Baby 101

All this talk about race and which race is better is such crap. The truth of the matter is all races here in America have individuals in them with issues. Not just blacks or whites. All of them! Whites and blacks are both on welfare. It's crazy that you all are on the internet and some of you are ignorant as hell! Take the time to educate yourself, the inforamtion is out there if you do the research. That way when you get on a message board like this you don't sound so retarded. But since its obvious that this hasn't been done I have incleded some information for you.

Traits of families on AFDC (1)

Race
--------------
White 38.8%
Black 37.2
Hispanic 17.8
Asian 2.8
Other 3.4Percent of sexually active single 15 to 19-year olds using
birth control:


Germany 95%
United Kingdom 92
Netherlands 88
Norway 87
Sweden 79
Denmark 70
United States 56

Teen pregnancies per 1,000 teenagers:


United States 98.0
United Kingdom 46.6
Norway 40.2
Canada 38.6
Finland 32.1
Sweden 28.3
Denmark 27.9
Netherlands 12.1
Japan 10.5

1. Overview of Entitlement Programs, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994).

2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Characteristics and Financial Condition of AFDC Recipients, Fiscal Year 1992 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1992); 1994 Green Book, p. 47.

3. Paul Taylor, "When Safety Nets Leave the Needy in Free Fall," Washington Post National Weekly Edition, September 9-11, 1991.

4. All statistics charts on teen sex taken from Where We Stand, by Michael Wolff, Peter Rutten, Albert Bayers III, eds., and the World Rank Research Team (New York: Bantam Books, 1992), pp. 242-55.

Seriously?! This has been an issue since she came out and said she was pregnant! In my high school, and MANY these days, there were people who had more than ONE kid. And *gasp* guess what? It was before she got pregnant! So how can you blame her for young girls getting pregnant at a young age? I'm only 20 and I don't have any kids...you know why? Because my parents raised me to know that it would change my like forever and that until you can care for another human don't be stupid. Mistakes do happen and young girls are having sex at a younger age but if you TEACH them how to be safe then it's not a problem. I already said it and I'll say it again. She is a mom now. She is happy and excited. She isn't going to sit there and tell young girls they should go out and get pregnant; if they are stupid enough to do that because of her then that is a parenting mistake. She is a mother now so yeah, she is going to say how much she likes it and how excited she is to be a mom. FORGET HER AGE and get over it. She is 17 and she is taking responsiblity for acting like an adult at a young age but don't you dare expect her to sit there and act like her child is a mistake. Who cares if she has money? That isn't the issues here. The issue is that she is getting blamed for having a baby and being famous. I don't know if you care any other way but how many stars are having babies before they even get married? *gasp* They are such TERRIBLE role models! Stone them! Come on now, if you want to jump all over her case then you better do it EVERY TIME a celebrity gets pregnant out of wedlock. That's all I have to say because this is just ridiculous. She's happy. Get over it. Go teach your kids not to have unprotected sex or no sex at all until they are 'adults' instead of criticizing something that has already happened.

These girls are a bad example for young girls. The parents are also. Why put them on the cover of a magazine and glorify them. It 's all about making money. What a way to make a living.

Raising a baby is definately not easy. However, it is one of the best things in life. A baby gives you a feeling that never goes away. Jamie Lynn is young. And I don't think anyone should ever plan to have a baby before they are settled financially and physically. You need to be married, have good paying jobs and a big enough house for the family. I had an unplanned baby and now I raise her, work, and go to school. It's very hard, and it shouldn't be about whether you feel you are ready or not. You should know if you're ready and if you feel like you are able to give a baby the best of everything then having a baby would be the perfect thing. Just make sure you are prepared and remember that the baby comes first. Being a parent changes everything. Even though Jamie is 17 she has to act like she is 28. I wish her luck to her and her baby!Take care of her! And to all the young ladys out there who might be thinking of having a baby...wait until you are ready! You can have a a baby whenever. Your only young one time!!!

I feel that she and her sister are a bad example for young girls. The parents are also . So why put them on the cover of a magazine and glorify them. It's really to bad that this is done all for the sake of "money".
What a way to make a living!!!!!!!

Praise Jesus she gave up her life and kept the baby! All little girls should be having babies too so men can get their jobs back - like prison jobs to take care of the teen babies when they grow up. Kudos to the wonderful no-child-left-behind school system that teaches our star-spangled girls to forget men's careers and return to their real career as mommies. This strengthens the family unit too because the family gets bigger when the new mommies cannot afford to live on their own and stay with grammy and grampy. Praise Jesus and God bless America!!!.

