2/8 Teen Mom Discussion **spoilers**

[J.D.]

I've also just about had it with Chelsea, too. I kind of wonder if dad doesn't have some sort of guilt thing going on. Chelsea didn't move in with him until she was pregnant - and mom booted her butt out. Seems from her point of view....high school is toooo haaaard! Yeesh. (Amber, anyone?) Chelsea was also beginning to remind me of the first Farrah, until I remembered Farrah had a job and was also attending school. Farrah was/is a brat, but at least didn't sit on her behind doing nothing but sneaking guys into the house - thinking she was going to skate on her looks. I think Chelsea has the idea she may be able to do that....but I honestly don't think her looks will get her very far. (Just my speculation, of course...) And as mentioned above, she hasn't really thought through this whole cosmetology thing. It's work. It's not sitting around getting pedicures all day. It's not doing your friends' hair for prom. And it does require some schoolin'. Time will tell I guess. I did hear Adam mention he thought they should tell Chelsea's dad that he is back in the picture, and Chelsea said no. Not to give Adam more credit than he deserves - all I've seen him do is play video games....

I have never liked the dynamic between Jenelle and her mom. Haven't made up my mind on the new boyfriend yet. He does seem to be sort of a leech - but whatever. I'm just waiting for Barbara to seriously blow a fuse - she can't be healthy - her blood pressure must be sky high. Jenelle speaks as though she is educated or at least has some some sort of smarts. It's when her emotions get to her she flips out. If she could get away from her mom, I think she might be able to pull it together. But mom doesn't seem to want that. She does the push out/bring back thing with Jenelle constantly. It breaks my heart. Little Jace does not deserve to live like that. It makes me sad to see the shots of him just sitting on the floor, pushing at the glass door (as if trying to escape!).

Regarding the "interviews" with the financial aid counselors at the colleges - some of this stuff seems like it may be re-enactments....as do other aspects. Since when does the financial aid meeting last five or ten minutes, and be the last step in registration? Weird. The conversations with friends and boyfriends/girlfriends filmed in a park (which are shown every episode) are obviously set up, and the friends are fed questions to ask. Totally unnecessary, in my opinion.

Ok, time for me to get on with it...I'm putting way too much time and energy into this tv show.

[princessleslie]

I'd also like to know how in the world you get high school PE credit on line. Shouldn't you have to do something involving actual physical movement to get a gym credit?

They developed some PE classes online mostly for people who are stuck at home, like people who have chronic illnesses and can't be running around working out. But the same classes are used for online students because there is no one to monitor them. I think it's dumb too...but i don't know how else they would get a PE credit online.

[Tilden]

They developed some PE classes online mostly for people who are stuck at home, like people who have chronic illnesses and can't be running around working out. But the same classes are used for online students because there is no one to monitor them. I think it's dumb too...but i don't know how else they would get a PE credit online.

I can understand specialized on-line courses for students whose health prevents them from participating in a standard PE course, as the ADA would require they be accommodated. But honestly, there's no reason Chelsea couldn't get off her lazy butt and complete some kind of physical activity--jog, go to a gym, something. I realize she has a baby, but there are some things she could be doing with her daughter, and I'm sure her father, who is anxious for her to complete that degree, could arrange for some kind of childcare for an hour or so a day for her to work in a gym class.

Chelsea just gives off this entitled, spoiled, lazy air that is excessively unattractive.

[Tilden]

[QUOTE=J.D.;4190464;]I've also just about had it with Chelsea, too. I kind of wonder if dad doesn't have some sort of guilt thing going on. Chelsea didn't move in with him until she was pregnant - and mom booted her butt out. Seems from her point of view....high school is toooo haaaard! Yeesh. (Amber, anyone?) Chelsea was also beginning to remind me of the first Farrah, until I remembered Farrah had a job and was also attending school. Farrah was/is a brat, but at least didn't sit on her behind doing nothing but sneaking guys into the house - thinking she was going to skate on her looks. I think Chelsea has the idea she may be able to do that....but I honestly don't think her looks will get her very far. (Just my speculation, of course...) And as mentioned above, she hasn't really thought through this whole cosmetology thing. It's work. It's not sitting around getting pedicures all day. It's not doing your friends' hair for prom. And it does require some schoolin'. Time will tell I guess. I did hear Adam mention he thought they should tell Chelsea's dad that he is back in the picture, and Chelsea said no. Not to give Adam more credit than he deserves - all I've seen him do is play video games....

