Move Over, Baby Think-It-Over!

There is a new reality TV show coming to NBC I think all high schools should implement in their life skills classes: "The Baby Borrowers". I don't mean watch the show during class, but do what the participants in the show have to do to a certain extent.

The premise of the show is that a couple get to borrow babies for three weeks. These are not just any ordinary couples, though, they are teens. The show first ran in Great Britain with a different set of participants. On the show in the US, the teens will get to play house with their own "home" and career (just like adults). Then, over the course of three weeks, the young couples will get to take care of babies for three days 'round the clock, toddlers (three days), a pre-teen and family pet (three days), teenagers (three days), and then skip over adults to caring for senior citizens (for three days).

The babys' and toddlers' parents and nannies are in a home next door monitoring the care and treatment of the babies so the teens are not left up to their own devices.

I've seen the baby dolls the girls in middle school have to tote around. Being a "prevention specialist", I do not see how these dolls are effective. They have marker drawings on their face, tattered clothes, and a knob you have to wind when the baby cries. Why is it that only the girls have to carry these embarrassing plastic dolls around everywhere? I mean, I get the logic/text book reasons behind it. But what are the chances this doll is going to stay in the girl's memory as a prevention measure when she is on a date? It is more likely that she'll remember how much she hated the class that made her tote around the doll everywhere and warn her younger friends and family to avoid the class if at all possible.

On the other hand, though maybe not very realistic, making youth in high school (guys and girls) have to care for a real baby for three weeks will more likely make a more effective impact. I think more teens will see having to care for a child at a young age to be more of a nightmare than carrying a doll around. Talk about effective birth control. Being able to see the realities of parenthood really hands-on at a young age may help young people think twice about risky behavior. Plus, the young couples will get a chance to see how their partner will act in times of distress and what type of parent that person may be (better to find out now than later).

So yeah, making teens take home a real baby may make them hate their class even more, but would be worth it in the long run. And who is going to just let some 15-year-olds take their baby for a few weeks? (Although, there may be more takers than I think...vacation anyone?) But once teens see how their dreams and goals of going to college and attaining a career may have to be put on hold, they may make a more responsible choice about the actions that will affect their future.

I know this idea is not remotely realistic, but it's a thought about how prevention services within the schools today are working.

Here are some final thoughts:

If you get stuck with a Baby Think It Over, don't let your cats take care of it.















Michael Jackson probably would have benefited from a Baby Think It Over. Blanket's blanket almost fell off his head! (Or is that Prince Michael Jackson?...I can never tell them apart).


















I'm off to watch more TV.