Baby 101

By putting Spears on the cover of a national magazine it puts a stamp of approval on teen pregnancy. The editors and writers can rationalize it all they desire. Then to say there was no agenda is a crock...the agenda was money. We get money and Spears gets money. Maybe OK Magazine could donate $1M per year on teen sex education and/or support for programs that help teens who are pregnant.

When I read this, I was shocked! I tell my 9 year old daughter EVERY DAY that having a child when you're young is a VERY bad thing. What this magazine does is glorifies this situation. "Being a mom is the best feeling in the world" only rings true when you're an adult! The majority of this magazines readers are not rich enough to be able to buy all of the things that a child needs. Shame on OK magazine for this article! Shame on Nickelodeon for not canceling her show immediately! Yes, people are going to do whatever they want to do regardless. Like I and everyone else I know, are never going to give one dime to OK magazine for this pile of garbage on the store shelf as well as any other piece of what they produce. This just goes to show exactly what in the hell is wrong with society today. My daughter deserves better than that!

Being a pregnant teen is extremely difficult. Demands on your finances and responsibilities to the baby change your life completely. OK!'s coverage of this story paints a picture that is unreal for most teenagers. No matter how you try to portray it, she is still a young single mother. Is this the image we want for our children to follow?

Well, she's adding to a long list that is making America slowly decline besides the media ever ignoring the war, US financial woes, the environment, whatever else probably actually matters in the US, it's the new things, it possibly started with rich talentless girls such as Paris Hilton and those sex tape scandals that made her and others famous for exposing themselves, then we have Vanessa Hudgens with her nude pictures so I guess this was seriously the only natural way for society to go. What's sad is that I actually know about this stuff.

The media will always report on drama, the unusual, or the scandalous while ignoring the things that really matter, it's truly a sad decline in society.


Most of all though, I blame the parents, I observe people everyday, I work in an arts and crafts store, PARENTS are so soft on their kids, I don't mean beat them down but FFS (for *** sake) DO SOME PARENTING, don't be afraid to be a bit strict, so what if they get mad, STOP TRYING TO BE THE COOL MOM or DAD. I swear I laugh when I see parents "threating" their toddlers by threating to take away something and give it to them anyways or counting or...ya know screw this..

AMERICAN SOCIETY IS ***!
I'm moving elsewhere.

Ok magazine should be asham of themselves. Jamie Lynn Spears was a teen icon. I have 3 kids of my own and they loved to watch her show, but I had to end it. It is hard enough to explain why it is not ok to have a ikid at a young age to your child when she sees other kids pergnant. Now you have to explain to your child why their teen idol is pregnant.

I AGREE with the post below mine. Simply having money doesn't mean she is ready to raise a child. Sure, she can buy what she needs, but it takes more than money to raise a child. Of course I wish the best for the girl. I believe that any glorification of this will impose the wrong message onto teens, however. Raising a child is no easy task. Perhaps that is why I have not yet ventured there!!!!

I couldn't read past the editor's first answer because I was so completely unnerved by the cavalier notion he presented that all it takes to be a good/worthy parent is being able to pay one's utilities. I can't believe he doesn't see the irony of his own answer, given the family in question. A paycheck, regardless of how sizable, is no substitute for emotional maturity and good judgment.

One more thing, Ironically enough this comes from a girl who can pretty much have the baby taken care of for her. She is super rich so obviously she has all kinds of maids and what not. Of course she won't HAVE to put up with all the baby stuff for awhile. Which would make having a baby seem not too bad actually. Whether or not she will or not is yet to be seen. Whereas most teens would pretty much have to take care of their baby themselves, unless of course their parents step in, which should be at a minimum so the teens learn responsibility, since they are going to have to imediately. Our society is screwed anyways thanks to Bush might as well add more insult to injury LMAO!

