Lynne Spears, what were you thinking? Or not thinking and not doing? Did you never sit down with either of your daughters—Britney, now just turned 26, and the divorced mother of two toddlers or Jamie Lynn, 16 and now three months pregnant—and give them The Talk?
You know the one, where mothers warn their daughters about the dangers of unprotected sex: as in, you can get pregnant if you don't use contraception and you can contract any one of a number of dangerous sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Or were you too busy pushing their careers to ever have this heart-to-heart with them? Were you too tied up lining up meetings with record company executives, TV networks, publicists and tour managers to check on whether you were instilling personal values and self-esteem in your daughters?
And what kind of mother upon hearing the news that her 16-year-old daughter is knocked up, reacts by picking up the phone and negotiating to get her daughter's photo plastered on the cover of a magazine with a tell-all interview by the daughter and herself inside?
I mean, she's 12 weeks pregnant—that's all—and not even showing—and you are very possibly already making big bucks off of your minor daughter's pregnancy! I say "possibly" since the magazine concerned hasn't announced that they paid for this deal, but since they have been very public about paying for other big cover scoops, there's a good chance they paid for this one. And of course, Jamie Lynn could be getting all that possible money herself. Maybe you aren't getting a cut? But there you are clearly mentioned as a participant, on the cover for millions to see. Still, I wonder, is that all your daughters are to you? A gravy train? And the world is well-aware of how daughter #1 Brit turned out—she's arguably one of the saddest, most messed-up young women in this country and a mother who's lost custody of her kids due to her hard partying and questionable parenting.
A source told Star magazine that ""She picks up guys all over the place. She never keeps condoms in the house and I wouldn't be surprised if she had unprotected sex." Lynne, have you still not had The Talk with her, after her two little surprises?
Then of course, there is the even bigger question—why do Jamie Lynn and Britney choose men who have so little respect for them that they're not careful about preventing a pregnancy? Do Jamie Lynn and Britney feel insecure and unloved? Lynne, what is that about?
And is Jamie Lynn's 19-year-old football-playing boyfriend who she apparently met in church in the Spears hometown of Kentwood, La. just an irresponsible ne'er do well? I mean, it takes two people having unprotected sex—in his case, with a 16 year old—to make a baby!
Apparently Lynn has had to postpone her book deal with publisher Thomas Nelson, who publishes inspirational books and bibles. She was supposed to publish a tome about raising her daughters in Spring 2008. Oops! I guess it's just not the right time for that.
And oops, maybe Jamie Lynn won't be deemed an appropriate role model to continue starring in Nickelodeon's teen hit show, Zoey 101. Her character on that show, after all, is smart and savvy and since I've watched it a lot, I can say that I doubt her character would be careless enough to get pregnant at 16.
Both my daughters—the 17-year-old and the 10-year-old—think it's terribly sad that Jamie Lynn is pregnant and they wonder why that family is so messed up. They can't imagine how she can do a good job of raising a baby when she's just a baby herself.
But on the other hand, she and Lynne can think of the publicity and the potential opportunities to potentially make more money if they decide to go that route. There are the "We're So Happy" cover photos taken with 19-year-old dad Casey, the potential engagement photos, the potential wedding photos, the photos of the baby's beautiful nursery, the first pics of the baby after it's born and the "How I Got My Figure Back" photos and exercise routine feature.
After all, Jamie Lynn's already pregnant, why not cash in?
As a mother, I just have to make the plea to other mothers of teenage daughters: You've got to talk to your daughters about being responsible.
What do you think readers?
Follow Bonnie Fuller on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bonniefuller
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This crisis is none of our business.
Its a world gone wild.
So much for that waiting till mariage crap they put out.
Famous has become a new way of making money without the need for work or talent. If all you have is a name to exploit, then you have to sell every picture and Barbera Walters interview at the market price.
Getting rich by simply being famous does have the downsides of Paparazzi, vampires and a distorted sense of reality, but these are the very ingredient
Yes, J is not the only pregnant teenager in the world and, yes, not all single teenage mothers are bad mother, but is an unplanned pregnancy the best outcome for any teenager?
Yes, chances are very good that teenagers will experiment with sex. That's why it's a parent's responsibi
The one thing these two girls (and they are girls) have in common is Mama.
Let's admit it: teenagers will have sex when and if they want to (I didn't, but I had a late bloomer's lack of interest + no viable prospects at the time). This is nothing new. In times past the problem was "solved" by shotgun weddings, back alley abortions, or special "boarding schools" where young pregnant girls could bear their children in secret and put them up for adoption. The only difference now is that bearing a child out of wedlock is no longer considered shameful.
As for Jamie Lynne, let's not excoriate her for making a mistake (and let's hope she takes her mother and sister as examples of how not to parent). But let's not blame her mother either. We don't know what "talks" were had or not had. We can deplore how Lynne is publicizin
What we should be doing is making sure teenagers understand the risks of unprotecte
parents that are either too young, or too wound
up in careers to know how to be a parent. The
most loving thing for both girls would be to
allow a more stable family to raise and nurture
these children.
What I find amazing is that she obviously was not using protection or on birth control. Put them on birth control if they insist on having sex with men. Teenagers having sex is as old as the universe, so at least be smart and get protection
And I too wondered why some legal authority is not looking into statutory rape. Is she going to marry this irresponsi