Wednesday was “National Day To Prevent Teen Pregnancy,” and as part of awareness efforts the stars of Teen Mom 2 recorded some PSAs promoting less sex and safe sex. When I first saw this news on Radar, I thought it was all about abstinence, but I should have known better because the show does talk about using protection, and so do the PSAs. There are four different PSAs. In the one above the girls say they wish they’d cuddled the night they got pregnant (I guess that’s like saying they wish they waited), they also talk about the importance of protection, of waiting to have children, and the things they missed out on by having a child so early. The first PSA is above and you can see the rest on MTV.com. They’re promoting it’syoursexlife.com.
According to Radar, Teen Mom 3 comes out in June and it features these same mothers we’ve come to know from Teen Mom 1 and 2: Maci, Amber, Catelynn and Farrah. I thought that the new Teen Mom would get updated with the mothers from the latest 16 and Pregnant, but now I remember seeing photos of filming at Amber’s house around Christmastime, so I guess that makes sense.
Speaking of abusive neglectful mom Amber, she recently bitched to MTV about how hard life is for her and how the show doesn’t glamorize teen pregnancy and living “paycheck to paycheck.”
“If you watch the show you will see the struggles and how I’ve had to grow from it all. It’s not glamorous. I think when they say ‘glamorous’ they mean us being flown out to L.A. or NY for specials like the reunion and being photographed, but I think that just helps more girls watch the show. It’s me doing my part to help get the message out.
Walk in my shoes for a day and then see if it’s glamorous. Being a mom so young is really hard. Also, teenage girls need to understand the life that they really want is to be in school, to be successful and not live paycheck to paycheck to support a baby.”
[From MTV]
I get that most teens do barely scrape by and live paycheck to paycheck when they have a baby out of highschool, and that’s what Amber means here. Still, she makes $280,000 a year from MTV but she’s making it sound like she’s broke. This show is the best thing that ever happened to her and in that way it’s glamorous. Both Farrah and Maci got boob jobs and several of them have been on the cover of tabloids. What “message” is Amber getting out? That she’s being rewarded for being an entitled, abusive piece of work who is in no way capable of raising the child she brought into the world? Maybe by showing her incompetence and poor anger management issues she’s a message out, but I doubt it’s reaching other teens like her.
Here are the Teen Mom stars on 4/11/11. It looks like Amber’s mom is taking care of her daughter for her anyway. Credit: Fame.
Diddums. Try talking to someone with real problems.
PS. Sure your kids will be really happy when they grow up to know you wish you’d ‘cuddled’. In other words, you wish you’d never had them.
Why is it always, either be irresponsible, or avoid the matter of responsibility all together?
Like, drink to get drunk, or dont drink at all. Have sex unprotected or unwisely, or dont have sex at all.
Teach the sensible, mature middle– do things that you want to do but do them right.
Or better- know what is right for you. Is it right for you to have sex or not– are you too young or is he to big a douche, and so on– but dont jsut tell people to avoid it, it is a totally misdirected solution. Like so many things in america, absolutely and completely off target and diverst away from the true problem or true origin of a problem, and blames something else.
She shouldn’t lie. It makes her look worse. Being a Teen Mom is hard. Hell, being a MOM is work…BUT if you have paid appearances and get paid by MTV, you have something some moms don’t have…a six-figure income to help take care of their kids.
Its kind of dumb for the Teen Moms to do this since alot of people think plenty of them got pregnant just to be on the show.
that’s right young girls!!!
if cuddling and/or hand jobs (very underrated, yet effective) ain’t enough for him, then…bounce!
it’s hard enough being a teen. adding a baby to the mix is insane! 🙁
ain’t nothin’ worth trading in your youth & freedom for…especially sex with a guy that probably can’t satisfy his own hand, let alone a girl. 😉
Until we begin to approach sex as a normal healthy function between two willing participants, we will not stem the tide. Teaching children that sex is dirty, wrong, shameful, or that having sex makes you a bad person, a slut, a whore, etc. is not going to fix the problem-it’s NEVER worked. The phrase shotgun wedding was coined from this approach! I hope to raise my child that sex is normal, but like other activities, it requires responsibility and maturity to make the decision to participate. Like driving a car, riding a bicycle, drinking a beer, voting, etc. there are responsibilities that go along with the freedoms. You have the responsibility to wear a seat belt, wear a helmet, not drink and drive, research your candidates before you support them-you also have a responsibility to yourself, your current partner, and any future partners to be safe, be smart, and be protected. You’re not just having sex with this person, you’re setting up your future husband or wife to have sex with them. Do you want your wife exposed to every person your current partner had sex with? Of course not-so be smart, use protection, and stop the stupidity.
