MTV 16 & Pregnant

[Pembo]

DH & I started watching this show a few weeks back. This past episode was amazing. The maturity of the teen parents was incredible espeically after seeing the parents they had. I've always thought it would be hard to give up a baby after carrying it for 9 months and this episode give that a face. Bless them both for making this difficult decision.

I also thought the show did a great job of depicting the adoption process. I hope there was mental health counseling for those kids during and after the adoption.

I too hope they stay together and one day marry and have more children.

 

[kaseyC]

I just wanted to smack the crap out of her mother. She made a difficult situation even more difficult for them by refusing to sign the adoption papers. So they then had to go through handing over the baby off hospital grounds, basically forcing them to say goodbye to the baby again.

I thought this series was excellent. I watched each episode with my 13 yr old DD, we even got my DH sucked in. We have had some really good, frank discussions about sex, pregnancy and relationships with her.

 

[pyrxtc]

ORMom2Four - I too am sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine......

 

[pyrxtc]

Make sure you all watch the show this Thursday night, it is a 2 hour special showing updates on all the girls.

 

[Starbrite]

I just saw the episode over the weekend, they were sooo brave.

And that letter ... I'm tearing up at work now

 

[NeverlandClub23]

What an episode! I cried like a baby and I just knew she was going to change her mind and decide to keep the baby. Both of them are incredible in my eyes for what they ahd to go through. When the adopting Mom gave her the bracelet tears were just streaming down my face. I can't believe Tyler's Dad thought being a "man" was keeping the baby when he himself had spent most of his life in jail away from his son. I have disliked many of the other episodes but this one I thought was really, really good.

 

[MrsPete]

I disagree with this statement completely and I'm guessing you didn't see the episode b/c there is no way you could interpret what they showed as "fashionable"...


I think these teens showed enormous strength and maturity on their part. I started bawling right after the birth and the teen father was crying and talking it through with the teen mom. And when the adoptive mom gave the teen girl the bracelet...it was a beautiful process. It, however, in no way glorified teen pregnancy.

I've seen several episodes with my 15 year old daughter, and I do think that SOME of what they show on the show comes across as "fashionable" -- maybe that's not the right word -- to a teen. Several of the girls on the show are living with their boyfriends in their own apartments. Teens crave independence. They think they could handle their lives just fine if they could just move out on their own. That looks COOL to them. Sure, they can see that it comes at a price -- money troubles, difficulties with both sets of parents, etc -- but YOUR OWN PLACE at such a young age . . . cool.

My 15-year old is as level-headed as they come, and she thinks that portion of the show is cool. Your own place, no one to say what you can and can't do, having friends over . . . oh, she also recognizes the difficulties, but a small part of her would love to be "on her own" already.

I agree that the adoption show was well done. Those kids had a firm grip on what they wanted, and they made good decisions for themselves and the child. It certainly wasn't easy for them, and their parents made it harder!

 

[MrsPete]

I just wanted to smack the crap out of her mother. She made a difficult situation even more difficult for them by refusing to sign the adoption papers. So they then had to go through handing over the baby off hospital grounds, basically forcing them to say goodbye to the baby again.

I didn't understand that part at all. How is it that the grandmother could force them to change the location, but she couldn't stop the adoption? What legal rights does a grandparent in this situation have? How old was the girl? I'm sure that plays into it.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I've seen several episodes with my 15 year old daughter, and I do think that SOME of what they show on the show comes across as "fashionable" -- maybe that's not the right word -- to a teen. Several of the girls on the show are living with their boyfriends in their own apartments. Teens crave independence. They think they could handle their lives just fine if they could just move out on their own. That looks COOL to them. Sure, they can see that it comes at a price -- money troubles, difficulties with both sets of parents, etc -- but YOUR OWN PLACE at such a young age . . . cool.

My 15-year old is as level-headed as they come, and she thinks that portion of the show is cool. Your own place, no one to say what you can and can't do, having friends over . . . oh, she also recognizes the difficulties, but a small part of her would love to be "on her own" already.

I agree. If I had seen this show when I was 16 (not that I would think having a baby would be fun but I did think I knew a lot about EVERYTHING then) I would think "Wow, I get to live with my boyfriend, have decent furniture, be able to afford to go out to eat with my friends/boyfriend, get my nails done..." not the other bad stuff that comes with it. Some of the episodes have not been like that but I think this last episode proves that a lot of what you can and can't have depends on your parents and what they can afford or are willing to give you.

I guess when I was a teenager what I had painted in my own head about getting pregnant was a million times worse then what I see on the show. That would be my fear about this show. That there isn't a teenage girl out there thinking it would be a lot worse then what they see and not that she would necessarily be trying to get pregnant, but she wouldn't be as careful as she would've been not watching the show.

 

[CathrynRose]

I, of course, can't speak for every teenager, but I had my son when I was 17 (he's 18 now).

When I found out I was pregnant, my thought's weren't "Cool! I get to be on my own!" I was well aware of what I was getting myself into - the good and the bad.

I don't think a TV show is going to make a (sane) teenage girl run out and get pregnant. KWIM?

 

[powellrj]

One of the shows was filmed in our town. The newspaper ran an update about her a few weeks ago. I got the feeling from the article she is still clueless. She is thrilled and felt the baby was a good thing. They were going to get married anyway and this just brought them together sooner.

She was in the same class as my middle DS (I think she went to a different high school, but its a small town and most kids know each other even from other schools) but he didn't know her or didn't recognize anyone on the show.

