Television's Treasure in The Secret Life of the American Teenager

It is not often a program comes across our television screens, which not only provides entertainment for both teenagers and their parents, but also stimulates many important discussions between those two groups. The first season of the ABCFamily show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, did just that. Now, I am pleased to see that ABCFamily has picked up the show for another season, premiering on January 5th at 8pm Eastern.

If you missed the first season, ABCFamily will be running an all day marathon of the first season, starting on January 4th at 2pm Eastern or you can catch them via video on the show's website.

It has been shown in study after study that teenage pregnancy declines occur when teenagers receive accurate sex education and feel capable of having sincere and frank discussions with their parents. The Secret Life of the American Teenager not only addresses this issue in a show that draws the audience in, but also presents scenarios that induce discussions between parent and child. For instance, why did Amy have such difficulties in telling her parents about the pregnancy? What choices did Amy have to deal with when thinking about her education and future? How did she handle her friend's reactions and why do you think her friends behaved the way they did? How did Ricky handle the news and what about Ben's romantic endeavors? So many children have to face these decisions and The Secret Life of the American Teenager brings these often dangerous, always emotional situations out of the closet. That it does so in a form geared to stimulate discussion between parents and their own teenager while keeping them rivited is a bonus.

Entertaining us in their roles, the cast includes: Molly Ringwald of Pretty in Pink fame, playing Amy's mom, Anne Juergens; Shailene Woodley playing the pregnant Amy; Francia Raisa playing Adrian Lee, the "bad girl" majorette; Ken Baumann as Ben Boykewich, the boy who romances Amy; Daren Kagasoff as Ricky Underwood, the father of the baby and "bad boy" drummer; and so many more.

If you are the parents of a teenager, or you're a teen yourself, pull up the family to the television this season and prepare to be entertained with this cast of characters and stellar storyline. The plot keeps you interested, the characters are great in their roles and the topic couldn't be timelier. It's an all around winner and that's a rare thing to come along.