S15.E10: Polygamy Hell

[AryasMum]

2 hours ago, Mothra said:

I've been puzzling over this.  I gather, but only from tv shows like this one, that LDS tend to marry within their religion maybe more than other groups?  Polygamous or not, that limits the mating pool, and just as some other genetic disorders are linked to closed or relatively closed religious communities (notoriously, Tay-Sachs among certain groups of Jews and maple-syrup-urine disease among some Amish), I wonder if the LDS community is closed enough on its own, without factoring in polygamy, to have an effect on genetic anomalies.

There are about 6.5 million LDS in the US, mostly concentrated in only a few areas.  If mates are chosen only or mostly from that pool, what does that mean in terms of genetics when compared to our overall population of about 330 million?

I read somewhere a long time ago that it's necessary to go back only about 14 generations before we find that we (everyone on earth) are cousins.  Maybe we're all in a lot more trouble than I thought!

I’m not LDS, but have had friend who are. Unless they’re a convert, LDS seems rather obsessed with their lineage - closer to Joseph Smith, closer to God, I guess.  Since marrying someone outside of LDS leads to exclusion - my friend’s father was not Mormon and he was not allowed to attend her wedding in the sacrosanct temple - I think there is a huge incentive to marry within their own religion.  Plus, trying not to judge here, there are some unusual beliefs in Mormonism, and I couldn’t hitch my particular wagon to the LDS train.

 

 

[Tabbygirl521]

A very close relative of mine in his 70s converted to LDS in college and he’s about as gung-ho as you can get, as is his convert wife. However, she is completely grossed out by polygamy in general (and of course the LDS church no longer condones it) and we have shuddered together about Sister Wives. But my relative got very defensive on behalf of the concept of polygamy during this same convo. It was strange...

then again, this is his third marriage, all since he converted. I have never had the nerve to ask him about what kind of sealing and unsealing went on. I do know he still refers to his second wife as his true love. Yes, in front of his current wife of 30 years. She didn’t even flinch. Maybe he considers that they’re all still spiritually married on the DL or something. I’ll have to find out if he ever got hooked on Sister Wives. Maybe he loves Kody.

PS, I just remembered he was a chiropractor!

[Granny58]

On 4/23/2021 at 9:17 PM, Art Of Noiz said:

I'm by no means defending their decisions re: Ysabel's scoliosis treatment. I'm a retired early, advanced Registry  Xray/CT/MRI Tech. I worked in the field for 35 years, and saw horrific images of people who had chiropractic adjustments. 

 

Just to be clear....people who were damaged by chiropractic adjustments?  that's very interesting.   I have had lower back work done, but would NEVER let one near my neck.  

[Mothra]

26 minutes ago, Granny58 said:

Just to be clear....people who were damaged by chiropractic adjustments?  that's very interesting.   I have had lower back work done, but would NEVER let one near my neck.  

My reaction was that there's probably a lot of work for chiropractors among polygs. if they're all like the Browns.   Some chiropractors don't rely on insurance payments, and god knows the Browns aren't eager to insure anybody.  Better a chiropractic treatment (and it might be *exactly* what's needed) than no medical attention at all--unless you have a child with severe scoliosis.

[monagatuna]

16 hours ago, mittsigirl said:

I agree with your post. I just can't figure out the big attraction to Robyn he has. Robyn is not that great looking, she doesn't have a great body, she doesn't seem to be very intelligent, I just don't get her appeal, at all! She doesn't look as young as she should look for her age, she does so much of the dry-tear crying and sobbing, what the hell is it?? Is it the sex? Does she have an extra special working vagina that the other 3 don't have? What makes her so special to him?? Unless he maybe has a crazy chin fetish!

Aside from @Sandy W's excellent reasoning, there is also the fact that he's too old, haggard, and broke to attract a new, younger, hotter wife. For all his faults, he does seem to draw a hard line against coercing children to marry him, like many others of his ilk. And Robyn is marginally younger and more attractive than his previous wives (though I do think Christine is quite pretty). He also is probably too tired from grifting to try to cajole interest out of another woman when he seems to not be too interested in plural marriage at this point anyway.

