16&Pregant and Teen Mom

The shows 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom have been raging cultural phenomenon since they first premiered in 2009. According to the Guttenmacher Institution of Public Education, 750,000 American women from the ages of 15 to 19 become pregnant every year. Shows like 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom demonstrate the difficult lives of teen parents struggling to balance their child, social life, finances, work, and sometimes school. Some might say these shows encourage teen pregnancy and the stereotypes that come with it but it could also show just how unappealing this life is. There are always notions that float around the idea of being a teen parent.

16 & Pregnant illustrates the lives of girls who are already dealing with their own stressful lives are now confronted with having another person to take care of. Audiences follow the teens from the time they find out that they are pregnant, throughout their pregnancy, and end with the birth of their child, or even children. Teen Mom follows four selected families from previous 16 & Pregnant seasons into parenthood. Viewers witness the hard times of teen parents trying to adjust from an unrestricted life to one where all your priorities lie in your child.

On the shows 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom, the common stereotypes of being a teenage parent are both reinforced and resisted. So far there have been three seasons of each show. Audiences are welcomed into the lives of pregnant teenagers and teenage parents, documenting both happy and intense moments. Every couple on the shows has struggles any parents of any other age would have. There are always many stereotypes that arise with the topic of teen pregnancy. Teen parents are high school dropouts, teen parents are bad parents, teen parents use drugs, and all teen parents are single parents. On both shows, most the parents have finished high school and some have even continued onto college, whether it be in the traditional sense or through online classes. One couple, Catelynn and Tyler, put their baby up for adoption against their own parents will. They both understood that they were not fit to raise their daughter, Carly. The couple now has an open adoption with their daughter and her adoptive parents. Catelynn and Tyler are so far one of the few parents on the show that have given up their child. Most of the parents do not use drugs however the most famous mother on Teen Mom that smokes and does drugs is Jenelle Evans. She has been arrested myriads of times due to public fighting and drug-use. As seen on the show, Jenelle constantly leaves her son at home with his grandmother while partying with friends. On MTV blogs, she is easily pinpointed as the worst mother from the Teen Mom experience. It cannot be said whether or not this ‘reality’ show encourages the stereotypes of being a Teen Parents. It seems each stereotype can be proved and disproved based on the lives of the parents on this show. All in all, not all teen parents are bad parents. All teenagers, parents or not, are irresponsible and just want to have fun. Instantly becoming a parent turns your life around 360 degrees. 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom show the lives of teenagers adjusting to the tussles of parenthood and just how complex each family is. There are no hard facts that can be said about every teenage parent.

Source: http://remotecontrol.mtv.com/category/shows/teen_mom/