Every episode of the fourth season of Teen Mom puts us closer to the end for the four girls who started it all. And tonight's episode came the closest yet to painting a picture of what decisions Farrah, Maci, Amber, and Catelynn have to make to ensure success after the cameras leave them forever.
First up, there's Amber Portwood. Sadly we know what will happen to her -- she'll go to prison for the next five years. And yet, watching her admit she's been too lazy to sign up for her outpatient rehab program, it's hard not to want to reach through the TV screen and shake her. If onlys won't save her, but if only she'd made the right choices then, she wouldn't be where she is now.
The good news is her co-stars are moving toward a better fate.
Catelynn and Tyler were pulled once again into the role of parenting their own parents as Tyler's dad went to court to be arraigned on charges that he'd beaten up his wife (and Catelynn's mom) April during an argument. Their combined decision to stick by April and give up on Butch ever changing nearly moved me to tears. It isn't easy giving up on someone you love, but it could end up saving them a lot of heartache.
Maci and Kyle were moving in a whole other way -- moving in with each other. It looks like Bentley is going to have a little trouble adjusting to his new home, but he's got a lot of adults pulling for him. Even dad Ryan took the big move calmly, and he made a lot of sense when he admitted getting a custody agreement in writing should be about making things 50/50, not about making trouble for Maci.
But the biggest decision of the night came for Farrah. After fighting tooth and nail to take baby Sophia with her to Florida, far away from the child's grandparents, Farrah learned that it's not so easy being a single parent when your only fallback is expensive daycare. Sophia is just too active for her to get any of her school work done, and having her boyfriend, Daniel, come over to help every day isn't a valid option.
So Farrah relented on letting her mom, Debra, take Sophia back to the Midwest. It may sound like a cop-out, but parenting a toddler is tough, and anyone who says differently hasn't been there. Parenting a toddler all alone while trying to get through school has to be a nightmare. All the little antics Sophia was up to are absolutely normal, but that doesn't make them any less frustrating.
You could see the tension just roll off of Farrah when she finally realized she couldn't do it alone ... and she didn't have to. In the end, Farrah will only be separate from her daughter for a month, but the degree she'll get will help the two of them for a lifetime.
What do you think of Farrah's decision? Was it the right one for her and Sophia?
Image via MTV
Ashley Is a Widow Who Stays Strong...
This Hot Dad Wants to Vacuum Your Rug
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
KStew Refuses to Shower
Comments 21
I don't think what Farrah did was wrong but this is another classic example of how the show no longer reflects the true Teen Mom experience. Even with parental support, most moms doing it alone do it under less comfortable circumstances than the well paid girls we are watching now. While they do have some of the issues that teenage parents face, the economic advantages make things way to easy and glamorizes the experience as well. The mere fact that these kids are able to live on their own is huge and changes the whole picture and perhaps giving other young girls an unrealistic picture of how getting pregnant in high school will change your life.
What sacrifice? Farrah is all about Farrah and Sophia just seems like a burden to her. Farrah is taking the easy way out, letting her helicopter mom temporarily (?) raise Sophia while Farrah is free to "study" and hang out with the new man.
Farrah should have kept her ass in Iowa until she graduated college. Seems like it would make more sense. She also needs to stop squawking and treat her mother like a human being.
So you all really think Farrah is sending Sophia away so that she can concentrate on school & make a better life for them???? Puh-lease. She doesn't work and takes, what, 3 classes? It seems pretty obvious to me that she's shipping her off so Daniel can get some one-on-one time with her gentlemen greeter! Farrah was so adamant about Sophia being with her (and not her parents) UNTIL a man came into the picture. Just sayin'.
OK sorry but why the F*^$ does Farrah have to go to school in Florida and why can she not do it on her own. My mom raised three kids on her own, there are many options to day care. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that she let her parents take her child or that any of them thought that was the only option. Letting your young child go for a month is not an option in my opinion.
She made a good choice, the little girl will be in a familiar settign with people who know her well and are able to provide the attention she needs, even if she is enrolled in daycare while in grandma's care, at the end of the day, she'll come home to a stable environment. It;s hard, but she is doing it for the right reasons.