Mynyel Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Really? http://www.mtv.com/shows/16_and_pregnant/season_2/series.jhtml http://www.mtv.com/shows/teen_mom/season_2/series.jhtml Now I haven't watched the shows but really? To make a show out of this? Yea that's helping teen pregnancy go down. Get pregnant and you could end up on MTV. My Lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I've seen the show. It doesn't dress it up at all. It actually follows the parents and shows the tremendous stress having children puts on their education, their relationships, and on their own parents. Maybe some girls would see these situations as desirable, but they'd have to be masochists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hmm true, but did we really need show to show that? I saw no less than three teen mothers when I was in high school.. 20 (ugh) years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I've seen the show. It doesn't dress it up at all. It actually follows the parents and shows the tremendous stress having children puts on their education, their relationships, and on their own parents. Maybe some girls would see these situations as desirable, but they'd have to be masochists. :iagree: totally agree--I have watched over the past few seasons and it is BRUTALLY HONEST...you see girls that the families have basicly abandoned--you see girls that are "all in love" with the baby's dad and has those "rose colored" glasses on at first and then when the guys don't stay or it doesn't work out with the guy you see the girl alone and having to support the baby and take care of it by herself....I've seen a bit of every situation on there...It's not making it glamourous at all---it's REAL and HONEST and "out there"--they have shows where DR DREW will sit down with the girls at the end of each season and chat about what they learned and how their life changed since becoming pregnant and just about all the girls I've seen on there say that if they could go back they would change things and the would advice other girls to wait and to get their education finished first before starting a family.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Oh, don't you know that the sky-rocketing pregnancy rates are caused by homeschoolers and parents of public school kids who opt out of comprehensive sex ed? The cool shows and media coverage of those teens (I see their photos on magazine covers in the grocery check out line) have NOTHING to do with it. Niether does the increasing sexualization of our culture and the belief that 'casual' sex is expected and normal. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I worked with pregnant teens and teen moms briefly. I watch the show because I'd like to continue to do so in the future. It certainly doesn't glamorize teen pregnancy and motherhood in any way. Many teens who aren't making good choices in their lives anyway don't always see pregnancy as bad. They think they will have a cute little doll that will adore them, it will keep their boyfriends with them, everyone will give them lots of attention for their cute bellies and they'll get a baby shower. The show uses the things that many teens care about to demonstrate the realities: Their bodies--stretch marks and weight gain; their relationships--most young couples break up, friends fade away, relationships with parents are damaged; social lives--no dances or parties, isolation, many cannot return to school; education and future--severely limited due to finances, childcare, time; the physical discomforts of pregnancy and the pain of labor, which is certainly not prettied up. I am with you though, in that I have reservations about this kind of show as entertainment, but I feel that way about most reality shows. And glamorizing teen pregnancy and motherhood, the show does not. My heart truly aches for many of these young women, even though it was their own poor choices that got them where they are. It is truly agonizing to watch a young woman trying to grow up and be a good momma when her boyfriend spends the diaper money on a new stereo or her mother abandons her. I know there is a population of teens out there with parents who don't care what they watch on television or care much what they do, and who aren't discussing the consequences of premarital sex (and I don't just mean pregnancy). I'm not sure it justifies the show's existence, but at least some of these young women are getting a picture of what might happen for them if they make the decision to have sex or have sex without using birth control. And I do agree with you that there are probably some teens with such poor decision-making abilities that they might try to get pregnant so that they could be on tv. Ick. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Niether does the increasing sexualization of our culture and the belief that 'casual' sex is expected and normal. :glare: Bingo. I think this is the real problem. Teen pregnancy is just a symptom. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Agreeing with Aelwydd and Sweetmismagnolia. Where some girls may have had a fantasy idea about pregnancy, dreams about a happy family and a cute little baby (all with soft lighting and dreamy music), this show definitely gives a very realistic view of just how tough the reality of teen motherhood is. The message is extremely clear that most of the girls regret the choices that they made and the tough situation that they now find themselves in because of those choices. I've let my dd watch a few of the shows with me and we've had some really good conversations as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaMere Academy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I've seen the show. It doesn't dress it up at all. It actually follows the parents and shows the tremendous stress having children puts on their education, their relationships, and on their own parents. Maybe some girls would see these situations as desirable, but they'd have to be masochists. I watch this with my 15.5 year old daughter and I think it's a great way to show how giving in to desire can ruin your life. We have great talks. I think they're great shows, they let teens see how hard it is. All the girls always end by saying they wish they had waited. I think it sends a good message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hmm true, but did we really need show to show that? I saw no less than three teen mothers when I was in high school.. 