There is a lot to say about Teen Mom. The controversial show tackles a lot of hot topics from adoption to single parenting and everything in between. It’s difficult to find someone who isn’t passionately in defense or against the show. I’m neutral. I don’t watch it anymore because I’m too exhausted by the time my kids go to bed to do anything but stare at a wall while mindlessly stuffing Oreos in my mouth. However when I was pregnant with my son over 3 years ago I watched 16 & Pregnant religiously during my fits of pregnancy insomnia. I know a bit about the girls and their individual controversies.

Rarely a week goes by that one of the Teen Moms isn’t in the news. Amber Portwood is in jail, Janelle Evans has another questionable boyfriend, and Maci Bookout allegedly let her son ransack a Pacific Sun store. Kailyn Lowry recently came under fire for letting her son Isaac play in a dog crate and posting a picture of the questionable activity on Instagram. I didn’t think much of the headline until I saw some of the scathing remarks angry commenters left on the article. Most comments accused Kailyn of being a horrible mother for letting her son play in the crate, calling it filthy and disgusting. I wonder what they think about families who allow dogs in the family bed. Yikes.

I’m not too worked up about it. Kids do nasty things all the time. I watch my kids like a hawk most of the time and there are occasions when I can’t stop them from eating something old and dusty they found under a heating vent. The other day my daughter dipped a cup into an open sandbox that has collected rainwater and who knows what else (mosquito eggs?) for the last few months. Before I could knock the cup out of her hand she gleefully doused herself in it. Super gross. It happens under the best of conditions. Kailyn has made some questionable choices in the past that were far worse than this so maybe in comparison it doesn’t seem that serious to me.

Maybe she was having one of those days and Isaac was happy in the crate. I’m no one to judge. I know I’ve had those days before. It can’t be easy to live under constant scrutiny at such a young age. Throw motherhood into the mix and stress levels are magnified under the best of circumstances. People could stand to take it a little easier on her and the other Teen Moms for parenting decisions that while perhaps not tasteful are far from dangerous. We all parent differently and her son was safe and happy. I say we let it slide.

What do you think? Toddler in a dog crate. Worst thing ever or innocent fun?

Veronica Armstrong is a photographer, blogger, and freelance writer whose stories spring from the cinderblock walls of her married graduate student apartment. You can find her on Google+ or see more of her writing and photography on her blog.