'16 and Pregnant' Should Make A Good Example

MTV has been taken over by reality television shows over the past few years. The worst one of all was, "My Super Sweet 16," that took girls to the extreme by giving them whatever they wanted for their birthday parties. The only thing that this show seemed to teach viewers was that it was acceptable to treat your parents poorly, make your friends practically bow down to your every command and complain if you didn't get exactly what you wanted. The awful teeny-bopper nightmare seems to be on the backburner for the network's newest teenage drama fest, "16 and Pregnant."

Each episode follows a teenage girl, at least 16 or very close, and documents the last few months of their unexpected pregnancies.

At first I thought this show was just going to glamorize teenage girls who happen to get pregnant, but after watching different episodes I was mistaken. Every girl is different in the episodes, including a prissy cheerleader, down-home country girl and tough Air Force hopeful. It is interesting to watch all of the fears, drama, emotions and labor pains that every young woman endures. At first, the main fear is what friends and family will think of the new development, but this quickly fades once these teenagers realize they are about to be mothers.

Some of the young mothers leave high school while others do their best to graduate early or find some kind of a part-time job. Usually the young fathers on the show don't want to give up their friends or social lives, and wind-up not doing a very good job with the new baby. A few of the episodes have really great young fathers who are doing everything they can to support the child. The best part of the show is knowing how one incident could change a life forever.

A few of the teenagers on the show are annoying when it comes to expecting their parents to take care of everything. The parents have all been really great to watch since they make their children take care of what they created. Viewers will hopefully realize that the decisions they make could lead to something like they see on the show, and having a baby isn't the easiest thing to do when you are still a baby yourself.

Overall, "16 and Pregnant" takes MTV's reality shows to a dignified level. It has been disappointing to watch the network in recent years, especially with entitled teenagers having overly dramatic and expensive parties. This show truly puts reality on television, and sends a warning to young women who are watching.