put her call through to him. When was the last time you used an operator to connect a simple long distance call? ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/29 "2009-08-08T15:50:53Z")
Along those same lines, there’s Jim Croce’s _[Operator](http://www.lyrics007.com/Jim%20Croce%20Lyrics/Operator%20Lyrics.html)_ in which he’s trying to get an operator to help him place a call to his ex-girlfriend. The last line, “You can keep the dime” is poignant, but dated. I still think it’s a sweet, sad song. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/30 "2009-08-08T16:14:13Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Well, I don’t know for sure she was a teen…the baby was about two, she looked 18…though she could have been low twenties. She was dressed like all the teens…and yes, I assumed the child was hers without proof. Sheesh. Well, then, there you go. Maybe she wasn’t a teen mom at all. If you found out she was a twenty something year old with her sister or her mother’s kid out for the day, would you have felt the need to comment? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/31 "2009-08-08T16:40:45Z")
Jeez, I didn’t get a whole lot of judgeyness from kittenblue’s OP. She was just noting that being a young (or otherwise) single mom isn’t nearly as stigmatized these days. Seems like a perfectly astute observation to me, so why with the tension? I don’t think it’s terribly unreasonable to assume that a child being strolled around the mall by a woman of childbearing age belongs to said woman. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/32 "2009-08-08T17:28:36Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > She was dressed to impress…hot pants, lowcut top two sizes too small for a girl her size, hair all arranged, nails done, totally impractical shoes, big trendy bag, and shopping bags from Victoria’s Secret and Charlotte Russe. In other words, she looked like all the other teenage girls prowling the mall around here, babies in tow. My impression was that she was not short of money…heck, she’s buying the cookies I can’t afford…and looking to attract the eye of some young guy. Again, just like all the other girls around, but not really “mom-like!” This just struck me as a little judgmental. Like, I don’t know, it suggests that she should be wearing sack cloth and counting coupons. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/33 "2009-08-09T00:02:28Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > I put down that Nobel that I won in 10th grade; but that’s me. Heh. I remember filling out the National Merit Scholarship form, half of which consisted of asking you to check off achievement that I guess they expected many high school juniors to do - get a patent, publish a book, … Talk about depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/34 "2009-08-09T09:08:40Z")
“I Love Rock N Roll” Joan Jett & the Blackhearts _I love rock n roll So put another dime in the jukebox, baby_ ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/35 "2009-08-09T09:28:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > This just struck me as a little judgmental. Like, I don’t know, it suggests that she should be wearing sack cloth and counting coupons. Having actually seen my sister buy perfume at Sephora with her WIC money, I can sort of understand the mentality. I’m really hoping she outgrows it. She’s doing ok in College right now so there is hope, I really don’t want her to be a welfare queen her whole life. She’s 22 and has a 1 year old, is a single Mother and lives with my parents. The number of single mothers are skyrocketing these days. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/36 "2009-08-09T11:07:34Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I don’t think it’s terribly unreasonable to assume that a child being strolled around the mall by a woman of childbearing age belongs to said woman. My sister-in-law’s 18-year-old friend went into the jewellery store, child in stroller, and was browsing for a present. She had a heck of a time getting the sales girl’s attention and when she finally came over she was rude and unfriendly. Suddenly the sales girl snapped “Don’t you think you’re a bit too young to have a baby?”. SIL’s friend replied “He’s my nephew”. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/37 "2009-08-09T12:33:56Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > My sister-in-law’s 18-year-old friend went into the jewellery store, child in stroller, and was browsing for a present. She had a heck of a time getting the sales girl’s attention and when she finally came over she was rude and unfriendly. Suddenly the sales girl snapped “Don’t you think you’re a bit too young to have a baby?”. SIL’s friend replied “He’s my nephew”. Well, it’s snappier than “Sorry, I was a day late to the abortion clinic.” But even more effective would be “I need to speak to the manager.” ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/38 "2009-08-09T13:40:53Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Well, it’s snappier than “Sorry, I was a day late to the abortion clinic.” > > But even more effective would be “I need to speak to the manager.” I think that was the next thing she said. 🙂 I know she complained, and if I recall correctly her complained was fobbed off (this happened several years ago so I’m a little shaky on the details of what-happened-next). The child actually _was_ her nephew, by the way… It wasn’t just a snappy come-back. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/39 "2009-08-09T16:06:41Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > “I Love Rock N Roll” Joan Jett & the Blackhearts > > _I love rock n roll > So put another dime in the jukebox, baby_ Which reminds me of [Rock this Town](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoaazVGPtuQ) by the **Stray Cats** : \*Well we found a little place that really didn’t look half bad I’ll have a whiskey on the rocks and change of a dollar for the jukebox Well, I put a quarter right into that can, but all it played was disco man C’mon pretty baby, let’s get outta here right away. …Well we’re having a ball just bopping on the big dance floor Well there’s a real square cat he looks like 1974 Well, you look at me once, you look at me twice, You look at me again there’s gonna be a fight We’re gonna rock this town, we’re gonna rip this place apart\* ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622/40 "2009-08-10T15:56:50Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > Along those same lines, there’s Jim Croce’s _[Operator](http://www.lyrics007.com/Jim%20Croce%20Lyrics/Operator%20Lyrics.html)_ in which he’s trying to get an operator to help him place a call to his ex-girlfriend. The last line, “You can keep the dime” is poignant, but dated. I still think it’s a sweet, sad song. “Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-child-my-how-the-times-have-changed/505622.md?page=3)