Thursday, December 20, 2007

A Glamorous Life? I Don't Think So...

I didn't read anything yesterday, I didn't watch the news, I avoided all news feeds. I'm completely distressed on my my own, without reading or hearing abut what Hollywood has to say about one of my children's favorite teenagers. I also didn't want them to hear about it.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must be over 80 or Amish. No offense to either. :) Jamie Lynn Spears - star of Zoey 101 (which my children watch regularly on Nickelodeon) and little sister of Britney Spears - is pregnant. She's 16.

DH told me yesterday morning and he was downright angry. We have watched Zoey with the kids and have talked about how we hope she takes a different path than her sister and surrounds herself with smart people who only want the best for her. Oh well.

Now, I had my distressing time keeping the Vanessa Hudgens scandal from the kids. But this is so much worse than some nudie cell phone pictures. This is forever for Jamie Lynn and it's sending a message to our children. It's OUR job to decide what that message that is, not Hollywood's.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not going to toss Jamie Lynn to the curb, she's a child, she made a mistake. We've all made mistakes. She also has a few things stacked against her, one being her Mother of the Year Nominee mom, Lynn. I don't know anything about raising a family in the public eye, but I do what it's like to raise a family. And it is hard work. I said it's hard work being a mother who has the best interest of her children at heart. It's not hard work to live vicariously through your children.

The second obstacle Jamie Lynn faces is being Britney Spears' little sister. Especially recently. No matter what she does, she is Britney's little sister. "I hope she doesn't turn out the same way as her sister!" We even have said it. I did read on a celebrity gossip page (I just ratted myself out, didn't I?) that Britney had warned her sister over the summer against moving in with her boyfriend. Who knows if that is really true, but I can appreciate a big sister wanting the best for her little sis.

The bigger picture here is that an unmarried 16 year old girl is pregnant. She may have a boyfriend, but the reality is that she has to carry & raise this child and face the music. Top it off with the fact that she is a celebrity role model and we have a multitude of children who are confused and wondering what's going on. Now I have several friends who have beautiful children that they had very young. Teenagers. It happens, you know? Their children are beautiful and not mistakes by any means. All children are blessings and deserve to be celebrated. My concern is that, as a public figure, this might all be misinterpreted by children who don't have an adult at home to help them sort it out. Teenage pregnancy is not OK, and it's not glamorous, no matter who it is. Jamie Lynn has a long, hard road ahead of her and I want my daughter to know that.

As I've been typing, I have lost my train of thought several times, there is so much going through my mind! I caught the end of a segment on the Today show this morning where they were talking about this and they were saying this is an opportunity to talk to our children about sex and responsibility. I agree in some respect. There are opportunities to talk to our children about things everyday. A celebrity scandal should not be an opportunity to begin conversations with our children. I hope we can take it as an opportunity to continue to talk to our children about a multitude of things. Responsibility, respect, obedience, life, love, consequences.

I visited Jamie Lynn's website this morning and it was painful to be reminded that she is a child. Simple as that. Go see what I mean.

No, I am not Mother of the Year. In fact, most days I feel quite inadequate. But as a mother, I am full of so many emotions as I hear this breaking news.

Good luck, Jamie Lynn. We wish you the best.

4 comments:

Stephanie said...

Because I am one of those teenagers, I have made a huge effort to continue to talk with Madi. Today, we let her watch a little bit of the news about Jamie Lynn Spears. Then 3 hours later Eli is screaming his head off in the car & Madi is going "I do NOT want a baby brother!" I'm thinking she'll be old enough by the time I have more children that she will be sure she doesn't want any for a while!

Boss Lady said...

You were one of the ones I was talking about... with the smart & beautiful child! :) Madi is old enough for you to talk to about it... I know Queenie isn't, and I'm pretty sure by tomorrow, Number One will have heard about it, so the talk is coming...
LOL about Madi's comment... Newborns will do that...

Jim Duggan said...

Beleive it or not, my 5 yr old announces to me and mommy yesterday, and I quote, "I am pregnant." Not the words a daddy wants to hear . . . especially from his 5 yr old.

So . . . we had a little convo to try and figure out where it came from (the phrase not the baby, we know that one) and assured her that while having babies was generally a good thing, it was NOT something necessarily funny for a 5 yr old to day. (I wonder where she gets the desire to make people laugh?)

The disturbing thing to me is that I read last night that Nickelodeon is planning on addressing the issue of sex and pregnancy since so many of the kids will have questions.

I am SO glad Bekah doesn't watch Nick. I want to be the one to have that talk (with mommy of course, hopefully, PLEASE!!!) not the TV.

YIKES!

Stephanie said...

It is disturbing that Nick would feel the need to have the talk, but sadly the need is probably there. Unfortunately so many of our parents and even our churchs are not stepping up to the plate when it comes to sex talk. Madi will also not be participating in Nick's talk, but if she were a bit older, I think we would watch it together. No doubt the issues discussed are the things kids are hearing in school anyway.