S07.E14: First Easter Together

[Jellybeans]

IMO, the Kleins do not need to show their tax returns to anyone. Nor do they have to "donate to charity" as I think it is no one's business. The show is about them, not their money.

It would be a really sad day if people like Jen and I let people who are turned off by the sound of our laughter stopped laughing. I know some deaf people who simply fingerspell "haha" instead of laughing because they were told their laughter was offensive. WHAAAAT.....?

Edited June 7, 2014 by Jellybeans

[BitterApple]

minx, the big difference I see between the way Bill and Jen interact with the kids is Bill strikes a better balance between maintaining control yet allowing the kids an appropriate measure of freedom and choice.

I don't mean this as a slam to Jen, but sometimes she dictates too much. Like when they were doing arts and crafts, "No, no Zoe, put the letter this way, it goes right here, put it right here!" I think Jen's lightened up a lot, but has to work at turning off her doctor persona a little more.

[jodo]

 

You're going to bed, OKAY?" Instead of "You're going to bed."

 

You are right, I have not heard Bill ask if anything is OK with Will or Zoey.  Jen is another story, she has a huge habit of adding OK? to everything! 

 

 

It would be a really sad day if people like Jen and I let people who are turned off by the sound of our laughter stopped laughing. I know some deaf people who simply fingerspell "haha" instead of laughing because they were told their laughter was offensive. WHAAAAT.....?

 

Jen is not deaf though and I believe your situations are not the same, please don't take offence.   

Edited June 7, 2014 by jodo

[Lola16]

I'm still trying to find out the reason for the elevator in the house.  Has it ever been said exactly?  Bill made a comment that if they would have adopted children without dwarfism, they could carry him up and down the stairs.  Is he unable to climb stairs or is it painful for him?  (please don't tell me it's "unsafe", I don't want to re-hash Jen carelessly climbing on the counter when she had Kate an arm reach away to get the dishes for the take-out food)

Might be for the long term.  If Jen & Bill were planning on this being their 'forever' home, it would make sense to have an elevator if they thought one or both of them could be wheelchair bound.  It also makes it easier to move heavy things from floor to floor. 

[Jellybeans]

I am not taking "offense" but I find it hurtful...to the point where I wonder if I should laugh. Jen cannot "help" the way she laughs any more than I can.

None of you guys can control the kind of laugh you have. Why do you expect her to.

[Absolom]

The Duggars consider themselves to be a charity which is why they don't pay property taxes among other things.

 

The Duggars do pay property taxes.  All one has to do is check the county property records.  I've never encountered anything showing the Duggars are an official charity. 

 

I didn't see Will have a meltdown over the cake.  I saw some fussing and whining.  I also didn't see Jen engage in snipping and arguing with him.  I doubt I would have given him cookies, but I'm on the strict side of the parenting scale.

 

I don't expect them to donate their TLC salary and I don't think any of the other TLC families have been known for donating their salaries.  I do think there is a great tendency to listen to the TLC reps especially after a couple of seasons and begin to get too much of an attitude.  I can see some tendencies that way.  The participants get a lot of attention while filming and it's probably tough to counter that expectation.  I do hope they stop when the current contract expires or possibly do a couple of specials a year. 

[MrMattyMatt]

 

I didn't see Will have a meltdown over the cake.  I saw some fussing and whining.  I also didn't see Jen engage in snipping and arguing with him.  I doubt I would have given him cookies, but I'm on the strict side of the parenting scale.

 

You're right, it really was not a full blown meltdown, just 5 minutes of bickering.  I stand chastened and rebuked!  Jen certainly was snipping and the entire thing was an argument, it went on and on...

 

Definition of Argument:

 

-an exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one.

 

Will wanted cake, Jen told him no, Will got angy, it got heated.

Edited June 7, 2014 by MrMattyMatt

[alegtostandon]

I love the sound of laughter; everyone laughs differently.  My stepdaughter 'cackles' ... I would never tell her to stop laughing because it is not the same as my 'soft, feminine' laugh!  (joke).  For those who are getting irritated by Jen's laughter, think about it next time you giggle or laugh out loud, maybe someone finds the sound that you make to be offensive.

 

I think in today's society, just about anyone's 'private' family pictures are being displayed.  On Facebook, there is 'Throwback Thursday' aka 'TBT' & I see plenty of friends childhood pictures, many pretty embarrassing.   People are posting pictures of their babies & kids that they find to be hilarious today that I am sure their kids will not be happy about.  My cousin had a baby 6 months ago, she posts pictures & videos daily of the baby doing funny things, making 'adorable' baby faces, even videos of the baby taking a poop & the 'poopie making' face a baby gets.  This is just the way it is today. 

