Five-Minute Time Out: Baby Borrowers
A baby-loaning mother and teen "parent" sound off on the hit TV show.
by C.W. Thompson
July 24, 2008
Is teen pregnancy, to you, a problem in the society?
I see it in the media — Jamie Lynn Spears was the cover girl for OK! magazine, but they are quoting people as saying that she's a natural born mother and she's happy. Nobody should be hiding the fact that her life as she knows it is over. She's a mother now. Little girls out there, sure they're smart, but they don't think logically or down the road. You think of the cute outfits and cute pictures, but you don't think about the vomit on the clothes or the sleep deprivation. It doesn't go away. You're always a mother.
Do you think that TV is a good medium for what you're trying to express?
I think this medium is great. People are talking. A lot of people are saying that I'm a horrible mom, but I didn't do the show for them. It's not just the kids down the street, it can be anyone's child. Whether they are using birth control or not, they could become a parent. Realistically, I am thirty-one and my child is thirteen.
Natalie's son with Kelsey
I'm trying to shed some light on the issue as a whole. I challenge you to find the thirty-something mother who wouldn't want to look back and change things. I'm happily married and my husband has a great job. But still, teen pregnancy didn't work for me because my thirteen-year-old remembers the screaming and crying and slamming doors. Those things really write on the canvas as a child. At that age, you aren't emotionally equipped to deal with that. Adult mothers know how to deal with it a bit better.
Honestly, I feel like it takes a village to raise a child. I'm an attachment parent (AP). Some parents don't know how an AP mother could let their kids go on the show. I want to open everyone's eyes so they will feel the same about the kids. You have to look out for everybody and be concerned.
How did Sean and Kelsey do with your children?
I felt the teens did as well as could be expected. Everyone's going to have those moments. I was shocked that the boys stepped up as much as they did. Maybe it was because it was only for three days why the boys stepped up, but they did.
Were you paid?
There is absolutely no compensation whatsoever. Love Productions sent us a sweatshirt.
So if not money, what was the reason for doing the show?
We did it for the lesson. We'll be able to use this to teach our kids the same lesson. My thirteen-year-old has watched the show too. He doesn't want to be a parent at this age now. He also appreciates what I did. I'm constantly saying sorry to him for what happened as he was growing up. I'm hoping to make some good out of the bad choices that I've made, so that everything I've done wrong is not in vain.
Alicea and Cory with their borrowed baby
Alicea Davis, now 19, from Houston, Texas, went on the show with her boyfriend Cory Davila, now 21, at the urging of Cory's mom. Alicea is now at college taking a degree in fashion merchandising. After doing the show, the couple decided that would both like children, just not right now.
How did you come across the show?
Cory's mom found it. She was on the NBC website and she thought it would be interesting. She signed us up for it. Usually we're just hanging out in the house and not doing anything. We always talk about how if were rich, we would have kids at a young age.
Does being rich help you raise a child?
We learned that it's a lot more to it than being rich. Just because you'd be able to support the kid, that's not enough. We learned being a parent is about a lot more than just money.
Like what?
Like you need to learn to work as a team. That was a big part of it, the communication.
©2008 C.W. Thompson and Nerve Media
About the Author
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C.W. Thompson is a writer based in Brooklyn who's had work published in a variety of media outlets. His baby is now a toddler, which he finds hard to believe. |
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