The Baby Borrowers

I caught the premier episode of this new reality show on NBC last Wednesday night. From the previews, I had decided that this show could go one of two ways: it could be absolutely brilliant or it could suck like a Hoover. After watching, I'm leaning more toward brilliant.

It's not a competition - there are no eliminations or prizes. It's a "social experiment." They've taken 5 teen couples (aged 18-20) and thrown them into adult life in the fast lane. Each couple was taken to a quiet cul-de-sac in Idaho and given their own house to live in for the duration of the experiment. At dawn of day two, each girl is given a pregnancy belly to wear. The couples attend a child care class at the hospital. And each couple spends the rest of their first full day as adults putting together their nursery.

The next morning, things get really interesting. Each couple gets their own real live baby (ages ranging from 6-11 months) for 3 days. The babies' actual parents are able to watch from next-door via monitor, and can step in as they deem necessary (and believe me, they do). Each couple is also shadowed by a professional nanny in the house to ensure the immediate safety of the babies. The nannies are not allowed to intervene except in the event of an emergency, and the couples are not allowed to use the nanny as a babysitter.

After 3 days with the babies, the couples will upgrade to toddlers. Followed by 3 days with a pre-teen (complete with pet), 3 days as the parents of a teenager, and 3 days as the caregivers to an elderly person.

"It's not television...it's birth control." Truer words were never spoken.