Cheers & Jeers: Teen Idols?

Jeers to MTV and ABC for turning Teen Moms into Stars.
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It's sad but true: There's no simpler route to celebrity these days than to be a kid who has a kid. Bristol Palin survived another week on Dancing With the Stars after trotting out her baby, Tripp, for an at-home segment — right before doing a sexy rumba with partner Mark Ballas in front of her beaming parents. (So much for advocating teen abstinence.)Immediately afterwards, in the seemingly endless finale of MTV's top-rated Teen Mom, the quartet of titular baby mamas played out their dramas for the cameras. A custody battle between Maci and Ryan was reduced to cutesy graphics of boxing gloves, while Farrah let her formerly abusive mom fix her up with a rental property — and a date with her hairdresser's son (the baby's daddy died in a car accident). Meanwhile, Catelynn and Tyler paid their first visit to the daughter they put up for adoption a year ago, and Amber and Gary got into another physical altercation in front of their traumatized tot. These two should be reported to child protective services, not reported on by a docu-soap.True, Teen Mom tries to be responsible by flashing up information on domestic-violence and teen-pregnancy prevention websites. And the difficulty of raising a child is discussed, though not as often as the adorableness of infants is. But it's debatable whether these teens are old enough to understand the implications of trading their privacy for notoriety that's as disposable as a dirty diaper. And there's no question their offspring are being exploited for the sake of "entertainment."Do you think underage parents should be treated like celebs?

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