Jon and Kate Plus 8 - Page 11

[1xmom]

Originally Posted by lovingmommyhood

They're not babies, they're 3!

My dd is 7 and she is definately still my baby.

Originally Posted by meowee

Unless they are editing it to make it look this way, I still think the kids are unusually whiney and constantly crying... they just look miserable much of the time.

Exactly. Even the older girls seem to whine and cry alot. I just want to pick them up and love 'em.

[monkey's mom]

The "sit in the corner" thing makes me want to cry.

The tone in that family seems so hostile and sad in so many episodes.

I'm starting to notice that there is very little affection going on. It seems like the majority of the time that those kids are being touched is to be put somewhere or dressed or yanked along. I think I saw one instance of Kate holding and kissing one of the little girls in the last few episodes--it just stuck out as something not shown much.

[meowee]

monkey's mom-- that's true! I really haven't seen her snuggle/ carry much.

Can anyone remember if the Duggars are physicially affectionate? I keep comparing jon & kate to the other "huge family" shows I've seen. If I remember, in the Duggars and a couple other big families (one was from britain and there are 2 other american ones I've seen) the mom always had one of the kids in her arms, and the siblings showed each other affection too. I know there are a lot of very little kids in that house but it seems the older ones are totally checked out from the younger ones.

[TexasSuz]

Kate is a doer - she has great energy and even brushes the 6 kids' teeth every morning after breakfast! WOW! just WOW! But she and the kids could benefit from a dirtier floor and mom just sitting and being with the kids. Remember the Bible story of Mary and Martha? Kate is Martha!

[TinyBabyBean]

Originally Posted by meowee

You'd have to determine if the cost/ energy used to wash 1300 plates is really less than using 1300 paper plates. And what type are they? The thin kind that are really just thick napkins? Is she recycling? If she's recycling the plates it might not necessarily be more wasteful than washing 1300 dishes. I think she would need 2 dishwashers for that (like the Duggers, they have at least 2 industrial dishwashers).

No problem with Jon and Kate. But, you cannot recycle dirty/used paper plates. The cost/energy used to wash 1300 plates is a better deal on the environment in my opinion. I mean, isn't this the same as comparing cost/energy of cloth diapers compared to disposable. Granted a paper plate will break down faster in a landfill but that is the only advantage I see. I have been tempted to switch over to many paper products. I am about to give birth to my 6th baby anyday. But, thinking about the planet in regards to sending my children into the future we do not buy any paper products except toilet paper. No paper towels, no disposable anything. I think these larger families should consider their footprint they are leaving behind even more than the average smaller family. I know we do and I would feel I am not being responsible to my children, the human race, or the planet if we did not.

[TinyBabyBean]

Originally Posted by nascarbebe

THe one thing that alarmed me about Jon & Kate is the sextuplets' 3rd b-day party. Neither Jon nor Kate's parents were there. SHe said they're both estranged from their parents (she put it in different terms) and I thought that was very odd. She must have past issues with her parents and that's what makes her a control freak.

That might not be true. I like the show too. I hated to see her speaking to Jon like that at times but the reality is that it is, well... reality! Sometimes we say or do rude things to those we love.

We are about to have our 6th, my husband's 7th child. And we have no help from family. I am estranged from my parents and from my husbands parents. It did not make me a control freak but it does add for more stress because of less help. At least they have friends to help them out. It is sad to say we don't even have that at all.

[TinyBabyBean]

Originally Posted by TCMoulton

Kate has said several times on the show that the first year of the sextuplet's life was hard and that she sometimes wondered how they would put food on their table. She does more for her 8 kids than many moms do for just one or two kids, myself included. If they were offered free diapers or formula or aby food during the first year of the babies lives they would have been foolish not to accept knowing that the help would not be there forever.

I just don't understand why some people feel the need to nitpick Kate for every little thing that she does but never seem to point out that she feeds her family mostly organic, healthy made from scratch meals, all they seem to see is that she serves those meals on an occasional paper plate.

I really do like the family. Kate is doing a great job I think. It is great that she stays at home with them. Keeps the house clean. Feeds them healthy foods. Does seem very loving to the kids. Tries to give them some normalcy with regular outings and such. I know with our size family things can get stressful and it doesn't always bring out the best. The kids can be and usually are me and my husband's number one thing that causes us to be snappy with each other or downright argue.

