 News
5th January 2007
Reality show 'Baby Borrowers' causes outrage
The BBC has been heavily criticised by child protection agencies over
their new reality TV show starting next week.
The Baby Borrowers follows five teenage couples aged between
16 and 18 as they struggle to cope with the reality of parenthood.
But local authority officials were furious that real infants
and children were handed over to the 'parents' to be looked after and
called for the BBC to cancel the production due to the 'very real risk'
of physical and psychological damage to the children.
The 8 part series involves the 'parents' going through antenatal
classes before being given a baby to look after for three days, then a
toddler, an older child and finally a teenager.
However, in one episode a child under the age of 10 was
left without food for a day and on another occasion, a baby was removed
from the care of one couple whose relationship was breaking up.
The BBC ignored calls for the programme to be cancelled
saying it is designed to see how young people respond to being a parent
at a time when Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe.
Executive producer Richard McKerrow said the company had
advertised for babies and children to take part through parent-support
organisations, mother-and-toddler groups and local councils, and real
parents of the babies and children watched the action unfold nearby via
monitors, along with trained childcare professionals and registered childminders.
'The parents were not offered any inducements. They took
part because they believed in the educational nature of the project, were
not afraid of teenagers, and thought it would help teenagers learn and
potentially help reduce teen pregnancies.'
Dr Caroline Ball, chairman of Norfolk's Local Safeguarding
Children Board, said "The whole project was misconceived.
"We asked BBC3 to reconsider making the programme from
the start because we felt it was irresponsible exploitation."
The show starts on Monday on BBC3 and is expected to be
shown later in the year on BBC1 or BBC2.
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