It doesn't matter to me if they want to ruin there lives as teens. I mean they will live, we will just have less educated people in the world/ america having babies at a young age most young mothers don't amount to ***. Especially in this day in age. Sure it's fun at first but they will learn lol. Yeah I think she makes having a baby sound super fun. So hopefully we have an increase in teenage pregnancy that will be HELARIOUS to me until I have to pay more taxes for welfare, wick, and all that jazz. Seriously just wear a goddamn condom teens, it's not that hard just get the thin kind and withdrawal. Most teens must know that condoms are good that early in school. SERIOUSLY you do not want a child until you are ready, at the bear minimum after high school.

Teen pregnancy has been a FACT for thousands of years, only recently however has the media, society, and parents been so unwilling to face the FACT that people will breed, it is inherent in our nature and glamorized by society, I feel however that only recently (in the past 60 years or so) that our society has, at the same time, condoned teen pregnancy and ostracized it, for one reason and one reason only, as a modernized culture we refuse to allow our children to grow up, in fact in many ways, most parents of the western world do everything they can to keep their children from growing up, and at the same time place more responsibility upon them. It is no wonder then, how young adults look to take more responsibilities upon themselves, and it is funny how it is the NATURAL responsibilities that they so strongly desire, yet it is the unnatural responsibilities they shirk....

How many times can he use the word "interesting"?

Some of these commits are outrages on here. Just because she has a baby makes it wrong for her to express how SHE feels because she is a teenager??? She???s NOT talking about how ALL teenage females should feel. I for one like the article she was only telling how she felt about her pregnancy and being a mother not telling every teenage girl she should ???GO OUT AND HAVE A BABY???. If that???s how most of you feel then I think you need to talk to your own kids about having children as a teenager. I believe its only people???s bad consciences and their own denial that their teenagers are never going to have sex. Be it you avoid it or not they are going to make their OWN choice when they ready to have sex be it when they are in there teens, 20s, or 30s. These reactions are due to the fact that most of the parents out here try to avoid talking about sex and try to avoid anything that may have to do with teens having sex be it how to be safe or the consequences. And I can say this due to the fact that I am a teenage mother. I had my son when I was 15yrs old and I don???t see my son as a mistake. I should have made better choices yes, but it was my choice I never look at my idol and go ???wow she had a baby and I need one to??? that???s just stupid to think that and if your child thinks that then you obviously haven???t been talking to them about the goods and the bad about having sex early. Luckily my now husband and I took responsibility and is raising our son to the best our ability and no we didn???t get married for our son we waited until we were married to marry just like sex and got married when I was 19. I am now 21yrs old with my high school diploma and in school for my associate degree
It???s crazy how people over talk how horrible it is that makes me upset and it does nothing but make young mothers feel horrible, lowers their self esteem, and stops them from achieving anything in their lives when they have children and in some cases make them hate their own children. Am not saying it is or isn???t ok to be a teenage mother I am saying that it isn???t okay if you don???t have any idea how you are going to make you and your child have a suitable life not matter how old you are be it now or in the future.

The media, news, magazine etc., have always played a role in our life. However, it affects the teen and young adult readers more. By writing on the cover about Jamie Lynn Spear and quoting her " Being a Mom is the best feeling in the world" tells the youth today, that it is okay to be a mother at such a young age, even if the parents oppose of such! I've seen the cover of the magazine at store, and have not read the article, but from what I see in the front, it just disgust me that magazine can feel that it will boost their sales up and shed light on such issue! GET THE MAGAZINE OFF THE RACK! Because no, it really is NOT OKAY!

