S08.E19: Dottie & Cynthia

[auntjess]

23 hours ago, pdlinda said:

This is so clearly a case of child abuse.  I wonder if, like "dilly" Landon is on the "spectrum" of autism. I don't think I heard him utter one word during the entire episode.  He is such a cute little boy but with the 2 "parents" he was given, it's a real question whether he will ever be able to achieve a "normal" life.  

Landon was ignored until Daniel died, and in the previous Dottie episode, he was having a problem because he wasn't talking much, but the bitch ignored him.  He was always sitting in a high chair while she carried Daniel around.
I think Daniel might have liked seeing his little brother, and vice versa.  
I see her as a crappy  mother.
 

[pdlinda]

3 hours ago, OoogleEyes said:

She said that she was a teacher. A Special Education teacher. What the hell?? I would just love to know what LEGITIMATE qualifications she has. 

 

I seem to recall in her FIRST episode they showed her in a classroom setting and it was astonishing that any school board would allow someone with her obvious untreated (at the time) disabilities to teach these special needs kids.  It was truly shocking! 

Even with her 200+ lb weight loss, it is problematic that with her attitude and personality features (aside from her obvious physical limitations) she would be the best fit for these vulnerable kids who need a teacher who is mentally and physically fit to tend to each student's special needs. 

Being a special education teacher is really  a "calling" and those who embrace this challenging field are often "angels" without wings. 

I don't see Cynthia in that category.  She seems very self-centered irrespective of her constant laments about there for her "kids."

 

 

[pdlinda]

21 minutes ago, auntjess said:

I see her as a crappy  mother.
 

In addition to her lack of "mothering" prowess, I recall in the 2nd follow-up (when there was no mention of hubby having a "drinking problem") the lack of consideration toward Chris stood out in my mind.

He was always shown to be a very hard-working guy doing manual labor and very tired when he arrived home.  By the second follow-up Dottie had already lost a significant amount of weight but didn't seem to be doing much house work and/or chores.

One time, in particular, (if my memory serves me right) I was struck by Chris coming home and asking:  "What's for dinner" and dottie saying something to the effect:  "I didn't prepare anything.  Why don't YOU (Chris) put some frozen pizza in the toaster oven."  UGH!!

That really got on my last nerve and from that point on I was never confident that the marriage was going to work in the long term.

[ShoePrincess]

I feel sorry for Landon. Poor kid was ignored and now is being smothered by his dysfunctional mother. I don’t think he has a chance. When he reaches adulthood, I could see him buying the rundown motel on the outskirts of town.

[Concerned]

10 hours ago, ShoePrincess said:

I feel sorry for Landon. Poor kid was ignored and now is being smothered by his dysfunctional mother. I don’t think he has a chance. When he reaches adulthood, I could see him buying the rundown motel on the outskirts of town.

In the first Dottie episode, there was a sister who was aghast at Dottie eating pizza after pizza and washing it down with a box of brownies. Maybe she can step up and take custody of Landon. Considering how deeply mentally ill Dottie is, the sister could win any custody suit,

[CrazyInAlabama]

I question whether Dottie's husband was an alcoholic.    He finished off a six pack over a span of several days, according to her.      And I saw a reddit discussing the episode, and someone on there said Dottie is on a FB for the show, and said that she went to the beach with her husband, just last weekend, and they're back together.    She also claims she didn't eat all of that food in rehab, and the whole show was fake.   So how did she look so much bigger?   

At least one of the older ones was going to move out in the last WATN, so it's probably not five kids at Cynthia's any longer.     I read somewhere that the abusive mother of the kids Cynthia adopted (her cousin) was getting out of prison, so I'm wondering if she's around too? 

Edited May 10, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[pdlinda]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

She also claims she didn't eat all of that food in rehab, and the whole show was fake. 

HMMMMM.....I see the signs of Ms. D joining the litigation brigade against the Show in the very near future.   Alicia joined the ranks several weeks ago.  It seems to be a trend.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Dottie already signed up for the law suit before this aired.    If you look on some of the gossip sites about reality shows, they have all the names of who is suing.   However, I'm sure the TLC/production company attorneys are very good at their jobs, and the contracts the people sign for this show are many pages long, and cover everything.   

The big joke is that even if there were settlement made (and that won't happen), I'm attorney fees, and charges for everything on the lawsuit would eat up all of the money.  

