7 Little Johnstons - General Discussion

[woodscommaelle]

The family friend's kid at the pool party was named Brock Lee. Nope. Just nope.

Alex is one grumpy little kid, though I don't mind him nearly as much as I did last season.

Edited December 2, 2015 by woodscommaelle

[Hero]

Alex is grumpy and whiney. But I thought it was cute that he had a crush on the swim instructor and was sad to leave her.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Suzy123

[woodscommaelle]

Anyone know why they are doing two half-hour shows vs one hour long? Something to do with ratings or....?

[winsomeone]

Alex also has a crush on his teacher, they said on another show. Maybe he enjoys being around women who aren't constantly having sex and/or talking about it?

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I enjoyed both episodes last night.  Liking the family more each time.  Loved Emma coming out of her shell.  

[CalicoskiesNC]

Nice family. I like this show.

[woodscommaelle]

I'm sure I'll be biting my tongue very soon, but I kind of adore Alex now ;).

[TEEVEE]

I just hate when they fill children in a medical situation. Kid getting IV's, sedated in a MRI scanner....it is exploitation, Amber and Trent.

[Maharincess]

The kids simply being on TV is exploitation in my opinion.

[CalicoskiesNC]

I am certain if any of the children say they are uncomfortable with filming Amber and Trent would let them be and focus filming elsewhere. These kids seem very happy, close to their parents and well-adjusted. Their parents are very tuned in to those children. I enjoy this family, seeing them makes me smile. The children are old enough to understand it's a tv show and I am sure the entire family benefits from extra income.

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

When the series started Emma was shyer and didn't want to be on TV much. They allowed her to limit her time as much as possible. So, they seem to be allowing the kids to guide how much and when the kids want to be filmed.

[TEEVEE]

What isn't appropriate is that children, even more so, kids with special needs, are put on reality tv so their parent's can make money off them. To say that one of the participants is off limits, is unrealistic, in my opinion. The protection comes from the parents. If Alex has a bathroom problem, they could have kept him off the show, asked the producers to edit it out, or even coach Alex and remind him, this is tv, watch what you say. So far these parent's make so many blatant innuendos about sex, that I hardly think they care about Alex's poop.

This.

 

In the last episode they were talking about strange places Alex has pooped including and old pot in their work room. So odd.

[goldensglitter]

I have to say the more I watch this show the more I like it.  Tonights epi was especially poignant with Amber struggling with bio dad issues. I can relate, my Mom had the same issues and were never resolved.  She suffered emotionally her whole life because of it.  So Amber, good or bad, resolve it.  You are a tough cookie and I know could handle any bad news on that end.  You have your family supporting you.  It was nice seeing the extended family.  Amber's adopted Dad seems terrific.  I did not see an ounce of staging in this episode, I am happy to say.  Pretty real and very interesting to see the dynamics of this family.

 

[gunderda]

Makes me wonder if the bio dad planned the trip and then learned it would be filmed and said "nope, sorry, not coming!"

I would imagine their relationship isn't real awesome and she doesn't care if she's showing all of this on national tv.  

 

Her dad was kinda cute though! Even though her brother is probably more in my age range lol

[Hero]

Her dad was cute! But I'm always attracted to older guys anyways.

[ShowsILoveToHate]

I've been watching Season 2, and just now going back to watch Season 1 OnDemand.

 

After reading this thread, I specifically looked for the unibrows on Trent and Jonah, and I can say that they DO NOT have unibrows! LOL  Not at all... actually they both have quite a bit of clear space between their 2 brows.  However, they both have the forehead over-hang that some little people have, along with a deep crease right at the top of their nose where it meets the forehead, and if the light isn't shining right onto their faces, the shadow does make it look like they each have a unibrow. 

 

I like this family so far. They seem like the most down to earth of any tv family that I've seen. 

 

P.S.  Right now the ski trip episode is on my tv, and that "chubby bunny" game with the marshmallows makes me upset because people have died from that. :(

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I really like this family, very real and down to earth.  They have a genuine love for each other and caring yet are so normal when it comes to sibling bickering.  Amber is so cool and laid back as is Trent.  Jonah is very funny.  Alex seems to be really putting on weight and I do notice his upper body pitches forward when he walks.  I am glad he doesn't need back surgery!  I think he is hilarious too.  The bio Dad storyline was interesting but went on too long for me anyway.  Her adoptive Dad is wonderful.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

That camping trip looked horrible, the heat, humidity and bugs=yuck!  The kids are very close to their parents and give them a lot of respect, kudos to Amber and Trent.  They seem to be so easy going and level headed.  I sure hope Alex is equipped with a CPAP at night for breathing so he can sleep.  Being cranky like that might mean he doesn't and/or he is taking it off during the night.  He seems to sleep often during the day, sure sign.  Every time I see him I think whoa did he put on more weight since last week?!  That does not help an apnea condition.  Him crying showed just how young he was and I can see why he gets treated like the baby, I wanted to give him a hug too!  LOL  But Elizabeth was not buying into it!

