MTV's 16 and Pregnant
 

I don't think a thread has been created on this yet. Is anyone else watching? I DVR'd the 2nd episode last night so I've only seen the first one, with the engaged girl from Chattanooga. It was pretty sad.. her fiance was a piece of shit who didn't even want to hold their son. And he went out every night with friends instead of helping her with the baby. Normally I don't feel sorry for young mothers (everyone knows if you're responsible, it's very unlikely you'll get pregnant) but I did feel bad for this girl. She was trying to better her life by working, going to college after graduating HS early, and caring for her son. I'm excited to watch last night's episode.

Regarding the 1st episode, what pissed me off was when the guy told his very pregnant (like 8 months) girlfriend to get out of the car and check for a flat even though she told him it was hard for her to get in and out of the car. He told her something like....it's not impossible.:eek:

I hope the show will encourage young people to be more responsible in protecting themselves against teen pregnancy (and of course diseases). When I first heard about the show, I thought that it might glamorize teen pregnancy.

Co-sign.

My boyfriend and I :eek: at that too. That fiance was a waste of space.

It always amazes me how people's parents seem to be OK with their 16 year old having a child. Like the girl saying she told her mom via TEXT, and her mom hugged her when she got home. I would've been greeted with a "wtf were you thinking?" and then months of anger, tears, and "well, if you hadn't gotten pregnant.."

Even if I were to get pregnant now, at 23, with my long term boyfriend, my parents would NOT be volunteering to watch the child while I went to something like dance practice.

I am really glad this show came out. It's no secret a lot of teens are having sex with little to no regard to the consequences.

Sadly enough, I teach in a middle school and every year one (or more) of my students ends up pregnant.

All I can say is that stupidity of others is great entertainment. My pi phi sister and I love that show! It is way sad, but at least it doesn't show teen pregnancy in a good light with the horrible display of affection by the "baby daddies". I guess we should have know a teen pregnancy show would turn up eventually after the huge success of JUNO (love that movie btw).

I saw the first episode. So it comes on Tues nights...I'll try to catch a rerun. Although I agree that the father didn't appear to be too helpful, I also believe there was a lot of careful editing to be sure to only show his selfishness & to show her in a better light.

I can't watch that show--I see this everyday at work. :(

The show info on my digital cable described the fiance as "lazy" and I had some good giggles.

I am glad the parents of the "lazy" guy are at least being involved with their grandchild. It isn't that baby's fault it has a d-bag for a father, and hopefully with his parents being involved with the baby he may be able to step up and be a father one day instead of just disappearing.

I'm 28 and this show is birth control enough for me! I hope teens really learn from this.

When I was in seventh grade, a girl in my class got pregnant with twins by an eighth grader at our school. She dropped out of school and would bring the babies in to show them off, and everyone (including teachers!!) would oooh and ahhh over how cute they were. Even at the time I remember thinking, anyone wanna mention how her life is over? She has 2 kids at age 12!

She got pregnant again a year later too.

I'm watching Farrah's episode right now. The OBGYN looked horrified when she was like "yeah I'm really not planning on breast feeding...." Hehe it made me think of all those lactivists. I wasn't breastfed, though, and I'm fine! Now we know that I couldn't nurse because I was allergic to the milk my mom was drinking! If she'd stopped drinking real milk, then I would have nursed fine, but no big deal. My two closest co-workers weren't breastfed either. I guess it wasn't really big in the 70s and 80s the way it is now. I'm definitely going to breastfeed, though. I'm almost excited to nurse! That was written like a rant- sorry.

I think that back then, there was so much of the "yay, women are finally getting somewhere in the workplace" that I don't think anyone was about to tell women they should demand time to pump or more time off.

The whole "is breast best" debate has gone back and forth over the years, for a variety of reasons.

I, along with my cousins and friends, was born in the 80's and we were all breastfed. I guess it really just depends on the area, and the person.

I caught the end of farrah's episode. What a spoiled brat! I wanted to smack her more than once!

We must not forget that these are children. Having a baby doesn't change that although SOME will mature faster since having children.

Ok, so I saw a piece of Farrah's episode last night. I like the show and I think it is a big wake up to the younger generation. Funny how she didn't understand why the girls on the cheer squad treated her differently. Her reason for quitting. Also, that she got stood up. I mumbled "what guy in their right mind would go out with someone 6 months preganant..." Mom came back with, "because than I guy could have sex and know she is not going to get pregnant." And I had my 'ahha' moment. duh!

So, mom turned it into a sex talk. I am 29 and lived with a guy for 4 years. I still got the sex talk.

I don't think I would have sat with mom to watch the show when I was 15. I hope there are some parents that will use the show to open lines of communication.

Even at 29 I would never want to put myself in the position to sit my parents down and say I am pregnant.

It's not fun! I don't think I'm planning to have more kids, but if I change my mind, I look forward to being able to call people and cry happy tears while sharing my great news...instead of being terrified to tell them because I don't know how they'll react!

