Hi All, I agree with Pearl. Why would anyone assume that 17yr olds know nothing about children? I also think it is disgusting that they show a tape on bottle feeding instead of BF!! However...(here it comes!) My sister is now 29 yrs old. She never did any babysitting, and there were only the two of us, and I was older (by not even 12 months!) If she had a baby now, and did NOT take any classes on infant and child care, or didn't at least ask ME questions (I have 2 kids, and one on the way) I would be scared silly for the baby! This woman hasn't got a clue how to deal with, feed, diaper, dress, bathe or care for a baby. If they are older, like 4 yrs on up, she can at least take care of them, barely. But she still hasn't got a clue what to DO with them, what makes them tick, how to make them laugh, nothing! So this is one person who would be in desperate need of a nurse or someone to come around and give her "lessons"! Would you believe, however, that she is getting her teaching credential to teach math to elementary, and Jr high students???? She doesn't understand them either, and she admits it! Oh, well. She and her hubby also believe that spanking is proper discipline for ALL transgressions, no matter how minor. You can bet I hope she and her hubby decide to continue to use their dog as their child. Anyway, my point is that not all teenagers know a lot, or even enough about children, to raise their own. One more case in point... I have a 15 yr old client who thinks her baby is a lot of fun. That's fine, but, he is a lot of fun to feed solids to (he is barely 3 mo old) she is giving him the rice cereal, carrots, applesauce etc., even tho I have cautioned her not to. "It's fun!" she says. She thinks he is a toy, something to play with, and hasn't quite gotten it thru her head yet that he isn't a toy to play with. The baby is a very good, happy baby. Rarely cries, so she hasn't gotten the irritating part of motherhood yet! She was even talking about how fun it would be to have another baby really soon so this one would have a sib to play with! Her father about hit the roof when he heard that! So, now I will cease rambling, since I think I said what I wanted to say in as many words as possible (well, actually, If I wanted I could REALLY drag it out! But I won't! Aren't you glad?!). Take care all! Jay Who did a lot of babysitting as a teen, while her sis did NONE. I even helped a family potty train their 2 yr old son when I was 15! So when I had my first son, and was a single, 19 yr old mom, I at least had a clue how I was going to do that!