I seriously don't understand why he bullies Christine so much. Meri, I get, especially after the catfish and after her bullying of the second and third wives. Not okay, but more understandable. And I know Jenelle requires nothing of him and the Dark Wife is the favored one, so I get that too. But why is Christine the whipping boy? She has kept sweet, birthed his offspring, demanded nothing except not to live in the same house, and suffered greatly for her crime of :checks notes: eating nachos. I get that he only married her for her plyg royalty status, but it seems weird that he is so abusive of and cruel to her when her greatest crime has been allowing him to abuse and neglect his children by her.

She's complicit in neglecting their kids, to be sure, but she's also indoctrinated. It takes a LOT of soul-searching and mental fortitude, as well as a support system (all things she doesn't have), to escape a lifetime of abuse and indoctrination, and many people leave and go back to abusive situations before they're finally free. I have a hard time laying everything at her feet, when her plyg royalty brain probably can't process, and probably fears, freedom. But I legit can't see why Kody is so nasty to her, when all she wants is a crumb of affection from him occasionally. If you intentionally and willfully marry someone you're not attracted to, it seems decades of services and devotion would at least evolve into semi-neutral fondness, not active hatred and cruelty.

[Cetacean]

9 minutes ago, monagatuna said:

But why is Christine the whipping boy? She has kept sweet, birthed his offspring, demanded nothing except not to live in the same house, and suffered greatly for her crime of :checks notes: eating nachos.

That's the MO of abused women.  They believe it's all their fault so double down on doing whatever the abuser says they lack. And it is to no avail because it's all about the power of the abuser. It's also why abused women sacrifice their kids.  Nothing she does will ever be good enough. 

[AryasMum]

33 minutes ago, Mothra said:

My reaction was that there's probably a lot of work for chiropractors among polygs. if they're all like the Browns.   Some chiropractors don't rely on insurance payments, and god knows the Browns aren't eager to insure anybody.  Better a chiropractic treatment (and it might be *exactly* what's needed) than no medical attention at all--unless you have a child with severe scoliosis.

There are also chiropractors who provide school physicals, which enrages me. Take your kid to a real doctor!  Preferably a pediatrician, you know, the child expert.  I have cousins who had insurance and money, and yet all their kids’ school physicals were done at clinics. I’m convinced it’s because they were anti- vaccine . . . both fully vaccinated themselves, and in the states of Georgia and Florida, they were allowed to say it because of “religious reasons”. They are generic Christians who don’t even go to church. They were simply two college dropouts who thought they were smarter than the scientists. 

[Twopper]

16 hours ago, Sandy W said:

Referring back to the courting and honeymoon episodes with Robyn, comparatively speaking, Robyn was physically much more attractive than his existing harem of 20+/- years. Janelle and Christine had given birth 6 times each to his legacy children and they were done with that.  Robyn was a boost to his virility when she held out the hope of more kids in his kingdom. 

She came across to Kody as her savior, appealing to the White Knight complex that is inherent in many men.  She played her cards just right, leading the whole family to believe that she was a grateful woman who would bring nothing but balance and harmony to the group.  She was also much more worldly than the original 3, why she actually knew gay people!!! so she was in a position to counsel Meri on how to respond when Mariah came out.  Kody fell for it, and believed that with Robyn at the ready, she would relieve him of the pesky problems presented by the OG.  I think Kody is still under the impression that Robyn is an invaluable asset and if, off camera, the other's point out the inequalities, she has him so firmly wrapped that he would dismiss their concerns as petty and unappreciative of all she does for the family.

Robyn was around 30 and Kody was 10 or 11 years older so Robyn was the trophy wife that Kody gave himself for his midlife crisis.   I think his relatively sudden dislike of plural marriage is a result of another midlife crisis.   The original three were "done" with baby making and they looked their age.   If you go back to the Natalie Morales interview,  Robyn is a very, very attractive woman from the front.  No wonder he was under her spell.

We met Christine's mom and aunt in earlier episodes.  Both have left polygamy so it may be a lot easier for Christine than for Meri ( not sure how Meri's family feels about it)as Christine would have an immediate support group.   Janelle doesn't seem to need much of Kody, so he probably will let her hang around until Savanah goes to college or gets married.  He needs her to keep his connection to Caleb so keeping her serves a purpose for him.   Truely is so emotionally connected with Ari and Solomon, it will be hard for Christine to tear her away, but I think they will spend less and less time in Arizona.