 

I thought the store they went into didn't have much in the way of clothes, it was a small place as in not a department store.  I am surprised Amber doesn't do the altering herself to save money as I believe they are only on one income.    

[Maharincess]

I wondered about that too, a monkey could hem pants and shorts.

[gunderda]

I'm sure altering the clothes as much as they have to is a bit more complicated then taking an inch or so off the bottom of pants.  Most people don't have to take away half the pant length.  Then it also has to be tailored to fit the leg normally.  And the lady was also altering the shirt sleeves which I'm sure isn't super easy either. 

 

The store was a bit of a weird setup, it was more of a boutique.  Wonder how they came to get that exposure. Maybe they already knew them from having stuff tailored there. 

 

Elizabeth seems so mature for her age.  It's amazing how much she helps out her dad and brother (when they need the strength). And it looks like she's back in school and not being home schooled anymore? But maybe some sort of alternative schools since they said they had 4 different schools this year and I find it a little odd that she doesn't go to either school the two other older ones go to.

[ShowsILoveToHate]

 

 

Elizabeth seems so mature for her age.  It's amazing how much she helps out her dad and brother (when they need the strength). And it looks like she's back in school and not being home schooled anymore? But maybe some sort of alternative schools since they said they had 4 different schools this year and I find it a little odd that she doesn't go to either school the two other older ones go to.

 

I must've missed where they said that Elizabeth was homeschooled.  I've read about it here.  Do you happen to remember which season or episode it was?  I recently saw an older episode where Anna and Elizabeth were buying dresses to wear to a school dance (and in the end Anna couldn't go), so it must've been some time after that??   Thanks in advance!

[gunderda]

I must've missed where they said that Elizabeth was homeschooled.  I've read about it here.  Do you happen to remember which season or episode it was?  I recently saw an older episode where Anna and Elizabeth were buying dresses to wear to a school dance (and in the end Anna couldn't go), so it must've been some time after that??   Thanks in advance!

I can't remember if I saw it on the episodes or read it on here either.  But I'm thinking it was maybe the 1st season when they lived in their last house?  Which I believe that season was actual filmed and aired a year before it actually premiered on TLC.

[TEEVEE]

That camping trip looked horrible, the heat, humidity and bugs=yuck!  The kids are very close to their parents and give them a lot of respect, kudos to Amber and Trent.  They seem to be so easy going and level headed.  I sure hope Alex is equipped with a CPAP at night for breathing so he can sleep.  Being cranky like that might mean he doesn't and/or he is taking it off during the night.  He seems to sleep often during the day, sure sign.  Every time I see him I think whoa did he put on more weight since last week?!  That does not help an apnea condition.  Him crying showed just how young he was and I can see why he gets treated like the baby, I wanted to give him a hug too!  LOL  But Elizabeth was not buying into it!

 

I thought the store they went into didn't have much in the way of clothes, it was a small place as in not a department store.  I am surprised Amber doesn't do the altering herself to save money as I believe they are only on one income.    

That trip wasn't spur of the moment. It was on the production schedule. They had to go through with it or they would be in breach of contract. 

 

Alex is 9, going into 4th grade yet his behavior, the crying with the stomping and weird noises is embarrassing. Shame on Amber and Trent exploiting the children like this. These 2 are in it for the money. There is no need to educate anyone about the struggles of little people. At this point every LP kid shown melting down is abuse.

[MarysWetBar]

Jonah would be walking for the rest of his life after his little display on tonight's show. I wanted to smack him silly.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I was glad to hear Amber and Trent's saying Jonah's attitude was not acceptable to them teenage years or not.  And it was confirmed last night Alex did not sleep with a CPAP machine after all.  I was surprised at that.  I hope his surgery helps him breathe.  How do they remove tonsils now as he was sitting up, talking and went home same day, wow, far cry from my day!  I hope it helps him.  

 

I was surprised at the amount of work Amber does for the kids getting them ready for school.  

