A doctors' professional society, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, released a statement last week admonishing NBC for airing "The Baby Borrowers," a series that follows teenage couples as they spend three days caring for someone else's infant. The AACAP thinks the experience is dangerous to the babies, noting that "teenagers may be more likely than adult strangers to abuse or neglect infants and toddlers" and that the three-day separation from parents may cause the little ones major distress and anxiety. Hello, overreaction!
Full disclosure: I am a pretty laid-back parent. And I've never seen this show, nor do I plan to watch. But raise your hand if you've ever had or employed a perfectly competent teenage babysitter. I'm imagining a lot of hands. Now how many parents have taken a weekend trip sans kids? That's the length of time we're talking about here. In this case, the show apparently employed nannies to supervise the teen caregivers, as well as an on-set psychologist, while the parents got to watch their kids from next door.
I'm not a reality show apologist. And the idea that this show will serve as a teen pregnancy deterrent is highly questionable. But I'm not worried about these babies' safety. Exploitation is another story: Why doesn't the AACAP address the dangers of child stardom?
Sunday, July 6, 2008
The Poor, Poor Babies of "Baby Borrowers"
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It is unthinkable that any parent would willingly subject his or her child to potential harm, and yet that is exactly what the misguided participants in this reality series have done. According to the show's executive producer, Richard McKerrow, NBC went to great lengths to ensure the physical and emotional well-being of everyone involved in the series. In a letter to USA Today dated July 16, 2008, McKerrow insists, "During filming, the teen couples were shadowed by nannies 24 hours a day and were observed on closed-circuit television by production and the babies' parents. The parents were able to visit their children as often as they wanted, and they were at liberty to remove their children at any point." He continues, "We believe that the controlled filming environment is safer than are child care institutions and most domestic premises." McKerrow's statements are supported by Xavier Amador, the licensed clinical psychologist who oversaw the team of psychologists, psychiatrists and a pediatrician who evaluated the show's participants. Amador writes: "In addition to extensive clinical interviews and formal psychological testing, a detailed history of each baby's and toddler's experiences of separation from their mother (or other primary caregiver) was made. Also, we did a live assessment of their ability to tolerate separation. Only those who clearly demonstrated they could handle the situation in a healthy manner were cleared to participate. Furthermore, our follow-up interviews revealed that no child was harmed by their participation, much less abused." http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/07/emotional-welfa.html?loc=interstitialskip
It certainly sounds convincing, unless you have seen the show that is. One does not need a degree in clinical psychology to recognize that rigid bodies, frantic searching eyes, averted gazes, uncontrollable crying, and spontaneous vomiting are signs of severe emotional turmoil. I can only imagine how heart-wrenching it must have been for those parents to sit and watch their children in obvious distress. Perhaps they were comforted by the notion that their participation in this "social experiment" would make a difference. After all, that is the whole point of "The Baby Borrowers" is it not? The show purports to discourage teen pregnancy by enlightening young people on the realities of parenthood. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, if the comments posted on the NBC website and other blogs are any indication, the teenagers watching the show are not being dissuaded by what they see. They are, in fact, rooting for their favorite couples. One writes, "i love you alicea and cory yall make a really good parents!!!!:)" So much for the slogan, "It's not TV. It's birth control!" If one is so naive as to believe that the executives at NBC are interested in anything more than ratings, then it is time for a reality check.
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