[AryasMum]

27 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

That's the MO of abused women.  They believe it's all their fault so double down on doing whatever the abuser says they lack. And it is to no avail because it's all about the power of the abuser. It's also why abused women sacrifice their kids.  Nothing she does will ever be good enough. 

In one of these polygamy shows, they alluded to the fact that yes, the women suffer, but that’s the point. They had to be strong and have faith and over come it. Sounds like the Mother Theresa BS where suffering is righteous. 

[deirdra]

13 hours ago, JenMcSnark said:

Dr. Elkins had an office and practice, but we always went to his house where he also had an office. 

Probably bartering to minimize income taxes.  My HS friend babysat for her dentist in lieu of payments.

Edited April 25, 2021 by deirdra

[Art Of Noiz]

2 hours ago, Granny58 said:

Just to be clear....people who were damaged by chiropractic adjustments?  that's very interesting.   I have had lower back work done, but would NEVER let one near my neck.  

Yes, ty..damaged by adjustments. I had been to a chiropractor in the 80s, for lower back, not my neck, but once I knew there was risk of nerve damage in Thoracic and Lumbar spines, I wouldn't consider it again. I won't get on a motorcycle, either. :o

 

 

 

[Tabbygirl521]

4 hours ago, Granny58 said:

Just to be clear....people who were damaged by chiropractic adjustments?  that's very interesting.   I have had lower back work done, but would NEVER let one near my neck.  

My doctor advised me about this; she said never let a chiro touch your neck. I also happen to know someone who had a stroke within an hour after a neck adjustment. Somehow the treatment compromised his carotid artery.

Christine once said she wanted the family, not just the man. I gather she still clings to the idea that polygamy SHOULD be ideal. She mentioned feeling that her sister wives should be a satisfactory social circle, for example.  It sadly in this situation she has neither the man nor the family, though apparently Janelle’s kids value her. But she is never going to get what she wanted and wants from this polygamous setup. She really needs to consider other ways to get what she wants. It’s too bad she doesn’t have Robyn’s willingness to be assertive and advocate on her own behalf (I know, I know, Robyn’s the queen of hell or whatever. I don’t see her that way. )

Edited April 25, 2021 by Tabbygirl521

[ReadMeLattice]

7 hours ago, AryasMum said:

I’m not LDS, but have had friend who are. Unless they’re a convert, LDS seems rather obsessed with their lineage - closer to Joseph Smith, closer to God, I guess.  Since marrying someone outside of LDS leads to exclusion - my friend’s father was not Mormon and he was not allowed to attend her wedding in the sacrosanct temple - I think there is a huge incentive to marry within their own religion.  Plus, trying not to judge here, there are some unusual beliefs in Mormonism, and I couldn’t hitch my particular wagon to the LDS train.

 

 

I was Mormon once upon a time and yep - if I had married the guy I was engaged to at the time, my parents wouldn’t have been allowed at the wedding because they aren’t Mormon. 
 

Speaking of that, I’m wondering more than ever after the finale how much the Browns even believe in their religion anymore. What Kody was saying in this episode doesn’t seem to go along with the AUB beliefs whatsoever. Have they completely left the church? 

Edited April 25, 2021 by ReadMeLattice

[ReadMeLattice]

3 hours ago, Twopper said:

Robyn was around 30 and Kody was 10 or 11 years older so Robyn was the trophy wife that Kody gave himself for his midlife crisis.   I think his relatively sudden dislike of plural marriage is a result of another midlife crisis.   The original three were "done" with baby making and they looked their age.   If you go back to the Natalie Morales interview,  Robyn is a very, very attractive woman from the front.  No wonder he was under her spell.

