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Parenthood, 16 and Pregnant

Posted by
June 11, 2009

You never really know how you are going to handle parenthood until you are knee deep in it.    At least this is true of myself and a few other parents I know.  It’s hard to imagine what raising a child when I was 16 or so would be like, not impossible, but understandably difficult.

As hard as it may be for some to imagine, it’s the reality of many teenagers.

MTV’s newest reality show 16 and Pregnant comes on the heels of a few vastly publicised teen pregnancies, Bristol Palin and Jamie Lynn Spears.

According to MTV the show isn’t about glorifying teen pregnancy, but instead showing how truly difficult it is in reality.

According to the network (quoted from NY Daily News)

“If we chose to cut off the filming process right after the girls gave birth, that might have glorified it a bit. Because before the birth, the girls go through a denial phase and spend a lot of time just making up the babies’ nursery and thinking of names,” said Gateley. “We made a concerted effort to follow the subject for several months after giving birth, so that we could show how many relationships go down the tubes or are strained, what it takes to care for another living being and the fact that there’s always a child that’s stuck in the middle.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/06/11/2009-06-11_mtv_special_spotlights_how_pregnant_teens_cope_with_motherhood.html#ixzz0I8IFg2QY&D

It’s almost refreshing the network chose to show this documentary, as opposed to the unrealistic but great entertainment that is most shows involving teen pregnancy.  Those exist purely for entertainment value, and are far removed from the normal events they are supposed to portray.

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  • http://blogjobs.biz Joseph

    Today, the volume of teens being parents at such a young age has become common. There are two ways to approach it:

    1. Teaches them responsibility. Surely, we all know that this is the tender topic that teens find themselves in. Question such as “Are they ready for it?” is certainly something that can either be a test of character or something they would run away from.

    2. Punishment for being overly curious. There is no question that teens are adventurous and careless. Many practice the lets wait and see attitude which can be disastrous.

    However, you have to tip your hat to the people who were able to survive from this and keep their family intact.

    As far as teens today becoming parents, give it a couple of years and you may see if they passed or failed in parenting and individual responsibility.