The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Volume Three with Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, Kenny Baumann - Moral Poison for Teens

First, Grace Bowman, the overtly Christian teen, not only has extra-marital sex with her boyfriend Greg, but she has a neurotic breakdown when her father is killed in an airplane crash and decides her sexual encounter killed him. Of course, a few episodes later she is "healthy" enough to realize she wants to have sex again -- and who's to tell her not to since her mother - the recent widow - has already hopped in the sack with her young lover. Bah.

Her deceased father, played by John Schneider, was the only character I really liked on the show as he was the only character with a healthy, well-balanced grasp of how morality, self-disicpline and love work together. But since he was killed off at the beginning of Volume Three, the rest of the episodes were like being lost in a vapid wasteland of sexually promiscuous teens and their incredibly weak, immature, sexually promiscuous parents.

After 30-something episodes of seeing Amy (Shailene Woodley) pout and whine, I wanted to send her to her room myself. There is a child who needed some discipline growing up, much like her overly precocious and sarcastic 14-year old sister.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager is the most unrealistic and immoral program, and it is aimed at TEENS and shown on a channel that calls itself ABC "Family." That's why I waded through these DVDs - as a former high school teacher, I am concerned about what teens watch. My finding is The Secret Life of the American Teenager is unsuitable programming for teens because it espouses the notion that all teens are sexually active and that's pretty much all they think about. The best parents can hope for is to have a few talks with teens about protection and "when it feels right," and then give them a condom.

I well remember my teen years at one of the largest high schools in Nashville. I clearly remember sitting in the cafeteria and on the telephone having long talks with my four best friends talking about boys. We talked about our crushes, our hopes, our dates, but never sex, because at least four of us were not having sex all through high school having made the decision to save sex for marriage. If the fifth friend was sexually active, she never mentioned it. However, The Secret Life of the American Teenager has all the teens sitting in class thinking about having sex - each and every one of them.

Although all of my friends were pretty girls on the honor role, none of us talked in a glib, overly-adult way like the "kids" (who are almost all in their 20s) on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. And by the way, the brother of Grace Bowman, who has Down Syndrome, has equally mature, witty lines albeit delivered slowly. As the sister of a brother with some learning disabilities, it is painful to watch and to listen to this young man parrot his lines, although his purpose appears to be comic relief.

I won't be requesting another review copy of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I have tried for three DVD sets to find some merit in it, but the rare moments of inspiration were all used up by Volume Three. The Secret Life of the American Teenager is not family viewing, it is not appropriate for teens, and it is sending a poisonous message to young people.

1. Sex and the City for Teens: The Secret Life of the American Teenager Season One Review
2. The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Season 2 DVD with Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, Kenny Baumann
3. Bristol Palin to Guest Star on "The Secret Life of the American Teen"