NBC On Right Track With New Show That Teaches Teens About Parenting
Posted: Monday, January 21, 2008
by Asher Ricard
Starting Feb. 18, NBC will air its latest in reality television: The Baby Borrowers. The show showcases five teenage couples ages 18 to 20 being forced into parenthood.
With the latest CDC report saying that teenage pregnancy rose for the first time in 15 years, this show has the opportunity to be the best birth control advertisement on air.
The mom in the couple is even expected to wear a simulated baby leading up to the delivery of the baby at the front door. Volunteer parents have agreed to loan their babies, age six to eleven months to the couples. Some of the volunteers were teen mothers themselves.
The parents and nannies will be stationed next door to the couple watching via monitor the entire time of the show so that they can step in at any time. The teens will not experience it just the two of them, but as a parent I can see how it would be hard to trust a teen with my child as well.
After three days, the baby will be traded out for a toddler, then a pre-teen, etc. Also, while the teenagers are coping with being parents, one of them must hold down a job and leave the other at home during the day alone.
Although, the show is not completely realistic because couples would have more time to adjust to the new life in their family, I think it is a good glimpse. According to the show's website, "through this emotional, dramatic journey, each young couple will get a unique opportunity to peer into the future and see what they (and their partners) might be like if they remain together and decide to build a family."
What an awesome concept! I would have loved to have a glimpse like that before making the decision to marry. Having kids changes everything and no matter how much you know about your partner, a lot of things do not come out until you are thrust into those situations.
I can't wait to see how this turns out. It is taking the home economics class to the next level. Remember how hard it was to keep the egg from cracking for three days? Imagine having a different stage of real life every three days!
The show is supposed to air Feb. 18. Viewers can already go online to the network website and meet the couples as well as vote for the couple that might last through the entire ordeal. Best of luck goes out to the couples.
I hope those teens who choose to watch learn a lot from the program such as how hard it is to parent, but also qualities they should search for in a mate before making that lifelong decision.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Although conceptually this program sounds useful, in reality it could very well be harmful and confusing to the babies involved. These children are not dolls! They are living beings trying to adjust to their surroundings and bond with their real parents. I believe the parents volunteering them for this show need to be educated in child development.Great point! I never thought about that! Thanks for commenting!
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