Now, if I can only be logical with my kids-lord knows my parents weren’t with me.
I have no patience with girls like her.When I was in the high school there was virtually no info about protection, sexual diseases and so on,it was expected a teenage girl won’t get pregnant that often and your sex-education was prety much your own business/obligation. Now there are sexual programmes at school, outside school, any girl in her teens can legally get anti-baby pills and so on and what I find disturbing is that in spite of it MORE and MORE teenagers get pregnant. It’s as if they switch their heads off.
@elj
saying “i wish i would have waited” is not the same thing as saying “i wish i didn’t have you at all.” its about responsibility and having the ability to care for a child and giving the child a life they deserve. it has nothing to do with actually wanting the child.
AGAIN: THE SHOW GLAMOURISES TEEN PREGNANCY BY ITS VERY EXISTENCE. When I was a teen, it was mortifying to be “singled out” just by being pregnant. We were actually AFRAID of getting pregnant or contracting “VDsyphiAIDS” (as we called it then) and took the appropriate precautions.
WHAT IS UP with these kids nowadays? No fear of diseases, pregnancy, etc…
EDIT: @ Micki – WORD!
Amber is getting fat again
@leni: I’m with elj. I do think it sounds as if they are saying they wish they hadn’t had their kid. What else is it saying? THat they wish they’d waited? It still says that taking care of them is a pain in the ass and they wish they didn’t have to do it. OK, fine. But now their kids can see it and, if you don’t think they’ll come away with this message, you don’t know kids.
@RHONY, you are so right!
@# PrettyTarheel:Sounds like good sound advice to me, your wee one will benefit greatly from your wisdom.
why are they so orange?!
It looks like Amber is attempting a Kardashian type make-over. She looks totally disgusting.
ughhh…. that’s not a good way to do a PSA on this. It doesn’t make the viewer feel anything (at least I didn’t), it just makes it so when all their children get old enough to access the internet, they’ll find this and see their mothers saying they wished they were never born.
Um Micki, teen pregnancy has actually been on the decline since the 90s. Before you bitch, do your effin’ research.
Ridiculous. How about “boys will want to have sex with you bc they have a penis ad it has nothing to do with you. Be smart and don’t date. You’re too young. Enjoy being young while you are. Don’t complicate things.” know what the problem is? Teens are notorious for thinking their bad ideas are great ideas.
To:! (17)
An estimated 757,000 pregnancies among teenagers 15-19 years ended in 2002, 9 percent fewer than in 2000 (834,000) and about one-fourth fewer than the peak number estimated for 1990, 1,017,000 (Table 1 [PDF – 33 KB]). The 2002 total included 425,000 live births and an estimated 215,000 induced abortions and 117,000 fetal losses. The estimate for 2002 represents a record low for the Nation, the fewest reported since this series of national pregnancy estimates began in 1976 (1,2). The most recent year for which these estimates can be prepared is 2002, because more current national estimates of abortions are not available.
Despite the continuous declines, the U.S. teenage pregnancy rate is still among the highest among industrialized nations (3). The costs of teenage childbearing in the United States are substantial. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy recently estimated that $9.1 billion in public funding was expended on teenage childbearing in 2004 (4). These costs include public assistance, health care, child welfare, and other expenses.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/teenpreg1990-2002/teenpreg1990-2002.htm
Yes, and even with the decline it’s not all roses and such, so I’ll still effing bitch, thankyouverymuch
RIDICULOUS! These girls all parade their teen pregnancies on tv & in the tabloids for fame and money and this is just another avenue for fame and money. Those babies are their meal ticket – pathetic! Teen pregnancy is on the RISE not the decline esp with shows like teen mother etc which just promote & glorify teens getting pregnant. And you know who pays for those babies meals etc US – US taxpayers. We foot the bill!!!! Educate you children and tell them to put a damn Jimmy on it for goodness sakes!!!
@ Micki – F.R.E.A.K.I.N B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L
And if there was anything else to say, I would.
