Need to Just Stop Watching.....

Reality TV!!! I admit that day time television is pretty lame and I get stuck watching all sorts of weird and worthless shows when Sophia and I are cuddling on the couch during the day. I will often TiVo shows that I know Michael won't watch so that I can have at least some shows of interest for us to watch during the day so we are not at the mercy of the daytime line up. Unfortunately some of those shows are just as bad. I know that I have blogged about this particular show in the past (and really just need to stop watching it altogether) but I can't help but comment on a situation that occurred in a recent episode of 16 & Pregnant.
I really truly do not expect mother-of-the-year awards for any of these young (and very often unfit) teenage moms but I guess I am just naive or stupid enough to expect a little common sense....some maternal instinct that would kick in to suggest some activities are just not appropriate to do with your newborn.
The episode actually seemed to be going quite well (I mean, as well as a show about a pregnant teenager could go)....the girl had supportive and present parents and a baby-daddy that actually wanted to be involved and marry her and all that. Her baby was born 5 weeks premature but healthy. So how did this show go so wrong in my eyes? Well, at about 5 or 6 weeks old, the girl decides to take her baby horseback riding with her. Yeah, you read that correctly. She decided to take her infant preemie son on a horseback ride with her. What in the world?? I'm not even sure where to start on this topic as far as the thoughts going through my head. Like for example, her parents or at the very least, the baby's father, didn't find anything wrong with that?? She put him in a baby carrier and strapped it to her chest.....but as far as I could tell, the baby was probably too little for even that. And then she practically crushed him as she hoisted herself up onto the horse (with the help from her baby's daddy)!!! After jostling him around (I was holding my breath as his tiny head bounced around) for a good ten minutes or so she finally decided it wasn't going to work out. No kidding.
I have GOT to stop watching this stupid, stupid show. After 3 or 4 seasons I think the world gets it...don't have a baby as a teenager. Thankfully I really don't have to watch it to learn valuable lessons about what NOT to do with a baby. No horseback riding for me and Sophia. Check. No spending all our income on giant speakers for the trunk of our car (compliments of last weeks episode). Check. And both Michael and I have graduated high school AND college already so we don't have to try and squeeze in studying for our GED. Phew.
I really do feel bad for these kids. I also feel bad that there seems to be SO many teenagers that are reproducing....it's pretty easy these days to figure out how to keep that from happening, even if your parents and your school don't offer up all the various ways of prevention. I guess MTV feels like they are "helping" by showing all the sad stories of kids having kids....but I think they are missing the mark. If a teenager doesn't know that she shouldn't put her infant baby on a horse then another teenager might not get the "don't have a teen pregnancy" message.
I have actually learned a very valuable lesson from this show though..........
STOP WATCHING IT!!!!!! Guess my own common sense failed me on that one. I'll just go back to watching regular daytime television now!!