I just feel sorry for Landon, and for Cynthia's kids.  

[Twopper]

On 5/8/2020 at 8:51 AM, Cementhead said:

The only thing that repulses me more than watching these pounders eating sloppy wet, dripping fast food in their cars while they are literally crammed & stuffed behind the steering wheel is when the pounder and family is show eating in the pounder's bedroom on his or her bed.  What in the ever loving fuck is this??!!  Cynthia and her 5 grown ass kids sitting on her bed eating out of paper bags.  WTF.  I tell myself that this is only a 600 pound life thing because I shudder to think that there are actual real life families doing this. 

This horrifies me, too.  At least in her last scenes she was shown eating a meal they had fixed in the kitchen, and they were eating at a table.   I would be really grossed out by the smell of food in the bed.  I never eat in bed; we occasionally will drink a soft drink or beer with popcorn while watching tv, but we are sitting in chairs.  

I was annoyed that she had to ask her children about staying in the program.  She is the mother for heaven's sake.  She needs to sit the kids down and tell them she needs to change her eating habit and the family will be making changes as well.  The kids don't need to be on her strict diet, but they need to eat better.  At least one was overweight already.   I think in her original epi she mentioned all the adults in her family ran extra large (sounds like tee-shirts or other clothing ) and her cousin came in, and he was huge, too.

I think she does feel a lot better at 360 or wherever she ended up.  She just wants the magic bullet of skin surgery  to do the rest of the work instead of watching her diet..  I think she had surgery on both arms, but she still has a bad case of bat wings.

Dr Now need to tell them to get a scale and use it so they aren't shocked when they get to his office. 

There was an episode where a young boy was having to do the laundry for his mother.  Was that Dottie with Landon?  She needs to get her butt wings over to an Al Anon meeting, There are groups for parents who have lost children, and there are also support groups for weight loss.   I am sure they are plenty of resources in Oxford, MS.

[Scratches19]

That bouquet from Chris to Dottie though. Looked like two drunken clowns Fighting. Or someone ate a piñata and threw it up on daisies. Or maybe an explosion at the highlighter factory.  

 

[JunkFoodTV]

11 hours ago, Twopper said:

There was an episode where a young boy was having to do the laundry for his mother.  Was that Dottie with Landon?  She needs to get her butt wings over to an Al Anon meeting, There are groups for parents who have lost children, and there are also support groups for weight loss.   I am sure they are plenty of resources in Oxford, MS.

I think that was Ashley D. and her son Patrick. Another future grandson of mine. 😊 Cutest, sweetest little pumpkin pie. 😍

[JunkFoodTV]

10 hours ago, Scratches19 said:

That bouquet from Chris to Dottie though. Looked like two drunken clowns Fighting. Or someone ate a piñata and threw it up on daisies. Or maybe an explosion at the highlighter factory.  

 

That's so funny. I said at the time that it looks EXACTLY like the bouquet that Chris would choose. So I thought it was sweet. 💐

[JunkFoodTV]

Rewatching and I realized that Dottie saying "Chris isn't MOMMA" "Landon needs his MOMMA" MOMMA MOMMA MOMMA, gets on my last nerve. 😠

Usually I reserve that overwhelming anger for chewing, smacking, slurping sounds. But Dottie is special.

That smothered commercial with the mom making noise in the daughter's ear....ugh...I just can't. 

[Elizzikra]

On 5/7/2020 at 3:23 PM, snarkish said:

THIS. This is also the reason I couldn't handle Cynthia's original show. She lives in the damn drive thru. I was a single Mom of a meager 2 kids. I'm not a fan of fast food. I would grab a rotisserie chicken and make microwave steam vegetables and boil in bag rice on nights when I just couldn't handle cooking a better meal. It took all of TEN minutes to prepare. Even with all their "busy" schedules, you have 10 minutes to put something better in your mouth. (**descends soap box**)

It would take Cynthia ten minutes to even get out of her car in the grocery store lot. She likes fast food because she doesn’t have to get out of the car to get it and the only clean up involved is throwing away the wrappers.

[Ralphster]

I like how Dottie blew through the stop sign as she left Chris. That was classic.

The "I have to be there for my kid" excuse is blatantly pathetic. It takes hours just to eat the amounts of food they must be eating in order to gain what they are gaining. I wonder if they just assume no one is going to work that excuse out to its logical conclusion, because it is Weak Sauce.