 

I like their down to earth approach and good enough is good enough! 

[Maharincess]

I've only seen a few episodes of the show. Reading here, I've seen mention that 3 of the kids are adopted. Aside from the younger 2, which older kid is adopted? The older kids all look to me like they're blood siblings so I was surprised that one of them is adopted.

I was pissed when Jonah was being such an ass about the car but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. At one point he told his dad that that car would put a target in his back. I wonder if he's picked on a lot at school and was hoping a "cool" car would help him be more accepted by his peers.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Maharincess

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Jonah and Elizabeth are their two natural children.  Anna is fair too and she is the adopted one and she does look like them to me too.  

 

Jonah may have pulled the "target" card to help his cause of wanting a Jeep but like Trent said if the type of car you have is defining your friends then they are not your real friends.  I liked that.  Jonah forgets maybe his parents have lived this, he is not telling them anything they don't know.

 

 

 

ETA forgot to say it was Anna who was adopted!

Edited December 31, 2015 by Foghorn Leghorn

[woodscommaelle]

I've only seen a few episodes of the show. Reading here, I've seen mention that 3 of the kids are adopted. Aside from the younger 2, which older kid is adopted? The older kids all look to me like they're blood siblings so I was surprised that one of them is adopted.

Anna is adopted.

[woodscommaelle]

"Who is Driver Ed?"

Lol!

[CalicoskiesNC]

Amber and Trent are handling Jonah's car quest well. Since when do 16yo kids without jobs get to tell parents what car they want?

[Maharincess]

Thanks for the replies. Anna looks so much like the other biological kids.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Maharincess

[kitkat68]

WTF Jonah, do kids these days really act like that? When I was in high school my dad picked out a used car for me, I had no say in the matter. AND, I had to pay him back, every penny. It was an ugly 1976 Toyota Celica, but it was MINE! None of my friends made fun of me or the car. 

[ShowsILoveToHate]

I was glad to hear Amber and Trent's saying Jonah's attitude was not acceptable to them teenage years or not.  And it was confirmed last night Alex did not sleep with a CPAP machine after all.  I was surprised at that.  I hope his surgery helps him breathe.  How do they remove tonsils now as he was sitting up, talking and went home same day, wow, far cry from my day!  I hope it helps him.  

 

I was surprised at the amount of work Amber does for the kids getting them ready for school.  

 

I like their down to earth approach and good enough is good enough! 

 

 

I like their attitudes towards parenting, too.  It's not easy these days, that's for sure. 

 

I wanted to comment on your tonsil/adenoid surgery question since I just had my adenoids removed last month. lol   Now when you wake up from surgery, you don't feel any pain at all due to a nerve block they give you while you're out. I was chatting away as soon as I woke up in the recovery room! LOL     I'm sure Alex felt pretty sore and probably wasn't speaking as much the next day though.   My surgery was 2 days before Thanksgiving and the turkey dinner that my husband made was the first solid food that I had post-op.   I'm glad that they had this surgery done for Alex at his age.  No parent wants to see their child undergo surgery, but we do what's best for their health, not what's most emotionally comfortable for us, right? LOL  (Sorry for rambling on.... lol)

[Hero]

Jonah has a terrible attitude. Imagine all of your friends watching you on TV acting like a brat, I would be embarrassed.

[gunderda]

Jonah should be embarrassed by his attitude so maybe being shown as an ass on national tv will make him grow up a bit faster. 

 

However I think Jonah's attitude is very normal for teenagers. Especially if one is already getting mad fun of because they're a little person and then scared a "cute" car will make it even worse.  However a car is a car and he should be grateful the tv show is making it so his parents can buy one for him!

However I wanted his dad to say "well if you want something different you are more than welcome to go out, get a job, and save up for one that you want"

 

I think all of the kids (minus the 2 younger ones) know the financial gain they are getting from this TV show and are just fine with doing it.  Because they were a family of 6 living on a single income.  That would be tough with any middle-class income even if it's on the high-end (I don't remember what Trent does). Now the girls get nice clothes and they get new stuff for the house.  I think that's why Jonah is mad about the car.  Because he knows his parents can afford the car he wants. 

[gunderda]

I've only seen a few episodes of the show. Reading here, I've seen mention that 3 of the kids are adopted. Aside from the younger 2, which older kid is adopted? The older kids all look to me like they're blood siblings so I was surprised that one of them is adopted.