---I think Chelsea has been spoiled and petted and never really had to face the consequences of anything she's done. Even now, her father is footing all her bills, so she has it much, much easier than most single moms. Imagine what would happen if she had to change places with Kailyn for even a day and suddenly had no one consistently taking care of her. She'd fall completely apart. Yet she seems to think she's so "adult." That child needs a serious reality check.

I have never liked the dynamic between Jenelle and her mom. Haven't made up my mind on the new boyfriend yet. He does seem to be sort of a leech - but whatever. I'm just waiting for Barbara to seriously blow a fuse - she can't be healthy - her blood pressure must be sky high. Jenelle speaks as though she is educated or at least has some some sort of smarts. It's when her emotions get to her she flips out. If she could get away from her mom, I think she might be able to pull it together. But mom doesn't seem to want that. She does the push out/bring back thing with Jenelle constantly. It breaks my heart. Little Jace does not deserve to live like that. It makes me sad to see the shots of him just sitting on the floor, pushing at the glass door (as if trying to escape!).

---I think there's a lot more going on with Barbara than we probably know. I also think that, while I don't like the way Barbara behaves, that they started out editing the show so that Jenelle looked worse and Barbara looked better and now seem to be reversing that. But, yeah, obviously the most sympathetic one of the trio is Jayce--and if he's trying to escape, can you blame him? I can't believe that cat sits there so calmly, unless it's gone deaf from all the screaming.

[prhoshay]

I like Jenelle's boyfriend when he told Jenelle that she did bring some of her mother's "hellraising" on herself. Jenelle had no response to that. I was glad to hear him say that. He's not unaware and duped by his girlfriend.

[redsox girl]

I like Jenelle's boyfriend when he told Jenelle that she did bring some of her mother's "hellraising" on herself. Jenelle had no response to that. I was glad to hear him say that. He's not unaware and duped by his girlfriend.

I caught that, too. Was impressed. He's paying attention. While I don't agree with all of the scresaming (God that's traumatizing to be around even as an adult, so imagine the child) Imy instincts tell me her mother has always dewalt with a defiant , diificult child -some kids are just impossibe to deal with I agree, there's more to the story regarding Barbara than is being shown. It's easy to say kids who bwehave badly like janelle do s because of the parent, but that isn't always the case. YOu can be a great parent and stillw ind up wirth a lousy kid. You could have one great kid and ne who is just a selfish jerk.

[redsox girl]

You know it's hard to to stomach how good Chelsea has it-someone mentioned how hard it is for single mothers-but it's hard for everyone-and when you are responsible, paying your own bills, eking your way through school and drop dead tired, trying to make the rent, working two jobs, paying back loans, fighting for a scholarship, living off of cans of peas in a cramped crappy apartment and you see Chelsea leading a life of comparative luxury, no worries , no sense of responsibility, no sense of feeling grateful or blessed to have help...using he Father, lying, sneaking around..it just makes me so mad because she's being rewarded for being irresponsible. Does she actually do anything at all? Anything besides sit on her lazy backside. She's heading down the same path as she did when she got pregnant the first time.

[Tilden]

You know it's hard to to stomach how good Chelsea has it-someone mentioned how hard it is for single mothers-but it's hard for everyone-and when you are responsible, paying your own bills, eking your way through school and drop dead tired, trying to make the rent, working two jobs, paying back loans, fighting for a scholarship, living off of cans of peas in a cramped crappy apartment and you see Chelsea leading a life of comparative luxury, no worries , no sense of responsibility, no sense of feeling grateful or blessed to have help...using he Father, lying, sneaking around..it just makes me so mad because she's being rewarded for being irresponsible. Does she actually do anything at all? Anything besides sit on her lazy backside. She's heading down the same path as she did when she got pregnant the first time.

I don't think she has a job. We've certainly never seen her working. The rare times she's seen working on her degree, she barely focuses on it for ten minutes before she's off doing something else. She apparently cannot even manage to find the time to hang up her clothes.