Whoa. I went back and looked at that interview and honestly, Robyn was extremely pretty. She had a glow. I forgot she ever looked like that. I do *totally* understand that 10 years, 2 more kids and possible health issues can DRASTICALLY affect or permanently alter your looks so I’m truly not trying to be a dick here, but comparing that Robyn to the Robyn of this season finale is fairly shocking. She looks completely, entirely different. 

partly it’s that the light seems to have gone out of her eyes. I think the Brown family is a deeply toxic environment with a truly poisonous amount of chronic stress. We certainly saw that this episode. I don’t know if that’s what’s affected Robyn’s looks but wow, it’s a jarring before and after. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by ReadMeLattice

[itsadryheat]

51 minutes ago, ReadMeLattice said:

it’s that the light seems to have gone out of her eyes

Karma for being the chosen one, including living 24/7 with kody brown. 

Don't believe for a second her comment about kody being with her all the time and not the other spiritual wives had anything to do with her being gracious to them and her being a sister wife team player. Even she doesn't want that psycho around all the time. She got the ring, the title, the legal paperwork, and the mansion. Covid is the excuse he uses to avoid the others. Surprise Robyn! You have monogamy kody! You might want to load up on that LIV water.

Edited April 25, 2021 by itsadryheat

[Absolom]

4 hours ago, Cetacean said:

They believe it's all their fault so double down on doing whatever the abuser says they lack. And it is to no avail because it's all about the power of the abuser.

It's a power trip and Kody is a bully.  The more one tries to keep sweet and appease a bully, the worse they get and the more they demand.  It becomes a vicious cycle.  Christine is still trapped in it, but appears to be beginning to recognize.  She has to do that and come to terms with her "husband" and at least one of her sister wives are abusive bullies before she can pull out of the situation.  

 

2 minutes ago, itsadryheat said:

Surprise Robyn! You have monogamy kody! You might want to load up on that LIV water.

And some bourbon to go with it.

[Granny58]

54 minutes ago, ReadMeLattice said:

Whoa. I went back and looked at that interview and honestly, Robyn was extremely pretty. She had a glow. I forgot she ever looked like that. I do *totally* understand that 10 years, 2 more kids and possible health issues can DRASTICALLY affect or permanently alter your looks so I’m truly not trying to be a dick here, but comparing that Robyn to the Robyn of this season finale is fairly shocking. She looks completely, entirely different. 

partly it’s that the light seems to have gone out of her eyes. I think the Brown family is a deeply toxic environment with a truly poisonous amount of chronic stress. We certainly saw that this episode. I don’t know if that’s what’s affected Robyn’s looks but wow, it’s a jarring before and after. 

as I was reading your post, before I got to the second part, my thought was that dealing with Kody and his whims, er, decision making, would take a toll on anybody.  

[the-grey-lady]

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH

Christine: So our attempts to correct Ysabel's scoliosis through expensive quackery have failed. She needs surgery.

Kody: There's a Ysabel? Oh, right...does she need it now? I'm so busy.

Christine: She's in agony every day.

Kody: Fine. But do we have to be there for it? Specifically me? Robyn's kids might need me that day.

Edited April 26, 2021 by the-grey-lady

[b2H]

21 hours ago, notnowimbusy said:

And Meri is the last person to give her advice about dealing with abandonment, and a loveless marriage.

On the contrary.  Everything Meri said is absolutely true for plyg women.  Everything.  As someone said upthread, Meri gave Christine no guidance for dealing with her pain.  She gave Christine Plyg speech #1-A - keep sweet no matter how you really feel.  C doesn’t count for anything with anyone and she’s giving everyone the sads and needs to knock it off.  That was the thrust of the speech.

[ReadMeLattice]

1 hour ago, the-grey-lady said:

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH

Christine: So our attempts to correct Ysabel's scoliosis through expensive quackery have failed. She needs surgery.

Kody: There's a Ysabel? Oh, right...does she need it now? I'm so busy.

Christine: She's in agony every day.

Kody: Fine. But do we have to be there for it? Specifically me? Robyn's kids might need me that day.

I never know why he’s so overwhelmed or whatever, either. Even with Robyn’s kids I’ve never seen him exerting himself. The moms have all been shown at least occasionally taking care of a baby, cooking a meal, gardening, SOMETHING. What does he *do?*

[Art Of Noiz]

1 hour ago, ReadMeLattice said:

I never know why he’s so overwhelmed or whatever, either. Even with Robyn’s kids I’ve never seen him exerting himself. The moms have all been shown at least occasionally taking care of a baby, cooking a meal, gardening, SOMETHING. What does he *do?*

He used to run from house to house in LV.