MTV totally glamorises teen pregnancy – if they didn’t, homegirls wouldn’t be getting pregnant for the show.
I find it odd to say these things when you already have a kid that you love, none of them are saying I wish I waited in it, they are saying pretty much i wish I did something that wouldnt have led to pregnancy. and as a mother, I wish I would have waited too, but i could never say i wish I used protection, cuddled, etc instead of the act that caused my child to be concieved. It sounds wrong, and people are right, there is really no emotion in their voices, it sounds like they were just given a line to say. annoying.
Hell No!! Cuddled? I think not. I want meat inside and I am a vegan.
@6 preach it sister!!!!!!!!!!!!
@prettytarheel, well said! Now can I copy, paste, print and read it to my little boys when they are of age?
@Elj – “PS. Sure your kids will be really happy when they grow up to know you wish you’d ‘cuddled’. In other words, you wish you’d never had them.”
That was something I was thinking too… They didn’t word that well at all. They should have worded it more along the lines of “I wish I had been more careful about safe sex, & taken responsibility for myself & my actions.” There’s just something so wrong about them standing there with their gorgeous children & saying what amounts to “I wish I’d never had them. They’re a burden to me, & you should be careful not to end up like me.”
I know that isn’t what they’re trying to say, but that’s exactly how it sounds… & how it will sound to these kids if they ever get to see these PSA’s later in life.
I was wondering when the original four would come back. I remember reading a EW article months ago; that said MTV had already started filming them again towards the end the summer. Well, filming Maci at least.
In my opinion, Teen Mom doesn’t glamorize pregnancy or motherhood. Most of these girls are a hot mess. I really think sex ed. needs to be taught by the parents. How many stupid girls on 16&P/TM said they didn’t think they could get pregnant for some inane reason?? It’s hard for me to fathom there are teens that stupid/uneducated out there.
But it does bother me that the Teen Moms are compensated so much for their mistakes.
Especially Amber. Ugh, Amber makes me absolutely ill. She is soo orange and disgusting. Just goes to show, money will not change trash.
I also can’t believe she gets $280k a year, and is still using a crappy Graco for her toddler. I make much less and would never be seen pushing my child in something so low end. Amber, at least upgrade to a much lighter Maclaren!
WHAT excuse me RHONYC— since when was this about pleasing the man?? Thats so f’ed up, I could puke! Well obviously these teens are stupid enough to hink it is all abotu the man– but come on– giving “HIM” hand jobs?!?? My good god. What about the woman? What about HER interest, her appetite, her sexual needs? She is there to give him handjobs, is that what a girfriend is all about? If it is always focused on the mans needs, then of course the pressure will push them into having sex eventually. Girls need to be aware of THEIR OWN wants and learn how to attend to them, responsibly. She isnt a THING to satifsy his willy. His damn willy has his own hands for that.
And if the role of the girlfriend is pitted as some sort of sexual relief source, well then this still will not change becasue again that is the wrong mentality. A relationship is abotu two people, not about relieiving ones’ self. There are toys and dolls for that.
So I disagree on two counts, LOL none of that advice is correct since it still shares the same mistaken mentality responsible for this BS parade in the first place— from my perspecitve only.
Sorry I mean no disrespect to you, but this is an issue that enrages and broils me to no end. I am beyond angry about how mislead, uninformed and misused women/girls are!!
It’s ridiculous. Spooning just leads to forking! 🙂
@Kaylee31 – “I really think sex ed. needs to be taught by the parents. How many stupid girls on 16&P/TM said they didn’t think they could get pregnant for some inane reason?? It’s hard for me to fathom there are teens that stupid/uneducated out there.”
While I do totally agree that parents should make it a major point to talk to their children *in depth* about sex (reasons to have it, sexual health, protection against STDs & pregnancy)… I really think kids need an ‘outside’ source for this information as well.
It’s just normal for parents & kids to feel super awkward talking about sex, which at times really affects how much info the kids are getting. Most parents don’t want to accept that their child is sexually active, so likely hold back during discussions. It really is so hugely important for kids to have another source for this information, a required sex-ed course in school. But in doing so, ALL information should be offered, be it abstinance, birth control pills, or condoms/diaphrams. Having all the info makes it much more likely that kids will feel more comfortable considering all the options.
Terrific content. Thanks a bunch for writing.