I was pissed when Jonah was being such an ass about the car but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. At one point he told his dad that that car would put a target in his back. I wonder if he's picked on a lot at school and was hoping a "cool" car would help him be more accepted by his peers.

 

Anna (I think) is the older adopted one.  She's the skinny older sister - She's from Russia. Elizabeth is kind of bulkier and always helps with the heavy lifting.  Her and Jonah are the bio kids.

[Whyyouneedaname]

No. I think it was the mom from this family. This show was on the OWN channel before it was on TLC. I'm pretty sure she wanted a tummy tuck.

yes, I saw this too. She went to the plastic surgeon, actually wanted a boob job too ;) I've wondered if she ever got it. 

[HahYallDoin]

I'm curious to see if/how much the kids have matured during the hiatus. 

I have to applaud Trent's comment about being in it for the 'long game' with Jonah and his poor attitude. As a mother of two teens, that's the right way to approach it because otherwise you'd constantly give in to them(not this witch) or kill 'em with your bare hands(don't want to be behind bars). 

[smalltowngal]

Yes and the kid is  being filmed.

[gunderda]

I love this family. 

But poor Alex... I hope this surgery fixes his sleep/breathing problem.  That has to be super scary if they actually know of people who have died from that type of sleep apnea. 

[Whyyouneedaname]

I enjoy watching this family, hope Alex is okay & I hope Amber keeps her bangs and keeps that 2' long forehead covered. Not to sound mean but when you can do something enhance your not to fortunate qualities just do it.

[DkNNy79]

Agree that Amber looks better with bangs.  She's low maintenance so she just needs to make sure she gets bangs that don't need much fussin.  

Glad to see that Jonah's attitude has improved a little bit.  Alex looks a little chunkier.  I know he loves to eat but they need to make sure he stays more active, since we already know he's lazy.  I do feel bad for him with all his health issues.  I hope this surgery will be the last.

[crazycatlady58]

You know I wonder  if he may  be more tired  than lazy. They said during  the sleep  study he stoped breathing , which would  wake him up I would  think, something  like 50 times. That would  make me tired.

[camom]

Yes, that child is obviously not getting enough deep sleep.  I love seeing the different personalities of the kids.

[gunderda]

On 5/3/2017 at 10:21 AM, Whyyouneedaname said:

I enjoy watching this family, hope Alex is okay & I hope Amber keeps her bangs and keeps that 2' long forehead covered. Not to sound mean but when you can do something enhance your not to fortunate qualities just do it.

her hairstyle makes me wish that i could keep up with bangs.  love the look but they drive me crazy after a day. 

On 5/3/2017 at 5:25 PM, crazycatlady58 said:

You know I wonder  if he may  be more tired  than lazy. They said during  the sleep  study he stoped breathing , which would  wake him up I would  think, something  like 50 times. That would  make me tired.

They show him sleeping a lot during the day... and they probably allow him to do it with good reason.  Not normal for a kid to want to take naps during the day!

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I love this family and it's values.  Poor Alex, he is such a trooper and he cracks me up.  He has put on a lot of weight since last season which shouldn't surprise me with his love of food!!

[MommySusan1]

Did I miss them moving into a bigger house?  Weren't they living in a neighborhood before?

[Whyyouneedaname]

12 hours ago, MommySusan1 said:

Did I miss them moving into a bigger house?  Weren't they living in a neighborhood before?

I think they've been in their "remodel house" since filming started. Not sure about that but that's all I've seen them in. It's the old school/church they bought to remodel and have to admit have done an awesome job on it :) 

[DkNNy79]

It looks like the same house to me.  They've only renovated the 1st floor, I believe they said there are 2 more floors?  Once the whole house is renovated each kid will have their own room.

I was really sad seeing Alex get wheeled in his surgery.  Glad the little guy is okay.  He's my favorite even though Amber spoils him and he talks way too much it would drive me crazy.  Just so much personality in such a little package.

[gunderda]

13 hours ago, MommySusan1 said:

Did I miss them moving into a bigger house?  Weren't they living in a neighborhood before?

they've been in this house since the first 'official' season.  I believe they did a pilot season before this (or maybe just an episode?) where they lived in a pretty nice middle class house.  I remember them having to paint the walls before having family over  lol 

Their current house reminds me of my aunt and uncle's house.  Not a church... but they moved a large older house onto their farmland and remodeled it.  No joke it took like 20 years and they lived in the basement for many of those years (with 3 kids) but it's huge and pretty amazing now.  Especially the kitchen.