Comments on: TV Recap & Review: “16 and Pregnant”

By: Amanda K

Amanda K — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:49:45 +0000

I did not watch this show, but I’m going to look it up and watch it online.
Funnily enough, I was pregnant with my first child at 16. From the sounds of things, it couldn’t have been more different for me than it was for this pair. I am still with the same guy (and happily married for 9 years now). I’m of two minds about this – it’s nice that to show teens the consequences of having sex etc (especially if it’s not all fluffy and happy – parents helping them out with money? How often does THAT happen in REAL reality?) but at the same time, I cringe at the message it’s sending about teen parents being irresponsible. I guess I’ll have to actually watch the show to make a proper judgment.. but I just wanted to put it out there that not all teenage mama’s are bad apples… some of us turn out better than great.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:33:56 +0000

I am not into scare tactics either. For some families, this show could be a springboard into good discussion – it leaves the viewer the opportunity to draw their own conclusions. For some teens, they may very well have gotten a message to abstain, and for others, the msg may have flown right over their determined little hormones. Same with Juno – the movie was sweet and it all worked out for Juno, but it never said, “Hey, don’t have sex before marriage.” It’s still something that kids see that serves as a good conversation starter. Frankly, no show or movie really sends a message to abstain from sex. We all know this. I went with a 7th grader last summer to see the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants sequel, and one of the characters has sex with her boyfriend, and they have a pregnancy scare afterwards. I said to Lily, “Hon, this is exactly why you wait till marriage. Outside of that safe relationship, these kinds of problems are WAYYYYYYY too much to handle.” She got the message loud & clear.

From what I have read, this is a 6-episode series, focusing on 6 different mothers. I will not be watching again; once was enough.

By: Sharon M

Sharon M — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:46:47 +0000

So, is “16 and Pregnant” going to be a series, or was it just a one-time deal? Because honestly, I don’t know if I could handle watching that show again and again and again.

I’m not sure if I would show it to a teen or pre-teen though. “Scare tactics” is not one of my favorite parenting styles, and this doesn’t get the message across “abstain from sex until marriage.” It just shows the difficulties of having a baby at a young age. There are ways to get out of it (hormonal birth control, condoms, abortions, etc), and MTV has shown in the past that it’s quite willing to promote these things over abstinence.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:01:49 +0000

What a great site with tons of great knowledge for moms! I’ll certainly be adding you to my “Envy Worthy Sites” list.

Thanks for the good mom info!

Melissa

By: Jaanvi

Jaanvi — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:26:18 +0000

Well I didn’t see the show but your narration definitely made everything vivid in front of my eyes and I really felt sad for the couple and specially for the baby. Normally reality tv shows are all gossip and tv channels blowing things out of proportion but MTV did a good job by not making it look all rosy.
Even being a mother at 28 gave me jitters, what would have happened to that little girl!