Baby 101

Why is this ignorant kid of such importance? She's a twerp who had a baby for the publicity. Either that or she is dumber than we give her credit for since she seems to have never heard of condoms or any other means of birth control. She's news because the media says she is.

So, what happened in Iraq today? How's the economy doing? Is our boy Bush gonna try for a third term? Maybe we all should get a life and quit paying the least attention to meaningless people. Jamie Lynn Spears! What a crock!

...does it glamorize teenage pregnancy? You mean any more than the nationwide news coverage of the alleged preganancy pact in that Massachussetts high school? Or, possibly the baby dolls we (as a society) tend to put in our little girls hands which subconsciously foster's the same spirit. This is already an issue affecting many inner city communities, but now it's "new" and a "concern" now that it's affecting a different demographic? For better or for worse, anything that becomes a hot topic in the media is going to be sensationalized. This issue started through lack of effective communication in the home, it needs to be countered by effective communication in the home. Stop blaming the media for doing what it always does.

I think it is absolutely glamorizing teen pregnancy! Think of the audience that is still watching reruns of Zoey 101. I think acknowledging her pregnancy and birth is ok, but I think she could spend her time teaching other children about abstinence and the hardship it can bring on a teenager. Not everyone has a "staff" to take care of their child!

I think that Jamie Lynn is sending mixed signals to teens that it's ok to be so young and have a baby. She is after all rich and can provide for her baby. I am glad she is keeping the baby. Teens who get pregnant should keep the baby not abort it or adopt. They play they should pay.

Jamie is going to be a very good mother. you can tell by her personalty. So what if she is 17. there are alot of girls out there these days having kids very young. not to say my mother was one of them. and she had it hard. her daughter ( my older sister) was born with Cerable Palsy. try having to finish high school and deal with thar everyday.

A teen pregnancy is not as bad as drug use and the criminal activity that is associated with athletics and acting folks. Yes she should have waited but, she is following society's example of what is acceptable, sex before marriage. It's not the end of her life and with her money it won't even be a problem to provide for the child.
Folks are acting like this is terrrible. Just keep the media pops away from the situation and it will be fine. It's been happening since God made Adam & Eve. It is a God given life!
As long as she raises the child in a God ly home things will work out fine.
Mark S, Thomasville NC.
Come on America get your priorities in order

This is for the person (YouMustThink) who left the comment stating that 99.99% of all teen mothers end up on welfare. Where do you get your statistics?
I got pregnant when I was 17 and had my daughter when I was 18. I was never on welfare or financially supported by family! I worked and put myself through nursing school and later met and married a great man, a corporate medical Lawyer. We now have three children. My daughter is one of the best things that has happened to me, because of her I pushed myself to work harder and get my life together to make a better life for her.

No I am not the 00.01% I have made it my commitment to teach young girls about making better decisions. Over the years I have met MANY young girls who too have been able to pull themselves out of a tough situation.

Abortion should never be an option, it is NOT an easy way out! The guilt and sorrow will follow young girls through out there lives. They will often end up having other children out of wedlock. Where as many girls who are forced to grow up to take care of their child often don???t repeat the same mistake.

I looked at this issue when in line at the supermarket yesterday. You didn't even have to read the article to see that it was presenting an totally idealized view of motherhood. From the picture of Jamie Lynn's teenage boyfriend pouring her a cup of coffee as she smiles lovingly to the picture of her and the baby on the couch with lit candles winding up the staircase, it presents the dream vision that teens have of romanticized, family bliss. As a mother of two, who has a comfortable income, I know that this is not the reality of a newborn. Even more important is the fact that teenagers are rarely emotionally and psychologically equipped for the challenges of parenting. They are still often in need of significant parenting themselves.

I think OK magazine came across as glamorizing teen pregnancy. Teens who are still in high school and living at home do not have a clue what it means to earn a living, pay bills, rent etc... due to lack of this experience, they can not be expected to see the real facts. I will never buy OK magazine for promoting and glamorizing such a negative thing as teen pregnancy.