Yep! I was 19 when I got pregnant with my now 2 and a half year old. She was born after I turned 20, though, so I was never a teen mother! :D But yeah, telling the parents is quite the bittersweet experience. After you've come to terms with the fact that you're pregnant and gone through all the options in your mind, then faced up to the reality that you're going to be a parent, you have to sit down and tell them this news that is going to immediately disappoint and ultimately delight them. But the night I told my parents was the night I got engaged to my husband, and thinking back on it, I wouldn't have changed a thing about that night! :)

Even being 19 (legally an adult) is different than being a high schooler.

I don't think any parent is truly prepared for children and they all learn as they go through it. But, being more mature and having your life more in order definitely helps.

Right! Being a stay at home parent is the equivalent of 2-3 jobs.

On that note: Being a working parent who is also the primary caregiver is the equivalent of 3 jobs. You get off of your paid fulltime job and go home to your unpaid (overworked and underappreciated) fulltime job.

I say the same for when I was 30.

Still better than being a high schooler.

It was at the end of my sophomore year of college. Thus, I am an alumna with no degree! ;)

I don't think anyone can ever be *truly* prepared for parenthood, but there is definitely something to be said for being of legal age and able to actually take care of yourself (I've supported myself since I was 17, or been supported by my husband) financially and emotionally.

Yep.

I turned 34 the week after my first kid was born. My life was in order, my finances were in order, and my marriage was in order. This was a child that we had wanted, planned for, and read everything we could prior to his arrival.

And then.... this helpless human being who expected me to feed him, change him, and figure out why he was crying ALL THE FRIGGIN TIME showed up. I turned into a complete mess. I have a master's degree and my husband is a physician, and we felt like the two stupidest people on the planet. Those advanced degrees and all that reading got us nowhere with knowing how to make that kid stop crying! It was hard as hell.

We often commented to each other that if life became that hard for the two of us, that it really put into perspective how difficult it would be for young parents who lack maturation, a helpful babydaddy, and enough money in the bank to not have to worry where the next meal will come from.

The two episodes I've watched thus far have made me cry during the birthing scenes. One because it looks so painful. Two because it's kind of miraculous (that's the good crying part). And finally because it's so depressing to watch life enter the world in the terms that they are.

So annoyed by the fact that MTV still makes everything feel like of glamorous. It needs to be tragic every time. To really drive the message home: DON'T HAVE BABIES AT 16!!

Eh, just because the kid bought Guitar Hero shouldn't be an indicator of his maturity. Most of my guy friends have it or Rock Band, and they're in their
30s with six-figure salaries. If he's a kid, he's a kid--but not because he bought a video game.

I think my parents would be fine, since I'm 28 and can take care of myself really well. If I was 22 or even 25, it would be a different story. But, my parents are notoriously permissive (ahhh, shrinks!). One of my girlfriends just had her first kid--much much earlier than he should have been born--and I don't think her mother was too happy about the news; once the baby comes around things get better.

Why are you using your six-figure salary 30+ friends to counter the immaturity of a broke ass teenage PARENT buying Guitar Hero?

Not a good comparison. Guitar Hero is cool. Being broke and having a KID while buying it is not cool (regardless of age).

I interpreted the previous post to be adults shouldn't be playing or buying video games. There's always a lot of back-and-forth about giving up things when one gets married or has kids (like that stupid marriage bucket list thread), and I figured that was the jist of the message. Ooopsie! :(

Of course, if someone can't afford to take care of their kids but still manages to buy the latest video games instead, that's a different story.

Being broke and having a kid while buying anything that is really not a necessity is not cool. I understand, we all need to have our little luxuries, but really people, stop buying crap you can't afford while you send your kid to school in clothes too small with no money for lunch.:mad:

I wish MTV would stop this nonsense. 16 and pregnant sounds like a life sentence, not a show.

16 and pregnant might not be the best show to highlight the realities of teen pregnancy but is a whole heck of a lot better than that stupid ABC family show--Secret Life of the American Teenager. I don't know if y'all remember when it first started airing, but it promised to show the "realities of teen pregnancy." Yeah, not quite sure having 100% supportive family, the baby daddy in the picture, and a boyfriend who not only cares that you have a kid (that isnt his) but wants to get married to you the real "reality" of having a kid at 15.

:p

Buying and playing video games is AWESOME as long as you aren't a loser at life.

Agreed! lol. I love my Madden and Git-Hero.

I watched two episodes of the show and it is the ultimate birth control. Having a baby before I am ready is one of my worst fears. The thought alone is suffocating to me. While I was watching the labor scenes of this last episode (KID:"Its hard work" MOM:"Thats why its called labor" lol.) I was clenching my teeth and taking deep breaths.

While I don't support teen pregnancy at all, I have to say I found this funny.

I LOVED that one of the guys went to Wal-mart and bought an engagement ring for $21 and some change. At first I laughed, but then I felt bad. I hope that's not all life has in store for these children. I think it was awfully sweet though.