20 (ugh) years ago. Do we really "need" any TV at all? Before this show aired, I'd never seen what a young teen mom goes through to give up her baby for adoption. I'd never seen firsthand how badly relationships are strained by teen motherhood. As someone else said, the show is brutally honest. I had known teen moms in high school and even had a friend who was one. Still, they weren't advertising their personal problems with their boyfriends or parents. This show show ALL aspects of teen pregnancy, and again, makes it abundantly clear that it is no fairy tale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 True TV really isn't needed :001_smile:. Like I said though, I haven't watched the show, just saw the glimpses on the website (which, from what you have described doesn't do the program justice). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Yeah, if this show had existed when I was a teen, it would have only reinforced my feelings of not ever wanting children at all. I don't think the show is really that controversial, because it treats teen motherhood as a negative thing. Now, I have heard that MTV has considered another show showcasing teen pregnancy -- where the girls choose abortion. I would expect that show would garner much more of an outcry, even though I suspect that it would probably show how just difficult and painful abortion is, as well. I have no doubt that the producers would also show the guilt, and devastation of the girls afterward. They have been considering this to show that there is no "easy solution." Once pregnant, a teen has no easy way out. In a word, ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I wonder how many teens see that show and think, "That wouldn't be me. My bf and I loooove each other." Or any other that wouldn't me me comment. Don't these moms get paid? They get their face on tv. They get on talk shows, they get in magazines. Yes, I know it isn't for great things they end up on media but look at Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, Real World, etc... They apparently don't care if it is good publicity or bad. Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I wonder how many teens see that show and think, "That wouldn't be me. My bf and I loooove each other." Or any other that wouldn't me me comment. ... Kelly I tend to agree. The viewers here tend to be watching with mothering experience and the wisdom of having been around longer than the target audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I don't know. Some teens would think that, I'm sure. But, just because they're teens, doesn't mean they're all clueless and incapable of applying observation to their own situations. When I was a teen, I was more than capable of grasping how bad pregnancy would be. I had a cousin and a friend at school who gave me ample opportunity for that awareness. Also, the show has a follow-up interview with Dr. Drew, where it is made plainly clear that these kids continue to have many challenges even after the show. If they're making so much money, I have to wonder why all of the kids I've seen so far have been living either in a, tiny apartments or with their parents, or b, in a trailer. Again, when you see a teen girl crying her heart out as she watches an older, married couple carrying away her son as their newly adopted child; or see a mom crying at home with her newborn while her boyfriend is out chasing other girls; or see a teen couple where they are fighting and there is actually physical abuse going on, I just don't see the glamor of that lifestyle. Maybe there are a few teen girls out there who would see the above and think, "Gee! That's what I'm missing!" But, I think most watch it and think, "Thank God that's NOT me." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Niether does the increasing sexualization of our culture and the belief that 'casual' sex is expected and normal. :glare: In your opinion, when do you suppose that this change began? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I just found this article. It's written by the show's creator about why she decided to make the show. She made it as an answer to how society glamorized Jamie Lynn Spears' teen pregnancy, to show just how hard pregnancy is for the average teen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Now I haven't watched the shows but really? To make a show out of this? Yea that's helping teen pregnancy go down. Get pregnant and you could end up on MTV. My Lord. Well, I'm not a fan of the shows, but my dd19 and her friends have watched them for some time. They all agree they would NEVER want to be in that position. So the show doesn't influence all girls to want to get pregnant as a teen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I think it's a really interesting show that *should* discourage teen pregnancy. Unfortunately, I also think that most teens have the mindset of "it won't happen to me." What gets me is the parents of these girls. Most of the time I want to yell, "What's wrong with you???" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 In your opinion, when do you suppose that this change began? 1960s and 70s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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