If she wasn't a star this would not be out and thats the bottom line.As a parent we have to teach our children what is right and wrong.

HMMM? I'm wondering if the female students at the Massachusetts High School thought that since Jamie Lynn was expecting, then why not them? For those pf you who thinks it is good for Jamie to be a mom at such a young age, and that because she has money, it will all be ok, I HOPE YOU DON'T HAVE TEEN AGED GIRLS AT HOME!!!! Follow the "celebrity" leader is catching on, so be careful when you support teen pregnancy, your own daughters may be closely watching! Grandmothers (young ones too) will be taking care of a lot of babies in the near future!

I think jamie lynn will make a good mom and she'l learn alot along the way but good things. she's doing well for herself at the age of 17 so lets hope it continues as there's a child to consider now. so many congratulations on the birth of her gorgeous baby and i wish them all well.
I would also like to see her sister get her life back on track and accept all the help she's been offered and get her kids back with her and become the mom she set out to be,it's never too late to change things around for the better. teenagers know the difference between right and wrong but at the end of the day it's a decision theyv'e made but teenage pregnancy shouldn't be encouraged but it's widely known to happen so think of both parent and child and help give them the support they need. If they become parents at such a young age it'll be their responsibility let them face up to it.

I watched my 12 year old daughter look over this cover and read some of the interview as we were in a checkout line at the store. She couldn't believe that Jamie Lynn was on the cover and that (in her words) they were making it seem OK to get pregnant when you were 16 and to live with your boyfriend in a house when you are only 17 and not married. Out of the mouth's of babe's. I do think, regardless of the comments of the magazine editor, that it totally glamorizes having a baby out of wedlock as a teen. Jamie Lynn can pay her bills and has resources that the vast majority of teens do NOT have ..... and that vast majority is the crowd reading this article and seeing that "being a mother is wonderful". Yes, wonderful when you are rich and don't have to worry about bills. It's always wonderful when you fall in love, get married, THEN have a baby. Most teens have not "lived" as much as Jamie Lynn has in her life either. They are just the normal girl in high school that will be missing out on SO much! My daughter said, MOM, that baby will be 5 years old when Jamie Lynn can drink legally. Yup. I might sound old fashioned, but back in the day (and I'm only 40) girls who got pregnant in school were shamed! Now they get covers on magazines. It truly scares me what this world is coming to.

The last thing this society needs to do is encourage teen pregnancy! Look at that situation of the pregnancy pact among teen girls in MA. And how many of them were impregnated by some homeless guy? Were they brought up in barns? What are their mothers like? That's probably the real problem. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! This is not an isolated situation. I remember reading about a bunch of teenage girls in upstate NY who caught AIDS from a local homeless guy a few years ago.

There is something very wrong with our society. There is a sexual sickness which is a symptom of a much deeper problem. That problem is a lack of self-worth experienced by many teens in our society today. This is not a question of religious values missing although they certainly are to a large extent. It is a question of human dignity. Reasonable people can disagree about sexual standards which change but all people should agree that promiscuous sex especially with strangers is foolish and dangerous.

People who have a sense of dignity don't use their bodies which is an integral part of themselves for fun & games or to please others. Religious people know that the body, beyond its innate dignity as part of the person, is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Sexual immorality pollutes the temple and drives the Spirit from the body and God's grace from the immortal soul. "What doth it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and in the process lose his immortal soul?

Rob Shuter and OK Magazine are totally irresponsible in printing this article! And to Southern_chic - yes we should support teen mothers but we need to do more on the prevention end and promote more responsible parenting so these young ladies are not pregnant in the first place. It would have been nice for the magazine to print an article on the downside of teen pregnancy. It is defnitely an issue of race and class. You will likely not see a young white woman of middle or lower class or a woman of color of any class publicized and promoted in this fashion. Lastly it is an issue of making money taking precedence over community responsibility - no surprise!