And yeah, I agree that it's not just single moms who have to work much, much harder than Chelsea does. Most people have lean years when first starting out and have to pay all their own bills even if they're not earning all that much (when I was in graduate school, our paychecks actually were at a level that would have qualified us for commodity foods, except that we weren't qualified based on the fact that we were classified as being in a state of "voluntary poverty"). I didn't have a house until I could qualify for a mortgage on my own, and any money my family lent me, I paid back with interest, which I thought was completely fair. Chelsea has been so spoiled she has absolutely no idea how the world really works. I'm sure she's also oblivious to the fact that she gives off an air of being incredibly vacuous, and if she were aware of that, I don't know if she'd care, as long as Daddy kept paying her bills for her. Her baby seems reasonably well cared for, but honestly, what kind of example is being set for that child?

[pretlitdev]

I caught that, too. Was impressed. He's paying attention. While I don't agree with all of the scresaming (God that's traumatizing to be around even as an adult, so imagine the child) Imy instincts tell me her mother has always dewalt with a defiant , diificult child -some kids are just impossibe to deal with I agree, there's more to the story regarding Barbara than is being shown. It's easy to say kids who bwehave badly like janelle do s because of the parent, but that isn't always the case. YOu can be a great parent and stillw ind up wirth a lousy kid. You could have one great kid and ne who is just a selfish jerk.

Totally agree. The only time Barbara seems to start yelling is when Jenelle's pulling one of her stunts, like when she stayed out all night with the boyfriend and overslept even though she knew she was supposed to watch Jace in the morning and that her mom had somewhere to be. I mean, imagine, just in the time Jenelle's been on tv, she's been pregnant, dating an out of work addict who has apparantly since abandoned her and Jace, dating a guy who is also out of work and seems to be couch surfing. She's been arrested for breaking and entering and carrying drug paraphanalia (sp?), accused of doing speed while pregnant, she abandoned her own son after he was first born to go partying with friends to the extent that her friends told her she needed to be with her son more. She STILL stays out all night partying and drinking underage, I'd be willing to bet she slept with Kieffer that first night she met him, she seems incapable of having empathy towards other people or showing up at times when she's supposed to, she can't be trusted with her own son, and she's completely financially irresponsible if she worked a whole summer and had absolutely no money when fall rolled around, and she's been physically abusive to her mother and even threatened worse.

Now just imagine what she probably did BEFORE the cameras were rolling. I think Barbara's been trying and trying for years to get Jenelle on the right path and she's frustrated because Jenelle clearly never listens to her. What we're seeing is Barbara at the end of her rope and she feels that the only small chance she has of getting through to Jenelle is by yelling. Plus, she's having to raise another kid at a time in her life when she should be an empty nester and thinking about retirement. Remember in Jenelle's original season, Barbara urged Jenelle to put Jace up for adoption because she knew that she'd end up doing/paying for everything. I don't blame her at all for having a short fuse when it comes to the stuff Jenelle pulls, only I just wish she'd kick Jenelle out for good, get a restraining order, and get full, permanent custody of Jace. Might make Jenelle grow up some and would certainly be healthier for Jace and Barbara both.

[Tilden]

I'm not defending Barbara's screaming, but Jenelle called her the very day she had to have that form, told her not to move because she'd be right over and to have the tax form ready for her, even though Barbara told her she was about to leave the house. If I had to find a specific tax form, it might take me a few minutes. If I were trying to leave, had to stop and find a tax form, and then wait for someone who's neglected to show up for me when I needed her, neglected to answer phone calls etc., I'd not be in the best mood either. I might not scream at the person, but I'd definitely not be happy with her either. I wonder if Jenelle's extreme irresponsibility and her "I don't care--I'll do what I want" attitude has just driven Barbara around the bend. I suspect Barbara has a short fuse anyway, but combined with Jenelle's attitude, it's just gotten progressively worse.

And, again, not to defend Barbara, but Jenelle does act like a self-obsessed teenager too much of the time. She wants to go out and acts like it's unbelievable that, as a teenager, she shouldn't get to go out every weekend, even though many teenage moms don't get to do that. Heck, many teenagers don't get to do that, period, because they have other responsibilities--jobs, extra-curricular activities, responsibilities at home, schoolwork etc. She refers to "babysitting" her own child. She says she'll answer the phone when her mother calls and she doesn't. She says she'll be home at a specific time, and she isn't. Considering her mother wants her to answer the phone and be home in order to help with Jayce, that's a lot to take. I assume Barbara is still working, which means she may be having to juggle Jayce and getting to work on time when Jenelle doesn't show up. All of those things might cause a patient person to lose it, and since Barbara obviously isn't a patient person, she just goes ballistic.

Barbara and Jenelle both need anger management and parenting classes. They bring out the worst in each other.