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The Baby Borrowers’ EP Richard McKerrow talks about the show
July 30th, 2008 under The Baby Borrowers. [ Comments: 1 ]


Tonight is the finale of the amazing show The Baby Borrowers on NBC at 9p and before it airs, the Creator and EP Richard McKerrow talked about the show that he exported her to the United States.

Seriously? OMG! WTF? – How did you come up with The Baby Borrowers? And what made you being it to The States?
Richard McKerrow – I HAD A MOMENT OF INSPIRATION WHEN WONDERING IF IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE TO GIVE PEOPLE PARENTING ON FAST FORWARD AS A WAY TO HELP THEM DECIDE IF THEY WERE READY TO BECOME A PARENT. THINKING FURTHER ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF TEEN PREGNANCIES IN BOTH THE UK AND THE US MADE US THINK WE COULD APPLY IT TO YOUNG TEENAGE COUPLES. IT MIGHT ALSO ENCOURAGE THEM NOT TO TRY AND GROW UP TOO FAST.
WE BROUGHT IT TO THE USA BECAUSE WE FELT THAT THE STRUGGLES OF BEING A PARENT ARE SIMILAR HERE AND SO ARE THE HIGH RATES OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY AND DIVORCE RATES. ITS A SHOW THAT VALUES THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IN A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING THE BEST PARENT YOU CAN POSSIBLY BE.

SOW – TBB was postponed from February to June, could you believe the timing of your new premiere date coinciding with all the current news about teenage pregnancies like Jamie Lynn Spears and the pregnancy pact?
RM – OBVIOUSLY TEEN PREGNANCIES AND TEEN PREGNANCY PACTS ARE NOT SOMETHING WE LIKE TO SEE OR ENCOURAGE. BUT WE’RE PLEASED THAT THE SHOW’S EDUCATIONAL NATURE MEANT THAT IT COULD FORM PART OF AN IMPORTANT NATIONAL SOCIAL DEBATE.

SOW – What do you say to all the critics and groups that are against the show without ever seeing it?
RM – WE WOULD URGE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF THE SERIES TO WATCH THE SERIES FIRST AND INQUIRE ABOUT ALL THE NECESSARY MEASURES THAT WERE TAKEN PLACE TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ALL THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SHOW, ESPECIALLY THE BABIES AND YOUNG CHILDREN. IRONICALLY THE VALUES THAT ARE CLAIMED BY MANY OF THE CRITICS AND THE GROUPS WHO HAVE CRITICIZED THE SHOW ARE THE VERY SAME VALUES WHICH THE SHOW PROMOTES.

SOW – Were you surprised how the teens reacted to all the different stages of parenthood?
RM – THERE ARE ALWAYS SURPRISING MOMENTS THROUGHOUT THE SERIES BECAUSE WE GENUINELY COULD NOT HAVE PREDICTED THE MOMENTS OF DRAMA AND SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE. HOWEVER, IT IS ALSO REMARKABLE TO SEE HOW THE TEEN COUPLE PARENTS REACTED IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS THE STRUGGLE OF REAL PARENTS IN DAILY LIFE WHEN COPING WITH THE VARIOUS STAGES OF PARENTHOOD.

SOW – Which couple amazed you the most? What couple are you most proud of?
RM – I WOULD HATE TO PICK OUT ANY SINGLE COUPLE BECAUSE THEY ALL DID WELL IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT WAYS. AND THEY ALL STRUGGLED AT VARIOUS STAGES. I WAS PROUD OF THEM ALL BECAUSE THEY EMBRACED THE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT WITH AN HONESTY AND SINCERITY WHICH WAS VERY BRAVE. YOU COULD ARGUE THAT MORGAN AND DAYTON WERE BRAVE TO DECIDE TO PART WAYS. I ALSO FELT THAT THE PARENTS OF ALL THE “BORROWED” KIDS WERE FANTASTIC AND THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THEM AND THE TEENAGE COUPLES WAS FANTASTIC TO OBSERVE.

