Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

Cassie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:17:10 GMT

Yeah but I could never leave my child with a stranger for three days! I also know my babysitters, they are not strangers. One is the neighbors duaghter I have known for 10 years and the other is her mom. I would never, ever leave my child with a stranger. That is dangerous. I also agree with the comment that 18 is enough to have kids. They can vote, enlist in the armed forces and go to prison. So they are adults. Our society infantilizes young adults, especially men.

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

leahsmom — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:49:25 GMT

I'm with Chiken - how many people leave kids with a teenage stranger? A lot, a least where I'm from - and they pay the teenagers to do it!

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

Angus — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:23:38 GMT

Many things are different that they were a generation or two ago.

And 50 years ago people were having the same argument as we are today.

Times change, we live in a world where 18 is often considered a child, partly due to peoples inability to let kids make their own decisions and partly due to simple evolution.

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

diera — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:38:54 GMT

My mother-in-law was married at 17 and pregnant at 18 "before finishing college or experiencing much of anything" (not exactly likely for a woman in the South at the time). They had six children together and stayed married until her death nearly fifty-five years later. I think their marriage managed to withstand the rigors of parenthood just fine. I think it's kind of an unfortunate thing about our society that eighteen-year-olds, who used to be considered adults just a generation or two ago, are now considered kids.

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

Chiken — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:06:28 GMT

I had the same thought as you -- until I remembered that plenty of people left their children (including infants) alone with me when I was a 13-year-old babysitter. There was no one there to help me out if something serious happened. And this was in the days before cell phones -- no way to contact the parents, generally.

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

Cassie — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:04:15 GMT

I have to wonder how the kids feel about it. How traumatic is it for them to be loaned out to strangers? I just cant see how that is healthy for a helpless baby or clingy toddler.

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

Sheri — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:30:48 GMT

I'm with steff here. Even if they could handle a baby, can they handle a toddler????

I dunno if I will watch, probably if I even remember it is on tomorrow.

And I've discovered in my own family, you can tell a kid that it isn't a good idea to have a baby at too young an age, but that doesn't mean they will listen.

re: Baby Borrowers: Bad Idea?

steffmarcusky — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:55:32 GMT

I think you're over-reacting, personally, but I might just be in a bad mood. There are other people in the room (camera guy, sound guy) in case the baby is in grave danger.And I'm thinking that if any of those dumb-ass girls in the pregnancy pact had actually seen other teens struggle to take care of a kid, they might have re-thought their stupid idea. Watching kids take home a bag of sugar isn't great tv, so this becomes the next step. To me this is on the same level as Kid Nation, and I wasn't really that interested in that show either.