Jenelle’s parenting has long been questionable, but she’s not the only one who’s letting Jace down nowadays. MTV continues to film the teen’s personal life, but it doesn’t seem like they’re doing anything to step in. It’s hard to tell from the outside looking in, but Jace likely needs some sort of mental health support after growing up with Jenelle as a mom. Teen Mom fans have long seen the reality star’s legal troubles and substance addiction play out on television, and that chaotic upbringing has got to affect her kids. Jace is clearly struggling, but no one is doing anything about it.
Everyone Is Abandoning Jace, Including MTV
Jenelle rejoined Teen Mom this year after a years-long hiatus, largely because she publicly left David, who was the reason she was let go from the series in the first place. But as evidenced on the show, she’s preoccupied with her ongoing divorce, new relationship, and baby daddy drama surrounding her younger kids. Like usual, Jace is getting relegated to the sidelines, but Jenelle can’t rely on her mother to clean up the mess now that she has full-time custody.
This represents the first time in Jace’s life that his grandmother doesn’t have custody, which she fought hard to keep for years. It’s a sign that Jace’s behavioral issues must be escalating. But he needs those around him to band together, not abandoned their parenting responsibilities.
Related
But perhaps the biggest blame lies on MTV, who has also abandoned Jace in the sense that they’re not doing much to get him help. MTV has gotten some Teen Mom stars support, like Leah Messer when they sent her to rehab. But they rarely intervene in matters involving the kids, even when abuse is suspected, and it was for years even before David left the show. The least MTV could do is pay for therapy to offer Jace some form of support, if they’re not already.
MTV Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Exploit Kids
Jace’s situation raises a bigger issue – should reality T.V. shows be allowed to exploit the struggles of children for views? They did this to Jenelle when she first joined 16 and Pregnant, and Teen Mom. She clearly had her fair share of mental health and behavioral issues, which only escalated as the show rose in fame. Even she’s accused the network of exploiting her past struggles. Some of Jenelle’s darkest moments were captured on television when she was still a minor, which likely didn’t do much to help the situation, nor protect her reputation for the future.
Now, MTV is getting a storyline out of Jace’s struggles. Even if he isn’t filming every episode, they’re still able to reference him and the impact it’s having on other family members (and if he doesn’t appear, then he doesn’t get paid). MTV shouldn’t be allowed to so freely showcase the difficulties of minors on its show – and the same goes for any network – without at least providing extensive research. Jace is struggling just like Jenelle was when she was around his age, and if we don’t want history to repeat itself, then Jace needs more support than his mother was offered… and following him with cameras likely isn’t doing any good.