[the-grey-lady]

I know we make fun of the episode titles a lot (and with good reason), but this one was spot-on.

[AryasMum]

2 hours ago, ReadMeLattice said:

I never know why he’s so overwhelmed or whatever, either. Even with Robyn’s kids I’ve never seen him exerting himself. The moms have all been shown at least occasionally taking care of a baby, cooking a meal, gardening, SOMETHING. What does he *do?*

I remember Kody supposedly watching all of the kids and spending all of his time with Robyn’s wailing daughters. Maybe the same time Truely was dying?

1 hour ago, Art Of Noiz said:

He used to run from house to house in LV.

That was his way of peeing on a tree. 

[iwantcookies]

3 hours ago, ReadMeLattice said:

I never know why he’s so overwhelmed or whatever, either. Even with Robyn’s kids I’ve never seen him exerting himself. The moms have all been shown at least occasionally taking care of a baby, cooking a meal, gardening, SOMETHING. What does he *do?*

His hair? It must take an hour to get the ramen noodles right.

[Pickleinthemiddle]

4 hours ago, ReadMeLattice said:

I never know why he’s so overwhelmed or whatever, either. Even with Robyn’s kids I’ve never seen him exerting himself. The moms have all been shown at least occasionally taking care of a baby, cooking a meal, gardening, SOMETHING. What does he *do?*

I believe he has to help out more than we think with Robyn's little's.  Since she no longer has Mindy to help out.  Sounds like Aria is a very active child.  

[laurakaye]

5 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

I believe he has to help out more than we think with Robyn's little's.  Since she no longer has Mindy to help out.  Sounds like Aria is a very active child.  

And I think Robyn encourages Ariablobla's noctural activites because it serves many purposes - it enforces to Kody that Robyn needs extra help with her, it keeps the baby wagon at bay, and poor Robyn is just so exhausted dealing with little Miss Chatterbox all night, she needs Kody to be at her house so Robyn can nap.  At four years old, Ari shouldn't be walking around with a pacifier and she should be able to handle sleeping through the night.  I think Robyn is creating another drama queen just like big sister Aurora.  Throw in a very shy and potentially behind-in-school Sol and Day'un, who I've heard dropped out of college and moved back home, well - Kody's other kids can just wait.  Robyn needs his help way more than any other wife and she knows how to get it.

[ErikaAlyson]

I wouldn't say Robyn was very very attractive but she is cute. That's also way in the past. Her role in their family and her behavior doesn't help her looks. Christine was just as cute as 30 yr old Robyn. I noticed Kody looks the same height as his some of his wives except Janelle obviously. How tall are Christine and Robyn??? They look like their exactly Kody's height lol. Janelle has pretty eyes. Now Meri I would say I would find to be Kody's least attractive wife. Robyn was new to the family and Kody was going through a mid life crisis at the time. So I'm sure everything about her was intensified. All of this she was a great beauty..... she looks like some of the girls on Love after lockup lol very average.

[Tabbygirl521]

Since were discussing looks...it’s not like we’re going to see Kody on the cover of GQ. They’re a bunch of regular middle-aged people of not-unusual appearance. No different from millions of everyday folk who are loved and happy. Kody looks the strangest to me since his hair suggests he’s grabbed an electric fence in the recent past. 

[albarino]

14 hours ago, laurakaye said:

At four years old, Ari shouldn't be walking around with a pacifier and she should be able to handle sleeping through the night.  I

I missed this.  Lordy.  I think this is the nicest thing I can say.  I'm flabbergasted if this is true.

[Absolom]

I'm halfway through the second hour.  Why didn't they simply name it Kody bitchfest?  

These two hours may be the worst of SW I've ever seen.

[Twopper]

13 hours ago, ErikaAlyson said:

I wouldn't say Robyn was very very attractive but she is cute.

I think she was cute when she first joined the Browns.  With professional make-up and the studio lighting for that interview she looked really great as long as we didn't see her in profile.

 

22 minutes ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

 Kody looks the strangest to me since his hair suggests he’s grabbed an electric fence in the recent past. 

I think this is a bad imitation of the hair Maddie had in the episode where they are at the beach with the Dargers.

