Pramface Mansion

[000Laura000]

I think this is real...?

www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/beonashow/shows/pramface.shtml

Anyone fancy it?

[Lulumama]

I have never heard the phrase 'pramface'

it is apparent it is not an affectionate term

trying to reclaim it or make it ironic or funny could well back fire

am trying to think of an equivalent term.. mabye doing a series about travellers and calling it 'pikey lives' or something, people would have their hackles raised with that.. it implies something negative , doesn;t it? same with pramface?

anyway, i will watch this avidly.

[yogimum]

I have never heared the term pramface before either. Sorry lewisfan I don't think its a term the middle class thought up to call the working class.

For those who took part, were you paid?

[littlewoman]

Imagine using the N word in a similar way. It's so offensive. All such descriptors are alienating, hurtful and harmful -not ironic - even if the BBC do manage to show single mothers in a redeeming light.(Yes, I do understand irony. I'm an English undergraduate). The irony will be lost on many viewers, but the 'pramface' label will have been learned by several thousand more people. What the hell do the BBC know about being a single mother anyway? Or care? They're in it for the ratings, and you can bet they will not be kind in the getting of those rating. They are a corporation, not a bloody charity.

[littlewoman]

However, I would love to be wrong about the portrayal of these women, even if I do disagree with the title. I shall tune in

[shedev]

No we didn't get paid, our loss of earnings were covered and any expenses. We would then be called actresses if we got paid, anyway if you think it's good or bad i know 11 parents all came out of this learning new things about ourselves, our parenting and life. So even if they did cut us badly???!!! We still gained alot from this experience. COLDITZ i didn't realise your knowledge of making tv programmes, i must apologise.....so how long you worked in television?????

[Lulumama]

shedev

i actually agree with colditz

if you see my post from earlier , i did comment that no holds barred tv would be more of a ratings winner

it is like when people go onto Big Brother, end up looking foolish and say that they didn;t know it would be edited like that.. or that they weren't accurately portrayed

reality tv has been on long enough for us to have a pretty good idea of outcome

[shedev]

When talking to the producers, i was very much under the impression it was not made to look like a reality SHOW, more like a documented experiment. I watched baby borrowers, which the same makers made pramface mansion, so i'm happy it's not gonna be like big brother, where the CONTESTANTS of a compitition are made to look like fools for entertainment, not to see if a social experiment that could benifit many single parents actually works. This is more factualy based and will hopefully pull viewers because of the factual bases of the experiment, not just to see punch ups and fights, thats what channel 4 is for.

[Lulumama]

hmmm

it is a show about real life though, and people living together in a house? not competing, ok, but all under one roof. some will be more dominant than others, some will vie for more attention , that is human nature.

when a number of strangers live together, then surely there will be ructions?

i hope you are right and i fully intend to watch the show.

i hope it is not going to be as i feared.

do you keep in touch with anyone from the show?

[Lulumama]

you seem very sensible, queen

thank you for taking time to read the posts and understand what has been said, rather than assuming it is simply an attack on single parents

i hope i can guess which one you are on the show !

have a nice weekend

[littlewoman]

When is it on, does anyone know?

[shedev]

I'm sorry pramface but i'm not gonna have a bunch of people say we are gonna give single mums a bad name!!! I bloody try hard in life not to fall in the typical "pramface category" So if someone that does not even know me is gonna tell me i'm gonna give single mams a bad name i will bloody well stick up for myself...........I'm sure most of the mums on here are polishing their halo's, and somehow gives them a right to judge us, but god give me a mouth so i can stick up for myself. Your right about we don't know how they gonna edit us, but they can't make stuff up. Plus we ALL agree it was a mint experience!!!

[Lulumama]

towards the end of march,LW, i think, says lower down the thread

shedev... if every time someone disagrees with you, you come back aggresively, then people will find it hard to accept your point of view. you might be absolutely convinced you are right, and you might well be right, but we are all entitled to speculate and air our opinions too.

most people took issue with the name pramface, and a lot of people on here were posting their opinions as single mums

i for one am going to be watching with interest

[wendyhaz]

I have been reading the threads about this and have enjoyed the discussion, albeit it turned nasty at times. I am the mother of one of the ones who took part in this experiment and I know that they did an awful lot of soul searching before taking part. They also asked advice from the children?s school, other members of their family and their friends. But most of all they sat down and talked with their children for many hours about what might take place. Most parents single or not, just want to do the best for their children. How we do that may be different from the way others do it, but as there are no rules about bringing up children we don't get it right all of the time. From what I am hearing, everyone who took part learnt some valuable lessons in bringing up children. Perhaps they won't be portrayed in the 'perfect parent role' but if not then other parents may learn from that too. I can't wait to see it, I'm sure I will learn about some of the mistakes that I made as a young parent and like they say "yesterday?s news becomes tomorrow?s fish and chip paper" so I don?t think Joe Public will remember much about it, good or bad, in a few months time.

