The Wii Teaches Tweens How Easy it is to be a Mom

AveryZoe

May 30, 2010

Are you the parent of a tween or teen girl? Are you plagued with worry that she may not give you a grandchild before she graduates high school? Then have we got the game for you! For too long now, people have blasted teens and tweens with the idea that taking care of babies is hard work , expensive, and just not for them. But no more! From Majesco Entertainment--who brought you the Cooking Mama series--comes a new game called Babysitting Mama, set to be released this Holiday season for the Wii.

teen_momSide (17K) Don't be fooled by the name--this game is all about teaching your daughter that babies are fun and easy to take care of (and can be turned off when they want to watch iCarly!). Babysitting Mama even comes complete with a baby doll that is soft and cuddly and contains a pocket for your WiiMote, which you can insert in the back (that's not creepy at all!).

Using their WiiMote and its accompanying nunchuk, your daughters can hold and feed their baby. They can play with it, and give it a bath, and even change its diaper. Changing virtual diapers is fun! No need to tell them that changing real diapers is slightly less cute and slightly more expensive! Babystting Mama even features multiplayer mode "because when it comes to newborns, Mama could use some help!" Don't be fooled though--your daughter's baby-daddy won't be the one helping. That second controller is for you!

Quite a few articles have popped up criticizing this game, citing everything from force-feeding little girls stereotypical female roles to it being just another doll with no practical application. But they are missing the big picture here! This game is all about teaching young, impressionable girls that babies are easy and fun to take care of. Long have teenage moms been forced to deal with stigma from friends, family, and society at large. This game could solve all of those social problems merely by making all young girls strive to become teenage moms. When the abnormal becomes normal, the stigma falls away. Well played, Majesco. Well-played.