 

On 4/25/2021 at 8:58 PM, ReadMeLattice said:

I never know why he’s so overwhelmed

I think he is overwhelmed trying to create story lines to keep this show on the air.  The first two seasons sorta wrote themselves.  Then TLC gave them stuff to do like a trip to see the Mormon town in Illinois or meet random poly families or fillers like in a later season where they played a couple of games like the Newlywed game.  There were three weddings which extended the series and finally the move to Flagstaff. We know the one big house is a pipe dream. Watching Janelle make the rounds trying to facilitate communication is a major snoozefest.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Twopper

[notnowimbusy]

I think Janelle is in a panic.  She knows Meri & Christine are fed up, Robyn is dominating all of Kody's time and attention, so NOW she wants better communication among the wives?????    She could deal with it just being her and Robyn if time was split even 60/40, but Christine sees what her future holds.  No building on that mud dump, no cul-de-sac existance - just four women, miles apart who have nothing in common but a man who has abandoned his beliefs, his lifestyle and is forcing everyone, except Robyn to choose to leave.   I think Kody wants the other wives to leave, and "hopes" they relinquish their shares in the property so he can build a house for he & Robyn, rentals, and live there without polygamy interferring.  He's done, he just has to make it so miserable for everyone else to pull up stakes and leave.  His biggest problem is Janelle - she's not going anywhere - even if the TLC money runs out.

[MakingBacon]

I can believe Kody is overwhelmed. He just seemed angry at the world in this episode. It’s no longer fun to be the polygamist husband he thought every man envied. I think kody has finally realized the house of cards is about to fail. The finances are probably in the worst shape ever. The mortgage on Robyn’s is probably all the LV properties combined. Didn’t someone post they took out $150k on the house in March 2020? That money is likely completely gone. I think Kody, and the wives, know this show won’t go in for longer, and if it does, they will likely receive less than they did in the past. The Browns are like the Duggars, no other network wants them, there are no other options, so they have to take whatever TLC offers. What pisses me off is that Robyn is the only one who has done nothing to bring any money into the family. My sister wives closet couldn’t have been anything more than a vanity project/tax write off.

Back to the $150k taken out on Robyn’s mansion. What kills me is you just know none of that money went to Ysabel’s surgery or Christine wouldn’t have been working so hard to raise it. It’s so strange, if I had needed surgery like that as a kid, not only would I have already had health insurance but my entire family would have put whatever they could into the pot so I could get the surgery. Christine basically raised everyone’s kids and none of the other adults could be bothered to try and help raise the money for the surgery? That what us non-polygamist families would do. 

[Elizzikra]

Quote

At four years old, Ari shouldn't be walking around with a pacifier and she should be able to handle sleeping through the night.  I

I agree that a four year-old should be sleeping through the night, but why should she necessarily be off the pacifier? She's not going to clamp one between her teeth when she leaves for Harvard. She will part with it in her own time. And believe me, I think any child in that family needs all the self-soothing tools they can stack up. 

[notnowimbusy]

Before Robyn and the move to Las Vegas, Janelle seemed to be the one who had a handle on the finances, the food storage, etc.  She always seemed to be budgeting for basic needs, allowances, etc.  Now it's every man for himself.   Janelle was happy renting a small house, but Meri is really sticking it to them with a big rental.  Christine was somewhat smart in buying but there is no equity in her place.  And then they blow what's left on Robyns place.  Janelle knows whats going on, that why she anxious about getting everyone together so she has more control of any finances.  Their only asset is the property and without development it's not worth what they paid.  And, they can't afford a loan to build even one house.    I suspect that's what Kody is hoping for - borrow against Robyns place, to build a house.  Sell Robyns house, and if Janelle is still around, get her a trailer.  

[JocelynCavanaugh]

57 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

I agree that a four year-old should be sleeping through the night, but why should she necessarily be off the pacifier? She's not going to clamp one between her teeth when she leaves for Harvard. She will part with it in her own time. And believe me, I think any child in that family needs all the self-soothing tools they can stack up. 

I'd be worried her teeth will turn out like Jovi's on 90 Day Fiancé. 