 

 

[BitterApple]

I think "meltdown" is used as a catch-all term to describe varying degrees of fussiness. True, Will didn't have a full blown tantrum, but he did act like a brat over the cake. When Jen was arguing back and forth I think the lightbulb finally went on in her head where she realized she was making it worse by engaging him. That's when she did the smart thing by pushing in his chair and walking away until he'd composed himself.

[jodo]

I am not taking "offense" but I find it hurtful...to the point where I wonder if I should laugh. Jen cannot "help" the way she laughs any more than I can.

None of you guys can control the kind of laugh you have. Why do you expect her to.

 

We love the snark material!!!

[jodo]

Yes Will didn't get his way so out came the pouty face and him telling Jen over and over again his one word demand: CECKKK!  Jen seems to be of the parenting style of trying to use reason and explanations when a simple yes or no will do.    

[Honey]

The Duggars do pay property taxes.  All one has to do is check the county property records.  I've never encountered anything showing the Duggars are an official charity. 

 

I didn't see Will have a meltdown over the cake.  I saw some fussing and whining.  I also didn't see Jen engage in snipping and arguing with him.  I doubt I would have given him cookies, but I'm on the strict side of the parenting scale.

 

I don't expect them to donate their TLC salary and I don't think any of the other TLC families have been known for donating their salaries.  I do think there is a great tendency to listen to the TLC reps especially after a couple of seasons and begin to get too much of an attitude.  I can see some tendencies that way.  The participants get a lot of attention while filming and it's probably tough to counter that expectation.  I do hope they stop when the current contract expires or possibly do a couple of specials a year. 

I agree on the fact that there wasn't an argument over the cake.  Will asked for cake and Jen said "Sorry, I didn't make a cake today, but after a little while you can have a cookie"  Will fussed a bit and didn't want to get down from the chair, so Jen pushed the chair in so that he wouldn't fall and walked away.

[MrMattyMatt]

I guess I'll have to watch the episode again.  It seemed like an endless bickering session to me and definitely an argument.  I'll see if I can still get in On Demand and report back.  Maybe I am making more out of from what I remember than what actually happened.

[jodo]

Not a meltdown???  Well I would hate to see one if that was just Will asking being told no and moving on!!!  It took a full 3 minutes of film time with no interruptions to show us cakegate or Will's meltdown (Jen's word in the segment).   I know this is not the thread for that show but it is here so might as well add it.

[JustAlison]

 

We love the snark material!!!

 

Everyone here loves snark. It's why they come. Using descriptives that conjure images of witches and goblins (cackling) to describe the sound of laughter made by someone with dwarfism that causes it to sound that way is not snark, not good snark, anyway.

Edited June 8, 2014 by JustAlison

[Everh]

I used to watch the nanny show with Jo Frost. She taught the correct way to deal with a tantrum, meltdown and how to do a time out.

The mistakes Jen makes is to reason and go on and on which does nothing as other posters have pointed out but prolong and aggravate the situation.

       Mr, Matt, she did go on and on about the "ceck" with him.  What she should of done is explain once there is no cake/desert tonight and say dinner is over and its time to get down from the table and play.

       If he persists which he did, she should give him a warning for a time out and then do it correctly which she doesn't do. Less is more especially with little children.

       You are supposed to explain once why you are being put in time out and then walk away. One minute for how many years of age the child is. If the child gets up or runs, you take them back to time out with no explanation and repeat until the child completes the time.    Then you explain again why they were put in time out and ask them to applogize. Then a hug and kiss.

      What really annoyed me is that Jen during the hit mommy scene kept making Will do his "are you ready?" routine. Once is enough.   But I heard them say they are now doing it with Zoey too.     I don't see the point of it because its not something that any teacher or school will use.      It seems like Jen kept doing it because it was the only thing Will would do and obey her.

[BitterApple]

Regarding the timeline, I wonder if TLC did their usual wonky editing tricks and filmed the Easter episode over a couple of days.

Even if Jen had started early in the morning she still wouldn't have gotten home til two or three. Heading off on an outing that late in the day wouldn't make much sense, especially when you're relying on two small children to be in a good mood for filming.

If Jen arriving home was actually Easter Sunday my guess is the farm scenes were filmed the day before.

[walnutqueen]

Cakegate was on a different episode, I think.  :-)

[jodo]

 

What really annoyed me is that Jen during the hit mommy scene kept making Will do his "are you ready?" routine. Once is enough.   But I heard them say they are now doing it with Zoey too.     