[idontcare]

i know on this tv show that i am gonna be portrayed really badly and to be honest i dont give a shit, cause i had my reasons and the true friend in their knows all about it, i cant really judge on the experience i wasnt their long but in the while that i was their i learnt alot from all of the moms they are all great and truly insperational to me? No matter what has been said behind my back i dont care every single one of them taught me something and for that i have to be grateful, i went in their a young niaeve girl and come out a grown and learnt alot from it. and by the way i was 16 when i had my little man and i love him more than life itself yea i wasnt always their for him and i know that and that is 1 of my niggest regrets!!!! i did something daft but i had my personal reasons for doin it i dont have to explain myself to anybody, but i know why i did what i did? all of u that are sayin u aint guna watch it, thats a big load of bollox cause u will to see if ur views were right about it!! well they aint thee bbc can portray them all as bad people but they aint, i didnt kknow them long but i know not to judge people so quickley!! im scared to think how i would have turned out now if i had done it all!!! im a very different person now to the one that u see in the house i dont let my friends rule my life and my little man is all i have and need!! The only problem is im expecting again, i oer that fact now and just cant wait to welcome another little terror into my life and im single again woo hoooo, at the end of the day some of us aren't single through our own choice! well i aint goona say us i mean them!! cause i am my sons father was useless, and i didn't need him i had my mom!!! Anyway dont hudge what i did, i had my reasons!! Bye, hi to all the moms and the Dad! x x x x x x x x x x x x

[idontcare]

i meant biggest and i meant judge

[Cerocer]

Oh please! We're trying to get away from the Pramface name - and then you post a thread.

There's no helping some people!

[Piffle]

its not on the BBC? Its channel 4. Their editing of folks is legendary. I fear we shall see a crafted hour...

[Cerocer]

You're thinking of 'Pramface Babies' which is C4 tonight. Wrong programme. Pramface Mansion is on BBC3 on 7th April at 9pm.

[Piffle]

oh I mean the thing on tonight... I'm so behind the times mr

[Cerocer]

They stole our title!!!! Going to watch it anyway but our programme won't be anything like it. A few episodes have been previewed and it's apparently very funny. Can't wait.

[GetOrfMoiLand]

I haven't read the thread (maybe I should take the time to), but I am very hesitant about watching programmes re single teen mothers, as I think the documentary makers (especially Channel 4, with their reputation of single dimensional shock do making) have an agenda and make the documentary fit their initial impressions.

There is such a stigma in being a single mother. I was one of these so called pramface mothers, working class, single teenage mother at the age of 17. It doesn't mean I am stuid, or feckless, or unworthy, but he majority of people's attitudes seem to lie that way.

I am now 30 with a beautiful 12 year old daughter, built up a career from working my guts out since dd was 3 months old, striving to make sure we have a good life. And yet I still encounter strange opinions, just today a colleague said 'I can't imagine you being stupid enough to have had a child at 17'. My life is not out there for people's snidy judgements (hang on, that's what mumsnet is for - crocs and fruit shoots anyone!)

I don't know where this post is going, just wanted to put my twopennorth in. Just remember single, teenage mothers are not the scourge of society that the daily mail would have everyone believe, we are all MOTHERS just trying to do the bloody best by our children, like everybody else

[skeletonbones]

I remember when they were recruiting for this, I saw the ad and thought that the premise of single parent communal living was such a great idea,but the actual programme would probaby get a big brother style treatment.I am shuddering like many at the title they have given it too.

[nametaken]

I just saw pramface babies tonight and the producers just couldn't resist showing the pregnant mums in labour having a fag outside the hospital doors.

Oh, and the mother with a baby and a pitbull terrier.

All they do is edit them to make them look bad.