SOW – What has been the reaction to people watching the show? What is some of the comments that you have gotten about the show?
RM – WE HAVE HAD A FANTASTIC RESPONSE TO THE SHOW HERE AND HAVE BEEN GENERALLY DELIGHTED THAT A HIGH CONCEPT REALITY SHOW WITH SOCIAL PURPOSE AT ITS HEART HAS BEEN SO RECEIVED SUCH A GREAT RECEPTION.

SOW
– What have you learned from the series and watching the teens?
RM – I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE PARENTING REMAIMS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT YOU MAY EVER DO SO IT IS BEST NOT TO TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED AND TO TRY AND ENSURE, WHATEVER AGE YOU ARE, THAT YOU ARE READY TO BECOME A PARENT AND THAT YOU ARE WITH THE RIGHT PARTNER. I HAVE ALSO SEEN THAT TEENAGERS HAVE A CAPACITY TO LEARN THAT CANNOT BE UNDERRATED. AND THAT A LOT OF THE WAYS THEY STRUGGLED WITH VARIOUS STAGES OF PARENTING REFLECT REAL PARENT STRUGGLES.

SOW – You have done The Baby Borrowers in The UK before you did it here in The States? What has happened to those couples? What was the reaction of the show over there?
RM – THE REACTION TO THE SHOW IN THE UK HAS BEEN TERRIFIC. WE HAVE DONE TWO SEASONS AND BOTH HAVE BEEN VERY POPULAR, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUNG VIEWERS. BBC LEARNING HAVE ALSO PUT TOGETHER A BABY BORROWERS LEARNING PACK WITH SHORT DVD HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SERIES WHICH ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT UK SCHOOLS AS LEARNING TOOLS.

SOW – What is up for you next?
RM – FOR LOVE PRODUCTIONS, WE HAVE MADE SEVERAL SHOWS IN THE UK WHICH WE WOULD LOVE TO BRING TO THE USA: FILTHY RICH AND HOMELESS (WHERE WEALTHY PEOPLE EXPERIENCE HOMELESSNESS); YOUNG MUMS MANSION (TEN SINGLE MUMS AND THEIR KIDS LIVING TOGETHER); BOYS AND GIRLS ALONE (ONE VILLAGE OF 10 YEAR OLD BOYS AND ANOTHER VILLAGE OF 10 YEAR OLD GIRLS LIVE TOGETHER ADULT-FREE, BUT THEIR PARENTS ARE WATCHING ON).

Thanks to Richard McKerrow for taking to the time to do this interview! Hopefully we will be seeing more of his shows over here in The States soon!
BTW don’t forget that next Wednesday at 9p, you will be able to see Richard McKerrow, the teen couples and the parents of the borrowed kids talk about how the show effected them in a Town Hall meeting on NBC.

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The experiment ends on The Baby Borrowers tonight
July 30th, 2008 under The Baby Borrowers. [ Comments: 1 ]


Tonight is the season finale of The Baby Borrowers and I want to thank NBC for being brave enough to air this show. The Baby Borrowers was more than a show it was birth control. Five teenage couples entered the show ready to be parents, and since they have started we have seen two of them break-up and none of them ready to settle down and become parents. We watched as they tried to take care of babies, toddlers, pre-teens, teens and tonight they are given senior citizens. Every three days as they were given an older group of kids, and we watched as they themselves grew up a little more each time. Five couples who thought they were ready to be grown-ups, learned they are way too young to be so old.
While I have not seen tonight’s episode, my friend who has told me she cries every time she sees it. This show is an inspiration and if you are parent or a teen, it is not too late to see why this is more than a show, it is birth control.
So tune into NBC at 9p tonight to see the final part of the experiment on The Baby Borrowers and be amazed how two weeks changed the life of these 5 teens couples and us! The experiment might be ending tonight, but the lesson will stay with them and us for a long time.
Next week NBC brings the five couples and the parents of the kids together for a town hall to see how the changed them. Plus some of the teens in the rumored pregnancy pact from Gloucester, Ma will be there and we will see if they wish this show would have changed their minds before they got themselves pregnant at 15.
Thanks to David from NBC for keeping me in the informed on this brilliant and important show!