[Tabbygirl521]

And another thing! Kody said he had four houses all lined up in St George with backyards that all abutted, and that would have been perfect but everyone objected and so that’s why they’re in Flagstaff? Isn’t that basically the setup they had in LV? I can’t keep up with all the crazy. I would have lost my mind if my parents had been this chaotic. 

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

I agree that a four year-old should be sleeping through the night, but why should she necessarily be off the pacifier? She's not going to clamp one between her teeth when she leaves for Harvard. She will part with it in her own time. And believe me, I think any child in that family needs all the self-soothing tools they can stack up. 

I've heard and read that past the age of 3 or so it can cause a child's teeth to grow in crooked, leading to expensive dental work to correct it.  Plus it can also lead to impaired language development. It can also interfere with the healthy development of internal coping mechanisms.  Leaning on anything external as a crutch to sooth yourself doesn't set you up for being able to cope without external things like medications down the line into adulthood.

I found this article on the subject interesting.

[albarino]

25 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

It can also interfere with the healthy development of internal coping mechanisms.  Leaning on anything external as a crutch to sooth yourself doesn't set you up for being able to cope without external things like medications down the line into adulthood.

I was laughing thinking about pacifiers at age 4 (I'm not a Pediatrician) and thought they should just give her cigarettes.  Talk about soothing!  Only a joke, as an ex-smoker, I think I would have preferred a pacifier!  Or Lala's bottles!

[Opine]

Soon there will be tears.  Real tears.  Not Robchin's fakeass "I am trying to get my way" tearless crying.  The financial house of cards will implode in 3.....2......  I don't even know if the implosion will wait until the show is cancelled.  Then Robchin's precious snowflakes won't have a million dollar mansion, Mary won't have her wetbar, Christine will maybe finally admit that polygamy sucks when Codouche sells her house to support Robchin, and Janelle will just be Janelle.

[laurakaye]

10 hours ago, Absolom said:

These two hours may be the worst of SW I've ever seen.

And yet I am finding them the most honest we've ever seen.  Kody admitted that he has no need for his lesser wives and their pesky kids.  Meri is all, "I have no relationship with this guy anymore."  Christine is THISCLOSE to leaving (wishful thinking maybe, but still).  And Janelle, hilariously enough, has morphed into the family communications specialist - this from a woman who barely spoke two words per episode about anything.  As much as I hate all the pandemic talk, I'd like to think that we are finally getting a peek behind the screen on how these people really fill about each other, and it's not pretty.

 

On 4/25/2021 at 9:58 PM, ReadMeLattice said:

I never know why he’s so overwhelmed or whatever, either.

Someone on these threads said that Kody's drug of choice is chaos and I 100% agree.  If he's always running around like a maniac, he can't settle down and fix anything.  If he professes to always being pulled in 10 different directions, he doesn't have to deal with any one-on-one messiness.  If he did, he'd probably find that his children don't respect him and his wives need him to be someone he's never going to be.  So he runs, and runs, and...........runs.

[NoWhammies]

11 hours ago, notnowimbusy said:

I think Kody wants the other wives to leave, and "hopes" they relinquish their shares in the property so he can build a house for he & Robyn, rentals, and live there without polygamy interferring.  He's done, he just has to make it so miserable for everyone else to pull up stakes and leave.  His biggest problem is Janelle - she's not going anywhere - even if the TLC money runs out.

If he's hoping for that, I suspect he has underestimated Meri. She seems in it for spite at this point - to make the pile of hair you pull out of a shower drain named Kody as miserable as humanly possible. 

There are all kinds of kind and gentle ways to get a kid off a paci. My son LOVED his pacis. When he was nearly 3, I started cutting off the tips. So he'd walk around with the less than 1/8" stub clenched in his little teeth. Then, my sister got pregnant, and we boxed those babies up and sent them off to her because there was a "new baby." That did the trick. He was off the paci, and my sister got a box of hacked up, used up pacifiers to throw away. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by NoWhammies

[Absolom]

26 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

And yet I am finding them the most honest we've ever seen.  Kody admitted that he has no need for his lesser wives and their pesky kids.  Meri is all, "I have no relationship with this guy anymore."  Christine is THISCLOSE to leaving (wishful thinking maybe, but still).  And Janelle, hilariously enough, has morphed into the family communications specialist - this from a woman who barely spoke two words per episode about anything.  As much as I hate all the pandemic talk, I'd like to think that we are finally getting a peek behind the screen on how these people really fill about each other, and it's not pretty.

