Don’t miss it: Forget sex education — loan teens a baby of their own

It has debuted — finally. “The Baby Borrowers” is a new series that pairs teen couples with a baby for three days. The idea is to show them what life is like with a child.

And surprise of surprises — most of the teens were done with being parents after the first 12 hours — with two more days to go.

Although the idea of chucking sex education is just a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, adding a class in baby care isn’t a bad idea.

Forget the egg or sack of flour or pretend baby — give these youngsters a real one that they can’t pass off to mom or grandma. Then, let them see the dark side of being a young parent.

That experience might make a few of them think twice before deciding there is no real reason to worry about abstinence or birth control.

“The Baby Borrowers” will warm any mother’s heart. It is a riot to see these teenagers beaten down by a less-than-1-year-old. But it has a serious message, too, about giving teens a real-life view of a significant responsibility they tend to glamorize — and encouraging them to be careful so they do not end up with a responsibility they aren’t ready for and can’t give back after three days.

Watching the show is something that every teen should be required to do — and adding a class with just this sort of wake-up call isn’t a bad idea either.

After the recent statistics about teens’ sexual activity these days — we shouldn’t wait.

Published in Editorials on June 26, 2008 11:10 AM