[lovingmommyhood]

Originally Posted by momaste

I watch it just so I don't feel like my life is so out of control, haha. I'd have gone off the deep end with that many small children.

Did anyone else notice the HUGE PRODUCT PLACEMENT for the Rose Petal Cabin thing? Kids are playing and Kate says something like, "Joel put the baby in the washing machine. That's a man's way to give the baby a bath." Ugh. Not just the blatant product placement (guess who the sponsor was?) of an obnoxiously gender specific toy, but also the male bashing when he wasn't playing with it in just the prescribed way. So, so annoyed!

She actually didn't tell him to put the baby in the washing machine. She said "Joel, babies don't go in the washing machine. Well, I guess that's the mans way of giving a bath" Har Har. People take things WAY too seriously.

[lovingmommyhood]

Originally Posted by monkey's mom

The "sit in the corner" thing makes me want to cry.

What's the alternative for her? At least they don't spank which I think for being so mainstream is saying A LOT. After the corner the little boy ran and tackeled his brother and they all started laughing. They hugged. Yeah, no affection at all. :

[TCMoulton]

You know, after reading many posts criticizing the way Jon and Kate raise their kids all I have to say is that I am glad I do not have a film crew following me around for untold number of hours a week because I just cringe at the thought of the 30 minutes of video they would choose to make up an episode of the show. Undoubtedly they could make me look like a heinous mom. Each episode is less than 30 minutes of their lives, chosen by discovery channel/TLC to make up an interesting episode. I have no doubt in my mind that they love their children, it just seems as if scenes of the kids whining/fighting/crying are more interesting to watch than scenes of the kids behaving like angels. Personally, the Gosselin kids just seem like normal kids to me.

[meowee]

Originally Posted by TinyBabyBean

The kids can be and usually are me and my husband's number one thing that causes us to be snappy with each other or downright argue.

It's really damaging for kids to see/ hear their parents be abusive towards each other like that. Even if they "make up" and apologize. They're teaching the kids that it's okay to abuse other people, especially if you say sorry afterwards. My husband and I have a very imperfect relationship but the number of times we have displayed the toxicity jon and kate do, in front of the kids, I could count on one hand over 11 years of marriage.

As far as the affection-- maybe they're editing it out, but I haven't seen much spontaneous affection. Hugging a child after punishing them is not the same as spontaneous affection.

[monkey's mom]

Originally Posted by lovingmommyhood

What's the alternative for her? At least they don't spank which I think for being so mainstream is saying A LOT. After the corner the little boy ran and tackeled his brother and they all started laughing. They hugged. Yeah, no affection at all. :

She could explain that she doesn't appreciate being "razzed at" to the little boy. ??

Especially for someone who seems so quick to "lash out" when stressed or frustrated, it seemed really icky for her to come down so hard on that kid for razzing.

And when he seemed so afraid to even go back to his chair. I don't think he had a clue what was happening. It made me sad for him.

I didn't say I don't think there's "no affection at all." I said I haven't noticed much in the episodes I've seen. There's lots of yelling and dysfunction and very little tenderness. And maybe that's a product of editing, but I doubt it.

[TinyBabyBean]

Originally Posted by meowee

It's really damaging for kids to see/ hear their parents be abusive towards each other like that. Even if they "make up" and apologize. They're teaching the kids that it's okay to abuse other people, especially if you say sorry afterwards. My husband and I have a very imperfect relationship but the number of times we have displayed the toxicity jon and kate do, in front of the kids, I could count on one hand over 11 years of marriage.

As far as the affection-- maybe they're editing it out, but I haven't seen much spontaneous affection. Hugging a child after punishing them is not the same as spontaneous affection.

I agree it is damaging for kids to hear their parents being abusive towards each other. I just think it is unfair to judge them. Or to say they are bad parents, or have a bad marriage based on the contents of the shows that are aired.

[monkey's mom]

Originally Posted by lovingmommyhood

She actually didn't tell him to put the baby in the washing machine. She said "Joel, babies don't go in the washing machine. Well, I guess that's the mans way of giving a bath" Har Har. People take things WAY too seriously.

It's sexist.

If she'd made a joke about how "that's the Asian way of doing xyz," I'd find it equally disturbing, offensive, and damaging to her children.