Dottie had a point in that it is not good for a child to hear his parent is a "drug addict." First of all, that is ridiculous hyperbole, Dr. Now. My view of you as a charlatan is solidifying. Secondly, Dottie is the gatekeeper for her son; she should have asked Chris to keep the kid in the waiting room. I'm torn about this. Dr. Now should have shut his mouth about Dottie's "drug addiction," but Dottie is the one who needs to keep her son away from potentially harmful situations. And calling someone who smokes a drug addict is so lame it's not even funny.

Different episode, but related - When Bethany was in the office, Dr. Now said that her daughter, who was sitting right by her, was also overweight. That was 100% inappropriate and uncalled for, as the child has no control over what foods she is served and his comment did not improve anything or change anything. All it did was probably make the little girl feel badly about herself and possibly become self-conscious for the first time. It takes just one comment to trigger a lifetime of eating disorders. Dr. Now is a clod and an insensitive asshole to say that to and about a little girl who is not there for his help but who is merely accompanying her mother to an appointment. I am really starting to see him as someone who enjoys baiting people and haranguing them and just sees his patients as a stream of income. It would explain situations like these perfectly.

Edited July 25, 2020 by Ralphster

[magemaud]

Did anybody pick up on Dottie’s son’s name is Landon? 

[Ralphster]

I was appalled by the way Dottie treated Landon. When she got out of bed, she walked past Landon without responding to his crying except to tell him that she had to take care of Daniel. Landon is non-verbal. He doesn't know why you're ignoring him. Daniel can wait a minute while you hug Landon. It seems pretty clear that Dottie's neglect of Landon contributed to his autistic-like behaviour in later episodes. It just makes sense that a child who is ignored to the extent Landon was would become withdrawn and have severe attachment issues. Dottie and her husband are guilty of child abuse in my opinion. Yet another couple who should never have had children. I wonder if Landon will be able to heal somewhat from this. I doubt it; the research is crystal clear that children who are neglected as infants and toddlers will have permanent difficulties with feeling connected to other people. It will take extensive and intense therapy to try to get Landon past this, but I doubt this will be done. Dottie only gives a shit about Dottie, and Chris doesn't give a flying fuck about anything except a whisky bottle. Even if such therapy is undertaken, Landon will still struggle with attachment issues. Basically, Dottie and her husband have created someone who will always feel alienated in society, who will likely behave with coldness toward other people. What they have done is nothing short of horrifying. I hate Dottie and her husband for what they have done.

[LuvMyShows]

Random observations:

• Couldn't help but question what was in the water bottle that Chris dragged into Dr. Now's office.
• Cynthia's accusation that Dr. Now was "not listening", really meant "not agreeing with how I see it"
• Cynthia also said something about only doing this for a year.  Although the "this" might technically have referred to Dr. Now's program, what it really meant was being careful/purposeful about what she ate.  She absolutely thought that once she hit a certain weight after a year of effort, she would then magically be able to maintain it and be able to eat/do whatever she wanted to from then on out.
• I believe Cynthia was also the one who said she can't keep putting her life on hold.  Exactly what life activities is she is no longer doing, and why?  Unless she means "eating exactly what she wants any time she wants it" is on hold, then I don't see anything in her life that has been curtailed.
• It is so sad that Cynthia said, regarding having her kids do things to help, that she'd rather do it herself, because she is stunting their growth by not having them help around the house, learn to prepare simple meals, etc, and instead she is simply modeling a terrible way of conducting oneself.

On 5/9/2020 at 7:11 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

She also claims she didn't eat all of that food in rehab, and the whole show was fake.   So how did she look so much bigger?   

You handed me a softball here....the answer, obviously, is "My mattress makes me look fat!"

On 5/7/2020 at 7:53 AM, rlc said:

I know that they're all given meal plans and diet information that we don’t see and they don’t choose to follow, but I always wonder how it’s possible that they actual believe that fast food is their only option (because they’re all just sooooooooooo busy, even though none of them have jobs). 

On 5/7/2020 at 9:56 AM, zengirl1215 said:

 I can understand the part about running kids to different sports and activities, so fast food being an option some of the time, but it's not hard making sandwiches at home. But unfortunately, all she's doing is making sure they end up just like her. SAD!