What was sad was what a different life she has from my DS. He is planning to leave for college in a few weeks as are all of his friends. Its so exciting to watch them all make plans for the future. I know kids do it. Two of the girls in our neighborhood have babies now, but its so hard to see the hard road they have ahead of them.

I also cried when I watched the kids give the baby up. It was so sad. I know it was the right thing to do, but I am not sure I could have been that brave.

 

[boltfans]

I, of course, can't speak for every teenager, but I had my son when I was 17 (he's 18 now).

When I found out I was pregnant, my thought's weren't "Cool! I get to be on my own!" I was well aware of what I was getting myself into - the good and the bad.

I don't think a TV show is going to make a (sane) teenage girl run out and get pregnant. KWIM?

No, hopefully not, but I will say that watching that show it does have the effect of "Cool! My own apartment! No parents telling me what to do!" On the show, somehow many of these kids have their own place, buy tons of baby stuff, etc. In the real world, it doesn't always work like that, as I am sure you know. I was 23 when I had my daughter and we did not have the luxuries of some of these teens. Not that they have a lot, but we didn't have anyone buying us a crib, bedding, playpens, etc. We had to do it on our own and I know a lot of teen parents do as well but the show doesn't really show that part well.

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

I have been following the show on and off. I was 16 when I had my son and while it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, it made me the person I am today and he is a great kid.

Now what about the episode where the trash dad was complaining about the cost of baby clothes at walmart but then bought the stupid $500 gaming system! That young lady needs to run from him as fast as she can. Nothing good will come of that relationship.

 

[CathrynRose]

I have been following the show on and off. I was 16 when I had my son and while it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, it made me the person I am today and he is a great kid.

I can't imagine my life, any other way.

 

[cpayne1997]

I have been curious about that show, but am not emotionally strong enough to watch teens go through pregnancies right now. (reason is in my sig) I'm a mom, was a teen mom, and am an adoptive mom, so I'm tempted to watch this episode.

I have seen some teenagers who are more mature than their parents. Sounds like these kids were like that, and that is great that they were able to make the right decision for them and their child.

Jenny,

I am so sorry for your loss

 

[ORMom2Four]

Jenny, my heart goes out to you with your loss.

Thank you for the condolences.

I recorded the episode on dvr. I'm going to watch it eventually

 

[ORMom2Four]

Just had to update. I finally watched the show last night when I had a bit of insomnia.

Those two "kids" are amazing. Such strength at such a young age, going against their parents wishes to do the right thing. They were so selfless, accepting the pain that would come with placing their daugher for adoption so that she could have the life they never did.

Both of them had such a troubled childhood. Her, with her mom in and out of drugs, having to spend time living with her Grandma when her mom was on a binge. Him with his dad in prison for most of his life. When they were choosing the adoptive parents, I felt like they were choosing the childhood/family for their daughter they wish THEY could have had. They knew the life she would have if they kept her.

When the mom called her daughter, yelling at her and calling her "B*%ch", I cringed. How awful, to say that to your own daughter!!! I felt SO bad for her. I just wanted to give her a hug through the tv.

I was bawling when the baby was born. They did not want to see her at all, but ended up spending over 5 hours with her before having the adoptive parents brought in. (I bet they were nervous during that time!) It was good for them to have that time to memorize every inch of their baby, to say goodbye to her. They will remember those 5 hours for the rest of their lives.

After they handed the baby to the A. parents and they drove off, when the birth father said to his girfriend, "I kept her blanket", I started bawling again. It reminded me of my son's death. I kept the blanket he was wrapped in too. It WILL be like a death for them. They will go through a lot of the same grieving.

I hope those two will go far in life and get everything they dream of. They seem to have the drive and determination for it, that is for sure.

 

[TaraPA]

I've got my box of tissues ready for the reunion show tonight. Does it starts at 9pm or 10pm?

I'm wondering if tonight Farrah will be as shallow as she was on the show? I think in the preview I saw her say something like "I really want a boyfriend!" Ugh. Focus on yourself & your child. Think about your education or finding a good job to support the both of you.

Did anyone else want to reach out & slap her Farrah in her episode? Oh wait, her mom did it for me! I'm not one to promote hitting anyone but man, I would have had to reach out & touch someone too if I had been in that car listening to her whine that mommy won't buy her a new car because she totaled her 1st one (that mommy had bought for her too!) And then to have a hissy because mommy agreed to take her car shopping - OMG USED car shopping - instead of going to the dealership for a brand new one. Wah wah wah I will never breast feed because it will make my ****s sag...wah wah wah I'm so tired and my mommy won't get up at night to take care of my baby...cry me a river Farrah!

Ok, that was mean, I don't know this girl at all. They could have edited it to show only her bad side. She might be a great mom. But to put her & Kaitlyn from the last episode side-by-side, man Farrah has a LOT of growing up to do!

 

[curiouser]

I normally watch this show because of that train wreck appeal of so many reality shows. I missed this ep but I just watched it after seeing this thread earlier today. What an incredible episode and how amazing those two kids were. It amazed me how self aware they were of themselves and their life. I wanted to pummel both parents; especially the dad. I can't believe that he would think less of his son as a "man" for giving up his child; that makes his son so much more of a man in my eyes.

As far as Farrah, oh my god what a brat. I was so glad when her mom finally got fed up enough and smacked her. She is an evil, selfish, spoilt child and I really feel for her baby.

I hope I get to catch the update show tonight!!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Did anyone watch the show last night? I know it will come on 158 times this weekend but I'm curious what happened.