feedback for "Five-Minute Time Out: Baby Borrowers"

1. I'm sure that the Town Hall will end all warm and fuzzy with everyone seeing the light and agreeing that it really was best to do the show. I personally, think it was a horrible idea. No matter how the parents were involved, I cannot imagine leaving my children in the care of teenagers just to prove a point. There are many other ways to get this point across. And the show did not paint a realistic picture, anyway. Teenage parents are not likely to live in such nice, already baby-proofed houses, with nice cars, and plenty of money to buy whatever you need at the store.
   
   No matter how the actual parents justify it, it is quite traumatic for an infant/toddler to be put in such a situation.

   posted by : APMama on 7/24/2008 at 12:31 PM Flag For Abuse

2. Traumatic? If the parents were always nearby, and the kids got to see them at night, I don't see how this is that different than leaving your kids with a sitter or at a day care center.

   posted by : chyna823 on 7/24/2008 at 2:49 PM Flag For Abuse

3. To suddenly take a child away from parents and given to strangers for three days? That's a bit much for the younger babes and tots. Not all parents are in a big rush to push their children off onto daycare and sitters. Especially not for that many hours in the day.
   Did the children stay with their parents at night? Or only "get to see them?" If the teens weren't doing night duty, how is this a realistic image of what parenting is actually like? I wonder if any teens came away thinking, "Oh, that wasn't so bad. What was all the fuss about?" I fail to see how that situation was very persuasive.

   posted by : SamB on 7/24/2008 at 5:36 PM Flag For Abuse

4. Craig,
   
   I apologize, but I can't find your phone number to just let you know this personally, and I don't have your email address. You quote me as having said that I co-slept with my daughter in the same paragraph that discusses the teens on set with her. I would like for you to clarify that Etta was a co-sleeping infant normally, not that she co-slept with me on the set. I did not see her for the entire 3 days, other than through the closed-circuit camera monitor in my room. I did say that I co-slept, but with the way it is condensed here, it appears that I was saying that she slept with me and then went back to the teens, and that is not the case. Two other minor details are incorrect as well. I went over to the teens' house two times, not once. Also your captions under the photos of Etta have my name as Nicole when it should be Natalie. That is a common mistake with the last name of Nichols apparently, I get it all the time. If you need to, you can give me a call or email me to verify that I am who I say I am, I just couldn't find a "contact us" link on your site anywhere.
   
   Thanks!
   
   Natalie Nichols

   posted by : Natalie Nichols on 7/24/2008 at 10:38 PM Flag For Abuse

5. APMama,
   
   We don't need the town hall meeting to know that this was the right thing to do. There is no light to see. We served a very great purpose by participating, period. For the record, it's quite traumatic for most babies/toddlers to have their diapers changed, for their parents to leave their side to shower or use the restroom, etc. But they still develop into well-adjusted individuals, they just have clean parents to show for their trouble.

   posted by : Natalie Nichols on 7/24/2008 at 10:41 PM Flag For Abuse

6. Natalie, Thanks for the feedback, and for your thoughtful interview! We made those changes. If anyone ever spots any errors, please email me or Gwynne and we'll fix it asap. Thanks! ada@babble.com

   posted by : Ada on 7/28/2008 at 11:37 AM Flag For Abuse