Baby 101

The media is who glamorizes teen pregnancies, not the teen. The media has a choice of what to print and what to ommit. They choose to print because they know it means big bucks but at the expense of glamorizing teen pregnacies, an already escalating problem in our society. Keep up the dirty laundry, our society is slowly imploding.

Dr. Mark S.

Here is the take on this from a 66 year old great grandmother who was also an unwed mom at the age of 15 in 1958... Being a Mom is the greatest feeling in the world... especially when you have the financial where-with-all to pay for a Nanny, buy formula, pay for housing and all the other necessary day to day requirements that playing grown up calls for. And having a supportive family doesn't hurt, either. I remember how it felt to go hungry for days so my beautiful baby girl could eat. I remember the scared feeling when my Mom made me leave home when I told her I was expecting. That has remained deeply implanted in my mind for 50 years. I'd suggest finding a 16 year old in the same predicament without the glamorization so all the Zoe/Jamie Lynn fans can see the side-by-side story. There is nothing glamorous about that side of the story.

Being a mother who had a daughter at a young age of 17, I believe we should be happy to see her enjoying her job as a mother. Most teenagers in our place would not be as responceable to how this effects our lives. Its a big change, its hard on us and very emotionlal. i feel that showing her happiness isn't glamorizing anything but showing the world that she knows what she has done and is taking responceability for her actions.

It is very sad that this teenage girl was too stupid not to use birth control (or not to care) but what makes it even worse is the media glamourizing that she had a baby. The magazine is a rag so what can you expect? The problem is that to some teens, it makes it look appealing to have a baby. Not everyone has Jamie Spears' money or resources but to some poor teenage girl who feels no one cares about her, this is a good idea. Where has the wonderful Mama Spears been that her daughter is having unprotected sex and getting pregnant? And not to start up with the bible beaters, but has anyone ever heard of something called an abortion?

Just yesterday my 10 year old purchased this magazine. She is a fan of Jamie Lynn's and has been very capitivated by the story from the very beginning. I think that putting Jamie Lynn on the cover of your magazine does glamorize the fact that she is now a teenage mother. It sends a puzzling message to the morals that we are teaching our young daughters. When I see other stories of young teen mothers they aren't glamorous. Infact, the teens are rarely smiling; instead the pictures usually show them changing diapers, giving the baby a bath, trying to soothe a crying baby, sitting in a home that belongs to their parents, dealing with other siblings at the home, etc.. What makes her story any different from the other story's where the teen Moms aren't put in a glamorous light? Is it her money; the fact that she owns a home; her star status?...It's all wrong for our young daughters...to show her in this marvelous light. And by the way, I was a 19 year old teen mother of a now 21 year old daughter graduating from college in December 2008. And I have been married to her father for 20 years now. I consider myself a success story, but I disagree with your decision to glamourize Jamie Lynn's actions. Now, I have to continue to have these discussions with my 10 year old so that she understands everything that her father and I have instilled in her and not to be deterred by what she sees on the news stands.

"BABIES HAVING BABIES" comes to mind. As a mother of a 14 y/o I hope Ive raised my daughter to make the right decisions over the next few years of her life. Unfortunately Jamie followed in her sisters path and was destructive but chose sex over drugs.

I think OK magazine is just AWFUL !

What are they thinking by putting a 17 year old on the cover who just had a baby? To top it off the sister of Brittney Spears who cant even take care of her own children. Like a normal stable parent.

You would think this Magazine would want to put a good role model on there cover.

I think it is sending the wrong message to teenage girls. It's very sad.
Cause your average teenage girl is not only a child but still learning about life she also probably doesn't even have a work ethic developed so she could take care of this cute cuddly baby that OK magazine make so GLAMOROUS !

It has nothing to do with a good / bad choice. Everyone has the right to there choices... BUT .... ITS WRONG OF THIS MAGAZINE TO PUT HER ON THE COVER AND MAKE IT ALL LOOK SO WONDERFUL !!

Yes it over glamorizes teen pregnancy. You can look in any community when one girl gets pregnant, several do and they cling together like they are playing with their baby dolls. Now we have a glorified teen mother for the nation's children to copy. Even my 9 and 13 year old boys are intrigued, despite my efforts to shield them.

Britney Spears could "afford" to have her children too. Look how well that is turning out. What does having a job and financial security have to do with the reality of parenting a child, a real live person, for the rest of your life? Absolutely nothing! Children take a lot more out of the parent than they ever do the wallet.

I know all to well, You can't watch your ( Children ) 24/7. You can do the best you can to steer your children in the right direction, but that don't mean their going to listen to Mom. It seems like more and more Grandmother's are stepping in, In helping raise their own grandchildren. Having a baby at a young age is very difficult to say the least. It takes a lot of money to raise a child and Jamie Lynn has enough of that. Jamie Lynn doesn't speak for every teenage child. Beside that's her world and not what most young teens go though.