That probably is true.  Without production for ideas and the pandemic severely limiting places to go much less film, they were left with themselves as they are.  I must not enjoy the collapse of a family such as it was.  

[Madding crowd]

On 4/20/2021 at 3:03 PM, AryasMum said:

6 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

 

6 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

Yet he remains a bloated toad! I have no love for Joe Darger. I have heard for years how great he is because he keeps his wives in line, to me he is a huge bully. Not to mention I would have no desire  to even live with my sister and cousin much less share a penis with them. I would even take Kody over him as awful as that sounds.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Madding crowd
Editing isn’t working right!

[NoWhammies]

Re the honesty: this is what Covid lockdown has done for a lot of people. When you take away the noise of the world, yeah - you have may have some had truths hit you. For Kody and the wives, it appears one of the things they recognized is that without places to move and visit and weddings to plan, THEY were the story lines. At the same time, their lives quieted down - no film crews to talk to. Just them and their cameras. 

I know a lot of people think this season was boring - and it was for the glacial pace it moved. But the psychology of the family breakdown and the hard truths these people are recognizing about themselves? I've found that fascinating - albeit extremely voyeuristic like I'm watching something I shouldn't be. They are having the reckoning people have seen coming for a decade. 

Even tho we all saw it coming, it's difficult to watch. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by NoWhammies

[Elizzikra]

Quote

I'd be worried her teeth will turn out like Jovi's on 90 Day Fiancé. 

My father was a dentist and wouldn't allow us to have pacifiers when we were babies/toddlers. My brother took to sucking his thumb. We both ended up needing orthodonture. Kids who want to suck to self soothe will find something; might as well be a pacifier. If Robyn wants her to have braces when she's older, she will find a reason and she'll get them no matter if the rest of the family eats rice and beans to pay for it.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, albarino said:

I was laughing thinking about pacifiers at age 4 (I'm not a Pediatrician) and thought they should just give her cigarettes.  Talk about soothing!  Only a joke, as an ex-smoker, I think I would have preferred a pacifier!  Or Lala's bottles!

Hey there's a new market to explore - nicotine pacifiers, only wouldn't that damage the teeth like chewing tobacco?  Not sure.

[Grifter Lives]

12 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

I agree that a four year-old should be sleeping through the night, but why should she necessarily be off the pacifier? She's not going to clamp one between her teeth when she leaves for Harvard. She will part with it in her own time. And believe me, I think any child in that family needs all the self-soothing tools they can stack up. 

Robyn and Kody may have given her a pacifier so that she doesn't yap through all their scenes.  She may create background noise that requires heavy editing or discarding scenes.  For instance, when Kody and Robyn shared the big, fun news that polygamy was decriminalized in Utah, the first real reaction was Areoblabla's declaring, "Mommy's house is beauty."  Robyn looked pained.  The next scene was Kody in a couch interview, apologizing that that Ari was just a non-stop lifeforce.  

Regarding Utah's polygamy decriminalization: In that earlier episode, we saw two scenes where Kody & Robyn and Christine tell their children the big news and how great it was that their advocacy over the past decade led to the result.  In the last scene of the finale, Kody, Robyn, Janelle and Meri tell Christine that it's no big deal, they're not going back to Utah, and a change in the law means nothing.  They all completely gaslighted her.

[Natalie68]

Seeing how this was the last ep of the season, are they doing a Tell A Little Bit (Tell All)?  There have been some reports about Robyn on one of the gossip sites and I must know if it is true.  HA!

Any bets as to how long these chuckleheads, who cannot adult to save their lives, are declaring bankruptcy?  Are there laws to protect homes in AZ from that?  I don't know a lot about this but I wonder if they have a homestead declaration on any of the homes they own?  I know a grifter that did that because she and her husband cheated everyone and were sued a lot.

 

[AryasMum]

2 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

 

 

This seems very common in conservative religious households. The wife has a huge litter of kids and starves herself back to thin. Hubbie gains all the baby weight, and packs on the pounds between each pregnancy.