Is 17 really to young? Most all of our grandparents/ greatgrandparents were married by that age, having babies. Isn't the reason most people wait nowadays, to establish a career, and fianances, well she already accomplished that, she has probably had more life expierence then most 30 year old non celebs, so heres to wishing her the best, and to all those who think this is a bad influence, you are the ones who need to teach your young daughters, the ways of the world , not a mag. cover.

I had my first child in 1978 at the age of 16. It was an unplanned pregnancy and the marriage that followed ended in divorce a little more than a year later. My son has grown up to lead a productive life, but it was definitely hard on both of us while he was growing up. I was too young,. Unlike Jamie Spears, practically all of the girls who are having children at that age do not have the financial resources to take care of themselves, let alone to be able to provide the basic necessities of raising a child too. I am happy for Jamie and I wish her and her baby all the best, but her situation is extremely different from most of the population that idolizes her.. She has the financial means to take care of a child and continue her education while a nanny keeps the baby. She doesn't have to worry where her next meal is coming from or choose whether to pay the electric bill or get the baby formula.. Unfortunately a lot of the young girls that will see this will think it is cool to hae a child so young. Having a child is a HUGE responsibility, one that doesn't go away when you want to go to a dance or a movie or sleep. The responsiblity is still there when you have the flu and the baby cries. The girls of average American households cannot see that from a glamorizing article where the mother probably does not have to deal with the actual day to day life events without any help from anyone.

I think her gracing the cover is inappropriate and encourages young mothers. I know that they point out that she has money and is well off, but there are plenty of ritzy families out there who are just as well off. And some young girls don't understand how much it takes to have a baby young, hopefully the girls who are encouraged by this story will have wonderful families who can support them and the new babies they are desireing

I think her gracing the cover is inappropriate and encourages young mothers. I know that they point out that she has money and is well off, but there are plenty of ritzy families out there who are just as well off. And some young girls don't understand how much it takes to have a baby young, hopefully the girls who are encouraged by this story will have wonderful families who can support them and the new babies they are desirering

While I think the article does paint teen pregnancy in a positive light, what bothers me the most is that the baby was shown strapped into a bouncy chair placed upon the kitchen counter. Every bouncy chair I've ever seen has explicit instructions to not place the chair on an elevated surface due to a falling risk. I guess this is just another example of how Jamie Lynn ignores common sense and does what she pleases. Someone needs to give the Spears family parenting lessons.

What I'm wondering is, in this article, do the interviewers ever ask Jamie Lynn what she is going to do when she comes to a point where she just wants to go hang out with her friends? Lets see, for her I'm sure she can have her fiance, mother or a nanny watch the child for the night. Yeah - well that's her. What about those young, single mothers who don't have anyone to "pawn their baby on". This is just one example. When you have a child, you are no longer # 1, Especially with a newborn. Does the article ask her what she's going to do when she can no longer get a full nights sleep or even take a shower without someone watching the child. Celebrities have the means to do these things - REAL teenagers do not!!!! This article MOST DEFINITELY glamourizes teen pregnancy. Please, go find a "normal", single, teenage mother and ask her how much glamour is present in her life.

i think that this subject has been glamorized, if the magazine is going to publish this story then they need to show a real reality and have actual teens and others that were teen mothers and tell their story of how they struggle. Yes being a mother is an experience that is undescrible but what happens after the effect of being a new mother wears off on all your friends and you left with the reality of life. Having to deal with bills and work and balancing time with your child and every thing else. Having a child young should not be shown as the next gotta have fad.

This spread does a good job of telling teens that if their parents have money, and if they themselves have a boyfriend, then go ahead and have a baby because it is "the best feeling in the world". And people wonder why tweens and teens starve themselves to be "thin and beautiful" and follow in the glorified footsteps of their celebrity heroes. The media and the pressure that comes along with stories like this, are major problems in this society. It's true, we shouldn't be condeming her for her actions, for not being the responsible in the first place, she is suprisingly taking this very well and showing how mature she is. She could have had an abortion before news even got out, but she chose to keep the baby, which also teaches teens that these babies are not just mistakes, they are lifes that rely on them. Yet, OK magazine shouldn't be saying that her situation is ok just because she has enough money to pay the electric bill. Does this mean that you can have a kid before you can have a drivers lisence as long as someone can pay the bills? Teen Pregnancy is an issue, and a big issue as far as I am concerned, and while this spread does manage to still treat Spears as a human that makes mistakes and deals with them, like many of you would not be able to do, it does nothing to show the most vulnerable members of society the getting pregnant while you are a teenager can ruin your life, it never says to practice safe sex or abstinence. Someone out there should show what truely happens when teens get pregnant, in its raw and unglamorized way, because this truly is a rare occurence because the mother does make enough money to support the child. But what happens when that's not the case? Answer that OK!