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Jenice Armstrong | Morals fall on their Spears

HERE'S a better title for Lynne Spears' new parenting book: Instead of "Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World," it should be changed to "Pop Tart Mom: A Story of How Not to Raise a Family."

HERE'S a better title for

Lynne

Spears

' new parenting book:

Instead of "Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World," it should be changed to "Pop Tart Mom: A Story of How Not to Raise a Family."

Because when it comes to motherhood, Lynne Spears - mother of Britney and Jamie Lynn - is about as anti-June Cleaver as they come. Still, you have to feel at least a little sorry for her because somewhere, she must be saying, "Oops, I did it again." She has raised another teen who just can't seem to wait to let the world know "I'm not that innocent," as Britney's hit goes.

Jamie Lynn, 16, the younger of the Spears daughters (Britney is 26), has managed to bump her hard-partying, trainwreck of a big sis out of her usual spotlight with the news that she is pregnant.

For now, plans for mom's parenting book, which was to have been published on Mother's Day, are shelved. Can't say that I blame the publishers. Of course, no parent should be held solely responsible for her child's choices in life. That's up to the child. But it's hard not to pass judgment when the antics of not one but two daughters make national headlines.

Born in 1991, Jamie Lynn is still practically a child herself, not to mention unmarried. Of course, that's the norm these days with single actresses such as Jessica Alba and Halle Berry openly flaunting belly bumps. But what's troubling in Jamie Lynn's case is that this happened to someone who's considered a role model to many young girls.

As the star of Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101," her every move is followed by millions of tweens - there's even a girls' clothing line inspired by fashions from the show, as well as "Zoey 101" video games. Since the show's 2005 debut, Jamie Lynn, who sings the theme song "Follow Me," has become a pre-teen idol.

Children even write into the message board on the show's Web site with their problems. And at a time when about 70 percent of African-American children are born out of wedlock, as are nearly half of white and Hispanic babies, her pregnancy sets a particularly negative example.

Of course, Jamie Lynn, who portrays a student at a formerly all-boys boarding school, has the financial means to rear a child, but what about her fans who don't? Unmarried, teen motherhood is too serious a social issue to be simply shrugged off as an "oops." By the way, Jamie Lynn says the father is her longtime boyfriend, Casey Aldridge, 19.

"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," Jamie Lynn told OK! magazine. "I was in complete and total shock, and so was he."

Fortunately for the Emmy-nominated show, "Zoey 101" was in its final season anyway, so there's no need to work around the pregnant star, who up until this point had managed to avoid the negatives of being associated with her older, twice-married sister.

"This is such a soap opera, really," said David Lenz of the Pop-Eater music blog. "I don't know if [her career] can survive this."

If Jamie Lynn turns out to be anything like her big sister, maybe that won't be such a bad thing. *

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