Jenelle Evans' Son Turns 4 and Jenelle Needs to Grow Up, Too

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by Adriana Velez 17 hours ago

Look who's got a birthday. Jenelle Evans' son Jace turns 4 today. The baby viewers watched Jenelle welcome into the world on the show 16 and Pregnant is growing up so quickly. He's not a toddler anymore. Jenelle told fans yesterday that she'd be spending the whole day with Jace today, followed by a big birthday party at grandma Barbara Evans' house on Saturday. 

A lot has happened in Jace's four short years of life -- and a lot remains the same. After a tumultuous few years, Jenelle seems to be settling down into a stable relationship. Jace still lives with Grandma, and given everything that's happened in Jenelle's life, that's a good thing. But hopefully, someday Jenelle will be in a position to raise her son in her own home. And what about Jace's privacy?

I feel like you can share a lot about your kids while they're still babies, but as they get older, you kind of have to back off. Kids figure out quickly what Twitter and Instagram are, and they start having opinions about how much you share about them. They're also still learning what the full implications of social sharing are. Even if you're not concerned about things like safety, I think you do need to start making sharing a more collaborative activity once your kids get to this age.

There are things I don't share or write about my own son because he doesn't want me to. I have to respect that. (He'll sometimes ask me to post photos on Instagram for him, on the other hand.) I'm also learning there are things I may not want to share about myself and my life, knowing that he could read it himself. Sometimes you find these things out the hard way, after you've already put THAT, whatever it is, out there. You make mistakes, and hopefully you learn from them.

I hope Jenelle is thinking about this now that Jace is older. It's kind of a buzzkill, especially for those of us who value candor and think of ourselves as whole people with complex, multifaceted identities that extend beyond "MOMMY." I don't think it means being fake or always censoring yourself, but you do have to start being more careful. It's a negotiation you manage, little by little. And it's something Jenelle needs to give some thought to now that Jace is 4.

Do you think Jenelle should be more discreet now that Jace is older?

Image via Twitter

Click "Like" for the latest on the Teen Moms. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.  

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