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It’s preteens night on The Baby Borrower
July 16th, 2008 under The Baby Borrowers. [ Comments: 1 ]


Last week the teens thought they had it had bad when they had toddlers on NBC’s The Baby Borrowers, but that is nothing compared to what they get tonight…preteens and their pets! As one parent told them last week, preteens are worse than toddlers because at least toddlers are still cute and cuddly. I can’t wait to see how they handle preteens and which one of the couples has a meltdown on this week’s show. This show lives up to its promo line and it’s not TV, it’s birth control…at least for me.
So tune in to The Baby Borrowers tonight on NBC at 9p to watch these couples go through puberty again. And if you missed the toddlers episode check it out at 8p!!!

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The toddlers invade The Baby Borrowers tonight on NBC
July 9th, 2008 under The Baby Borrowers. [ Comments: none ]



The 5 teen couples on The Baby Borrowers barely survived taking care of a baby for three days, now we will see how they do with toddlers tonight on NBC at 9p. From the looks of it it doesn’t look like it will be easy.
For all you haters saying that this show will mess with the kids mentality in the future because for three days they are taken away from their parents, the parents of the kids that participated on the show are leaving messages on NBC’s The Baby Borrowers site responding to those claims and how the experience effected all of them. Also NBC ordered a reunion/town hall special on August 6th according to The Live Feed, and we get to see if this experiment worked. Which I hope it does!

“The coincidence of this unique series has drawn media attention to the very important subject of the recent rise in teen pregnancies as well as to recent related news ranging from the high school students in Gloucester to pregnant teen celebrities such as Jamie Lynn Spears,” said Craig Plestis, executive vp alternative at NBC. “This special should shed more light on a controversial subject that deserves more personal discussion beyond the social experiment that we provided to entertain audiences this summer.”

I am personally disgusted that OK! Magazine glamorized 17 year old Jamie Lynn Spears of the cover of their magazine this week. She has the means to raise a baby, but only a very few of the teenagers who becomes pregnant each year have those means. So please don’t follow Jamie Lynn’s example and watch The Baby Borrowers tonight at 9p because it seriously is birth control. And with teen pregnancies on the rise that is a really good thing!!!

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Must see TV is back on NBC tonight with The Baby Borrowers at 8p and 9p!
July 2nd, 2008 under The Baby Borrowers. [ Comments: none ]



Did you ignore me last week when I said that NBC’s The Baby Borrowers is must watch TV. Well here is your opportunity to make it up to me and watch last week’s premiere episode at 8p and the conclusion of the baby part of The Baby Borrowers at 9p. These two episodes are some of the most educational hours of television I have ever seen and you know that I watch a lot of TV! When I say educational this show gives a glimpse of what parenthood is like. Just because you think you are ready to be a parent doesn’t mean you always are. There is such a difference between babysitting for a few and having a baby 24 hours a day. The Baby Borrowers shows not only what it is like to raise a baby, but what type of jobs are out there if you have your child straight out of HS. And that is not much and it is really hard.
Tonight’s episodes, you watch some of the teens step up to the responsibility and some of them that are so gung ho to be parents change their mind quicker than they change a diaper. It is amazing to watch the transformation of the teens on tonight’s The Baby Borrowers and this is only one/fifth of the experiment.
Parents please spend two hours watching NBC with your kids and discuss the show with them. But you don’t have to be a parent to appreciate the show, just the desire to be one is enough. So tune in to The Baby Borrowers tonight at 8 and 9p on NBC for some entertaining educational television that will leave you talking for the days to come. You know up until next week when they 5 couples get to take care of toddlers for three days!

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