I agree with livilla.. I myself worked in the school system for over 3 years and I taught and still teach HIV/AIDS and STD subject matter to our children. And yes I say children! Most out there don't have any education. And that is what is wrong with out society, I am a youth advocate and a activist who wants this information in the classrooms of my soon to be child at a very young age. I have personal experience of what it is like being raised with a brother who was born with HIV and died of complications of AIDS and I will tell you that I think it is ridiculous that our parents try and hide the truth. My mom is the best mom out there, She spent all of her life and financial security to make sure we were and are happy and healthy. She had the bad luck in raising her children in a society that not only didn't want to talk about STD's and pregnancy but burned down houses and cursed and did really stupid things to people if you knew someone with HIV/AIDS, I can certainly understand why she never told us about our brother. People are so ignorant. I am very proud of my family , my mom and my brother's accomplishments. He started Treasure The Children. www.treasurethechildren.org And how this related to the Jamie Lynn story is this. We need to stop yelling at the media's attention they open our eyes to what is truly out there, They give our children reasons to ask us about what is going on. They open the door for us to talk openly about sexual eduacation, STD's and pregnancy. It's kinda funny reading all your thoughts on this matter. This just gives me reason to go out there and educate more.It should do the same for you. Teeagers really don't know what's going on. They do think that if you engage in oral or anal sex you can't get STD's. They think if you engage in that type of sex that you are still considered a virgin. I have personally known many kids trying these things. I have had middle schoolers tell me openly in class with teachers there that everybody says condoms don't work so they still have sex but don't use condoms. I thnk abstinance is a wonderful idea but the truth is it's an idea. It's not "reality". And I certainly want my soon to be baby to learn from his mom and dad 1st about what is out there. No hiding the truth. If I can educate hundreds of thousands of youth I can certainly do that for my child.
If you want the truth look up the statistics of pregnancy and STD's it is always on the rise. www.cdc.gov
In my future I have no idea what it will hold but I do know I will teach my child to think anout the circumstances and outcomes in his future. And that's really all of us can do because in the end it is their decision. I will back that decision up no matter what the outcome. I certainly will not blame the magazines, celebrities, or society.

"babies having babies" comes to mind. As a mom of a 14 y/o, I look at her and cant imagine, and hope she makes the right decisions in her upcoming years.

I think OK magazine is just AWFUL !

What are they thinking by putting a 17 year old on the cover who just had a baby? To top it off the sister of Brittney Spears who cant even take care of her own children. Like a normal stable parent.

You would think this Magazine would want to put a good role model on there cover.

I think it is sending the wrong message to teenage girls. It's very sad.
Cause your average teenage girl is not only a child but still learning about life she also probably doesn't even have a work ethic developed so she could take care of this cute cuddly baby that OK magazine make so GLAMOROUS !

It has nothing to do with a good / bad choice. Everyone has the right to there choices... BUT .... ITS WRONG OF THIS MAGAZINE TO PUT HER ON THE COVER AND MAKE IT ALL LOOK SO WONDERFUL !!

I agree with livilla.. I myself worked in the school system for over 3 years and I taught and still teach HIV/AIDS and STD subject matter to our children. And yes I say children! Most out there don't have any education. And that is what is wrong with out society, I am a youth advocate and a activist who wants this information in the classrooms of my soon to be child at a very young age. I have personal experience of what it is like being raised with a brother who was born with HIV and died of complications of AIDS and I will tell you that I think it is ridiculous that our parents try and hide the truth. My mom is the best mom out there, She spent all of her life and financial security to make sure we were and are happy and healthy. She had the bad luck in raising her children in a society that not only didn't want to talk about STD's and pregnancy but burned down houses and cursed and did really stupid things to people if you knew someone with HIV/AIDS, I can certainly understand why she never told us about our brother. People are so ignorant. I am very proud of my family , my mom and my brother's accomplishments. He started Treasure The Children. www.treasurethechildren.org And how this related to the Jamie Lynn story is this. We need to stop yelling at the media's attention they open our eyes to what is truly out there, They give our children reasons to ask us about what is going on. They open the door for us to talk openly about sexual eduacation, STD's and pregnancy. It's kinda funny reading all your thoughts on this matter. This just gives me reason to go out there and educate more.It should do the same for you. Teeagers really don't know what's going on. They do think that if you engage in oral or anal sex you can't get STD's. They think if you engage in that type of sex that you are still considered a virgin. I have personally known many kids trying these things. I have had middle schoolers tell me openly in class with teachers there that everybody says condoms don't work so they still have sex but don't use condoms. I thnk abstinance is a wonderful idea but the truth is it's an idea. It's not "reality". And I certainly want my soon to be baby to learn from his mom and dad 1st about what is out there. No hiding the truth. If I can educate hundreds of thousands of youth I can certainly do that for my child.
If you want the truth look up the statistics of pregnancy and STD's it is always on the rise. www.cdc.gov
In my future I have no idea what it will hold but I do know I will teach my child to think anout the circumstances and outcomes in his future. And that's really all of us can do because in the end it is their decision. I will back that decision up no matter what the outcome. I certainly will not blame the magazines, celebrities, or society.