I get that there are times when fast food may truly be the only option, but there are sooo many more options in fast food than the greasy fatty food that she insists on.  When my husband and I go on a trip, I try to pack my lunch, but on the way back that is usually not possible.  So I am fanatical about trying to find a Subway...there are so many great low-cal/low-fat options, and they are very tasty.

On 5/7/2020 at 2:03 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

The way she hauled him out of his own bed, just to watch TV with her was absurd.   

That truly was bizarre.  Landon was in his pajamas, at the foot of his bed, and she said something like, "You know where we're going", and then it looked like he started climbing into his bed for bedtime.  And then instead she slung him over her shoulder and dumped him on her bed, and started moving him around in all sorts of bizarre ways, regardless of how he actually wanted to position himself.  And the clock by her bed said 4:12, which confused me even more!

On 5/7/2020 at 3:23 PM, snarkish said:

I was a single Mom of a meager 2 kids. I'm not a fan of fast food. I would grab a rotisserie chicken and make microwave steam vegetables and boil in bag rice on nights when I just couldn't handle cooking a better meal. It took all of TEN minutes to prepare. Even with all their "busy" schedules, you have 10 minutes to put something better in your mouth. (**descends soap box**)

You took the words right out of my mouth (or, out of my typing fingers).  Another easy option is the beef and vegetable soups, drained of most of the 'soup' portion (which can have a lot of sodium), and poured over rice.

[pdlinda]

On 8/24/2020 at 1:57 AM, Ralphster said:

Basically, Dottie and her husband have created someone who will always feel alienated in society, who will likely behave with coldness toward other people. What they have done is nothing short of horrifying. I hate Dottie and her husband for what they have done

I was re-watching follow-ups on Pauline the other night and her son, Dylan (Dilleeee) falls into the same category as Landon.  A self-absorbed abusive mother with serious addiction problems who groomed her son to be drawn into himself emotionally and basically unable to function in society except to be mother's "caretaker."

I also recall (on another side note) on Dottie's follow-up when she had lost a good amount of weight and was able to "function" in the home, she seemed most content to "sit around" and do the least possible insofar as chores and caring for Landon. 

I recall one time when Chris came home from what was obviously a job that required manual labor (hard work) and asked "what's for dinner."   Dottie looked at him very nonchalantly and said: (paraphrase)" I didn't think of making dinner, why don't you (Chris) put a frozen pizza in the microwave!!"  I GROANED, but understand that's right in line with her smoking addiction that interfered with her skin removal surgery.  She really was (is) "a piece of work."  At that time, Chris' "drinking problem" was never discussed on the show; however, I read she and Chris were back together as it was unfathomable to me how Dottie would ever be able to function in a full-time job to support herself/Landon.

[CrazyInAlabama]

There was only Dottie's claim that Chris was a drinker.    I only remember him having a beer on camera once, and I'm wondering if she's one of the people who think anyone who drinks any beer or other liquor is a drunk?   She's turning the second son into an invalid, and I'm betting her first step is to get a diagnosis of almost anything for him.    Then she can go back to telling everyone how busy she is with her son.    

[pdlinda]

On 5/9/2020 at 6:37 AM, Concerned said:

In the first Dottie episode, there was a sister who was aghast at Dottie eating pizza after pizza and washing it down with a box of brownies. Maybe she can step up and take custody of Landon. Considering how deeply mentally ill Dottie is, the sister could win any custody suit,

I just saw this post and have many years of doing criminal defense work.  From my background and experience the courts ALWAYS have family cohesiveness as its core principle.  What you or I would consider Dottie's mental health condition is not what an expert might testify on her behalf to the court.  In most cases if Landon is seen as having a roof over his head, sufficient nutrition (not necessarily optimal) and clothing on his back, Dottie's "parenting style" would be accepted as what would be best for the child (there may be exceptions but I never saw any in the cases I handled).  If Dottie were confined to a psychiatric hospital full-time under specific criteria things might be different; however, she doesn't come close to that legal standard from what I've seen on the show.  

It's a very treacherous situation for that innocent child and from that last episode where Dottie was emotionally and physically latching herself onto Landon almost every minute of every day, she would not be deemed a neglectful parent.  If, on the other hand, DOTTIE voluntarily relinquished her parental rights and her husband, Chris, gave up HIS parental rights, then, if her sister petitioned the court for guardianship or adoption of Landon, that would be another story.  However, I saw no indication that was even remotely the case with this family.