Saturday, January 7, 2012

Teen Pregnancy and That Show Teen Mom

Before I start I want to make something very clear. This is not a jab to any one person or any group of people. If you take any of this personally then you either A. need to evaluate your life and make some changes because this is making you think or B. Realize that I may give folks crap about things I see wrong but my life doesn't revolve around dissing you, and refer back to A.

So yesterday I had a bit of a Facebook brawl with an obviously very young girl with too much time on her hands and a seriously warped sense of reality. I was going to post exactly what she had said but she has since removed the comment. Basically she was commenting on how much she liked the girl Chelsea on Teen Mom 2 and how much she wants to be like her, how good  a mom Chelsea is, and that she's pregnant and naming her baby Chelsea. Ok am I the only one that sees numerous things wrong with this?  Those of you who watch teen mom has to obviously see what I see in this girl. A spoiled brat who has a daddy that does everything for her and she still manages to screw everything up. Granted she's no Jenelle but she still isn't much of a role model in my book. Yes, I have a massive problem with teenagers procreating, especially when they are still dependent on their parents for everything. Do I think that automatically makes them bad parents, no. Does that automatically  make their parents bad, no. I know some teenagers that would rather die than follow rules and do what's right despite ANYONE'S efforts. My mother, best friend and many other women I know that had children at that young of an age are some of the most amazing mothers I know. There are married, college educated people out there who really don't need to reproduce. But I do however think that it's a good idea to have a few adult life experiences under your belt before you decide to think it's time to bring another person in this world and try to teach them things that you have no experience in.  Plus how fun is it to see all your girl friends going to prom and the mall. And not to mention having a job because you WANT to not because you HAVE to to buy diapers. I could go into all the things that you miss out on and whatever, that is not my point. Granted, yes the teen years is rough. You're not a child anymore but you're not quite an adult, even though you want to be treated like one. The answer is NOT to go out and get knocked up, thinking you're automatically going to be treated like an adult.  Crapping out a kid @ 16 doesn't give you all rights and privileges of an adult.

So here is my problem with the Teen Mom show. I'm pretty sure that MTV's intent was to show teenagers how hard it is to raise a child at such a young age.  However, the over all effect that I've seen is little girls thinking, "Hey, that's cool, I could do it." Or they think that if they get pregnant maybe MTV will recruit them to be on the new season. It makes me beyond sad to see young girls idolize these girls who have made poor decisions and are paying for it. And what's worse, they are getting paid to air their drama on TV. I looked it up, these girls are getting paid about $5000 an episode, roughly $60,000 a year. To most of us that may not seem like much comparatively, but that's a lot of money. I also read they get a $120,000 bonus @ the end of the series.  And they were on 16 and pregnant which earned them a cool $100,000 right off the bat. Add that up, it's roughly $250,000. Do most of you all realize even as a fairly well-paid nurse it would take me almost 6 years to make that much money? Granted, regardless of age, one should be compensated for their time. But hey how about this, get Pampers, Gerber and other baby companies to sponsor the show and pay these girls in things they NEED for their kids. A little money is fine, bills have to be paid, indeed.  Or why not set up a college fund for them? But I think giving a 17, 18 year old a quarter of a million dollars is asking for trouble.

My over all point is this. All of these girls, and celebrities are false idols. Sure some of them aren't too bad examples to look up to, and are fairly decent citizens. But if you base your life on the way certain people act, and not following God, you're again, asking for trouble. Sure, I believe that God sends us mentors and leaders to help us along our path, but I highly doubt few, if any, are all these people you see flash across your TV.  Things like Teen Mom and other shows like it either intentionally or unintentionally glorify careless behaviors. Chose your role models wisely and listen to God, he will steer you to the right ones.

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