this mama's thoughts on Teen Mom

well at least a few people have read the first post, probably due in large part to me linking it to my facebook page. i doubt i'll post twice in a row most days but my entire apartment is clean (like Haire sisters clean) for once and sweet baby reed is taking a nap (side note: what do moms do once their kids stop napping? is that where the need for pharmaceuticals kicks in?)

but alas, that's another tangent. I was thinking about the MTV shows 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom and how critics are blaming shows like these for the rise in teen pregnancy for the first time in over a decade. Their argument being that babies having babies is being glamorized and can lead to a reality television career if you time it right. personally, i think most of the girls who participate in documentary-style shows like these are just hoping to show other teenagers that it's hard to be a parent and it's even harder if you're not ready.

I know for me, being reed's mama is the best job in the world...but that doesn't mean it isn't work sometimes.

But what are your thoughts?

To sway more people to my brand of guilty pleasures, here are the mamas of Teen Mom:

Amber & Leah.
Amber is a pretty good mom, at least she has the right ideas and wants the best for her little Leah, at any rate. Her propensity for the phrase no more, as opposed to any more was more than a little irritating the whole season (but she's struggling to get the childcare to get her GED so I'm cutting her slack from my grammar criticism) and she had the awful tendency to beat up on her sometimes-fiance, Gary (whose grammar and general ability to speak coherently was often up for debate). But she got out on her own, found a job, a house and provides for Leah....it's nothing a little English class and domestic counseling wouldn't help, right?

Maci & Bentley.
Maci is far and away my favorite on Teen Mom. My fellow Tennessee girl (& aspiring writer), just down I-40 in Chattanooga, is a good, sweet mama to her little guy (who's just 2 months younger than reed) despite her off-again fiance/baby daddy, Ryan, who never seems to want to grow up and help. But from what i hear in US Weekly Maci has moved on to greener pastures. If only Maci wasn't so famous, I'd invite her and Bentley over for a play date :)

Farrah & Sophia.

Farrah is the most single of the mama's (though Maci and Amber's relationship status changed more in the first season than the kids had pediatrician appointments) as her baby daddy has never been featured in the show. turns out, he died in a freak car accident after sweet girl Sophia was born. Farrah partied too much and used the "I'm not just a mom, I'm a teenager too" line about forty seven too many times for my liking but she seemed to be shaping up towards the end of the season.

Catelynn & Tyler.
You may notice there's no baby in this picture. Catelynn & Tyler, easily the best and most functional couple on either show (despite the fact that they're step-siblings), gave their daughter, Carly, up for adoption- the only parents on the first season of 16 & Pregnant to do so- just days after she was born. They struggled with it quite a bit during the first season of Teen Mom but ended the show by getting engaged. Sadly, in the previews for next season, it looks like they're hitting rough patches.

like clockwork, the almost-hubby is home from work :) until next time...