And again, she's so controlling that the kid can't even do imaginative play without her telling him it's wrong and then insulting who HE IS. That's messed up.

[MidwifeErika]

Hmmm.... I must be one of the only ones around here with a natural born whiner as a child. DH and I laugh when we watch the show and the kids start up because it reminds us so much of our oldest. She has always whined and thrown fits that are disproportionate to the disappointment. She is 5 1/2 and still cries at least 5-10 times everyday with tears and stomping and everything. So, Jon and Kate's kids look pretty normal to me!

[meowee]

Some of my kids are whiners too-- a few of them will start bawling at the drop of a hat. One spends all day crying, screaming, and whining nonstop (she is PDD and nonverbal though).

As I've said before, I am impressed with kate as a mother. But there is a toxicity to her marriage (and it's gut reaction when I watch it, I just cringe) and I have to wonder why they would want cameras in there in the first place if they have those problems... it's almost like they don't realize what they are doing.

[rachiem]

I haven't watched in awhile due to the fact that we no longer have cable. But, that being said....

Some people can keep a "level head" and then there are some who feel very frustrated. I have two toddlers (the older is the same age as the sextuplets) and sometimes I lose my you know what at my husband.

As for the $$ matters, remember they will have 8 kids who will, potentially, go to college. EIGHT. What will it cost-- about $100k per child? Even with loans and such, that's a lot of money.

Would I put myself on national TV? Probably not, because I know FOR SURE that I wouldn't come off well. And, let's remember, editing can really be brutal.

I interviewed Kate awhile back for work and she was pretty nice. Trust me, not everyone I interview is.

[G's mommy]

When Kate says to Joel, "that's the man's way of giving a bath", she must be joking, or maybe she forgets how it is in her own house. Because in another episode, (I think it may have been the second one-hour special, but I'm not positive), Jon talks about getting the kids bathed and ready for bed every night and says, "it's my thing. I've always done it" or something like that.
So, she has it pretty good- a husband that bathes all 8 kids, or at least did a couple of years ago.

[mija y mijo]

Originally Posted by TCMoulton

You know, after reading many posts criticizing the way Jon and Kate raise their kids all I have to say is that I am glad I do not have a film crew following me around for untold number of hours a week because I just cringe at the thought of the 30 minutes of video they would choose to make up an episode of the show. Undoubtedly they could make me look like a heinous mom. Each episode is less than 30 minutes of their lives, chosen by discovery channel/TLC to make up an interesting episode. I have no doubt in my mind that they love their children, it just seems as if scenes of the kids whining/fighting/crying are more interesting to watch than scenes of the kids behaving like angels. Personally, the Gosselin kids just seem like normal kids to me.

Seriously!

After reading some of these posts, I'm starting to wonder if we're talking about the same TV show...

[AlwaysByMySide]

While I certainly do not envy Kate, I really can't stand the "editing" defense. You can't EDIT someone into a control freak. The footage has to be there in the first place before it can be edited into anything else.

However, they would not be on TV if there wasn't something to watch, and watching a perfectly run household just isn't as entertaining. I think it's great that they don't spank, and that they strive to eat organic and homemade. I think most of us agree that she isn't the world's worst mother.

The biggest problem I have with her is that when her kids grow up, they aren't going to remember that she mopped the floors three times every day (unless the part of that that they remember is that they were relegated to another room three times a day), but they will remember the fun (non-forced) good times that they had together. Kate seems so focused on forcing memories, and not so much on the act of MAKING the memories. (The episode with the pumpkin carving comes to mind. She couldn't just enjoy it, she had to be all concerned about cleaning up before Jon was even done, and the kids were clearly having a good time.)

I'm not even going into how completely nasty she is to Jon. You can't blame the way she treats him on editing. She's had a chance to watch herself on TV, and acknowledge that that is an inappropriate way to treat her husband, and she continues to do so. Free Jon!

I DO think that there is a lot of producer involvement this season (between the blatant product placement of the worm-looking ride on toys and the Rose Petal cottage, and the trip to Chocolate World without Jon), which is annoying. I'd really like to watch a typical "day in the life", like they did last season with the episodes about grocery shopping and when the twins went off to school during the day. If I were her, I'd negotiate with the producers - they need to pay for an hour of therapy a week in exchange for trips to Chocolate World.