The issue of responsibility looms large in the public discourse about teen mothers, but it is also a central concern for teen mothers themselves. This article draws on exploratory interviews with teen mothers to contrast their insider with outsider views about what taking responsibility for the baby entails, to show the context in which their views make sense, and to argue that outsider views be revised to take into account these insider considerations. Outsiders recommend measures to hold fathers financially accountable for their children, to make teen mothers live with a parent, and to make teen mothers work rather than assistance from welfare. From the perspective of teen mothers, however, taking responsibility for the baby often means avoiding rather than seeking financial dependence on unreliable fathers of the baby, claiming rather than delegating their role as mothers, and staying on welfare rather than working at an unreliable job.
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