The treatment OK! magazine gave the Spears story on its cover is a disservice to good parents everywhere. The cover gives the impression that there is no downside to having a baby as a teenager. The wording sends the clear, unmistakable message that having a baby is cool, no matter what your age. Parents who have gone to great lengths to speak with their kids about this subject now must compete with the message being broadcast from the cover of this magazine. The editor's comments about "allowing people to make up their own minds" are ludicrous. His words come off as terribly disingenuous in light of the magazine cover. I doubt he has a daughter of his own. Yes, society has a problem with parental awareness and lack of communication between parents and their children. We know that. But that isn't the issue at hand. The issue is that this magazine isn't helping the situation with its reckless cover. The editor's defense of the cover comes off as rationalization of the most simpleminded, transparent kind. The higher-ups will no doubt reward him for the huge sales figure this issue no doubt will attain, without looking at the shoddy journalistic decisions behind it. The magazine could have made a lot of money and reported the story responsibly, showing some journalistic integrity and pride in job. But that wasn't enough. Instead, it chose to make a whole lot of money by delivering a bad message, and then rationalizing it away -- having its cake and eating it too. Ironically, the editor's handling of this story smacks of the mentality of a teenager about Spears' age.

whether or not young girls read this article thinking having a baby is cool, or any other way... it is the job of the PARENT to teach their OWN children that it is not ok to have a child at such a young age and that the responsibility is overwhelming even for those who are having children in their mid to late 20's (when it was considered ok to have a child back in the day now all of a sudden it's 40) but anyway that's besides the point... it's time to stop blaming everything on the media and talk to your kids already.... it's not "omg the kids are going to think this is ok".... it's more of "OMG now I have to talk to my kid and explain this in more detail" I'm sure if you talk to your children... no matter how scary it may be... talk to your children and explain to them the difference between right and wrong... again the magazine isn't trying to influence kids... it is simply reporting a story... it's business... get over it.... I'm not promoting teen pregnancy... I'm promoting parental awareness and speaking to your kids.... my parents talked to me about sex when I was a kid... I'm pretty sure it's not that hard to do that same thing today.... everyone is acting all outraged about a teen girl making the decision to accept the consequences of her actions and a magazine reporting it... that's insane... pay attention to your own kids and what they're doing... rather than someone else's kid who made a mistake... we're human... we make mistakes... talk to your kids about sex.... that's the only message I can see

The OK magazine is just printing what they consider 'hot celebrity news'! If they did not print the story, some other magazine would have done the same. Are they glamorizing teen pregnancy? The magazine may say that they are not, but just like the perfumes and designer clothes that are in the same magazine issue which the sponsors hope that a lady shall buy, a teenage girl might just decide to do it because Jamie Spears speaks about motherhood being this great feeling. Young ladies, Jamie was paid $1 million for the photos. If you decide to get pregnant because of the story, just try to sell your story to OK magazine! We cannot blame OK magazine! Sleazy and non-newsworthy storylines sell briskly, and until society rejects these influences, magazines such as OK shall sell their stories! Since baby photos have become big business (Brangelina twins going for $10 million each!) then I guess it is only fair that OK magazine shares in the spoils!

I did not read the entire article, but saw the cover at a dollar store. My first thought was "good grief" or something to that effect. You can, as a media publisher, just present the facts, i.e. that Ms. J. Spears is an exceptional case and can take care of the child due to her financial and perhaps familial resources. The young 12 year old (maybe younger) to teenage girls who read this may not be focusing on Jamie's ability to carry out the task of raising a child. It is always possible to say "hey, this looks interesting," or "perhaps I can do this too." With the situation that has occurred in Massachusetts (pregnancy pact), we see that some of these girls look for affection from and to the child, and it is also seen as being a grown up thing; a rite of passage. A young girl is not going to look at the situation from an adult perspective; we see this among young people regarding smoking, alcohol and other drug consumption, reckless car driving, and other types of behavior to the young person's immaturity.
Another point is that Jamie Lynn just gave birth to the child. There are still more years of child rearing to go, and Jamie herself still has many years of developing a relationship with her husband who is high school age, and most likely would not be able to support the household adequately given the educational and experience level that he has, but that's another story. We don't know yet how this will all play out. Hopefully it will work out, but there are still many obstacles that this young mother and couple will have to face, even with the amount and types of resources that they have.