Teen Mom ~ 16 and Pregnant Question

This question was asked by a reader: "Have you ever seen “Teen Mom”?  One of the girls who is pregnant at 16 and featured on the show chooses to place her baby for adoption.  In the snippets of the show I’ve seen so far (and I haven’t watched as much of it as I soon will), that baby seems to be thriving, is in a very loving and stable home, and it’s hard not to contrast her life with some of the lives of the kids whose mothers kept them.  The teen moms are, for the large part, really unable to care for their kids well.  They struggle financially and in relationships.  It’s hard.  The review I’m writing isn’t about adoption, per se, but in the case of the teens and baby and adoptive parents on the show, it was a terrific situation.  If you’ve seen the show, I’m interested to hear what you think!"

Well, I have many thoughts on this subject and I will try to keep it brief. So, 16 and Pregnant. I have a love/hate relationship with that show. I have written a couple of posts about it because there are times I watch it and I think 'this is great for young kids & adults to see because it is so raw and honest.' Then there is a part of me that says 'Oh man! This is ridiculous! How exploitive this show has become and MTV should be ashamed of themselves.'  MTV is different. I think their intentions were good from the start, but now it has become such a huge money maker for them they are drawn to circumstances that are volatile, vulgar, immoral and harmful all because ... the better the ratings, the bigger the bucks.

I did watch most of the first season, the one that has Catelynn and Tyler the couple that placed their baby girl for adoption. That one interested me because of THAT dynamic. I wanted to see how times have changed, how different or similar I was to her at that age, what his involvement would be and how he would handle the changes not only in his life ... but in the life of the young woman that he fell in love with. There were very sad times that were difficult for me to watch because it really hit home with me. Her sorrow, her guilt, her doubts and her undying need to reach out in some way to let her daughter know that she lives in her heart. I thought that the realities of their story were very intriguing. The maturity with which they handled their decision was wonderful for anyone to look up to. They both showed that they really cared about and wanted a say in what their child's life would he like. As I am sure you know, the adoption world has a HUGE divide in it. There is no gray area, no middle ground. There are those who adore adoption and sing it's praises in everything they do. Then there are those who detest all that it stands for and would do anything to detour everyone from participating in any form of its existence. I think the segments spotlighting that couple was the best part of the shows existence.

The rest, I believe, is really a  debasement of what the teenage mind is capable of, and more importantly what it is INcapable of. The amount of violence that the producers of that show allow is laughable! When you think about some of the story lines, they do not differ much from Jersey Shore except that there is an innocent baby lying there who has no say while his parents act like fools in front of the whole world.

It really is a love/hate relationship. I hope I haven't scared you with my answer. Here are the links to the posts I have previously discussed this on. I have thought about it quite a bit.


http://thebestforyoubook.blogspot.com/2010/05/16-and-pregnanthelping-or-hindering.html

This was a show that had Catelynn and Tyler on, but it is the statistics that Dr. Oz provided about teen sex is what is most notable in this post!
http://thebestforyoubook.blogspot.com/2010/07/teen-sex-crisis-dr-oz-show-and-adoption.html