 Jen explained the "are you ready" was a tool used in China for time outs with kids.  When she asked Will more than once if he was ready he broke the speed of light getting those hands together!  I thought it was cute and hilarious and immediately thought wow he is already working her...his eyes got wide when she said it because all he had to do was fold his hands to get his bebe back which worked...Jen said he only did it when he was truly ready and not just to get out of time out....doubt that...and since when do we ask kids if they want/need a timeout....and Zoey learns absolutely everything from watching Will.  

[Absolom]

Regarding the timeline, I wonder if TLC did their usual wonky editing tricks and filmed the Easter episode over a couple of days.

 

I'm 99% sure that they took several days to film the entire Easter episode.  It's just the way filming works.  Each time they move sites, lighting has to be set up and checked and rechecked.  It's probably extremely boring for the children if sufficient fun activities aren't included.

[MrMattyMatt]

The "Be Ready"  technique was so cute and Will really seemed to calm down quickly, or at least seemed to.  

[Tunia]

Also, I find the endless referencing to Jen's laughter, which sounds as it does because of her dwarfism, really offensive

 

 

Agreed.  Frankly, I'd rather hear Jen's happy "cackle" all day rather than listen to Fran Drescher for 5 minutes - and FD doesn't have Jen's vocal challenges.

[MrMattyMatt]

The issue with the witch cackle for me is that it goes on and on and on, and she does it when there really isn't anything to laugh about most of the time.  Thank God for mute! :-)

[Tunia]

When crossing over from TWoP and reading all the negativism about this show, I told myself that this is the one forum I wouldn't post in because it seems like nothing more than a pissing contest in here.  But the critique of Jen's laughter is an issue that really gets my goat.  How sad is the day when we criticize someone because of their happiness...

 

<gone>  ***poof***

[jodo]

 

How sad is the day when we criticize someone because of their happiness...

 

I am not criticizing her happiness just her cackly nervous laugh.  

Edited June 8, 2014 by jodo

[MrMattyMatt]

I'm very happy she's happy!  She should be - beating cancer, having a wonderful husband and two gorgeous kids and an excellent career.  The woman just has an annoying laugh.  I probably do too, big deal. 

[BizBuzz]

I have made...these photos are cute *in the family* but I would have been mortified if my middle school pals had ever gotten ahold of them. Will and Zoey will never have that privacy. As adorable as Will's sad panda face is, or his screaming "cake" - and as likely as it is that his friends in school had equally embarrassing and cute things occur in the childhood, Will won't have access to their embarrassing childhood moments and they *will* have access to his.

 

 

I think in today's society, just about anyone's 'private' family pictures are being displayed.  On Facebook, there is 'Throwback Thursday' aka 'TBT' & I see plenty of friends childhood pictures, many pretty embarrassing.   People are posting pictures of their babies & kids that they find to be hilarious today that I am sure their kids will not be happy about.  My cousin had a baby 6 months ago, she posts pictures & videos daily of the baby doing funny things, making 'adorable' baby faces, even videos of the baby taking a poop & the 'poopie making' face a baby gets.  This is just the way it is today. 

 

This is what happens when you are late to the party ... someone else grabs the comment you wanted to give and runs away with it.

 

::giggle::

 

But to reiterate.  The world I grew up in (I am 51) which was less than a decade after the McCarthy Era, was a world when privacy was at it's height as something to be treasured.  Today, not so much.  I watch some of the stuff coming out on social media, and to say that I am shocked, well, that is an understatement.  But that is the world that is now, not the world that was then.  My daughter (14) has absolutely no shame with posting pictures of some embarrassing moments she is involved in, and things she posted even three years ago, she is still laughing about it, and so are her friends.  

 

This is today's world.  Social Media is the norm.  I am sure Will and Zoey will laugh with their friends in a decade or so, with the added benefit of saying, hey for almost five years (or however long it lasts), we were pretty famous ... instead of feeling embarrassed, I bet they feel a one-up on their friends who weren't so lucky to be the focus of a show. 

 

But who knows, right?

[ZoloftBlob]

IMO, the Kleins do not need to show their tax returns to anyone. Nor do they have to "donate to charity" as I think it is no one's business. The show is about them, not their money.

 

Then they don't get credit for not getting paid, or donating their time. We don't know if they are donating their time to do the show. Therefore, when someone mentions that Bill and Jen are accepting money from TLC to film their family, "The Kleins could be donating their salaries, we don't know" isn't a fair point. This isn't a charity, its a tv show. Several people have cited Bill stating they did the show so they could retire early. To me, that seems like proof they are doing the show for the money. Even if they were donating the show proceeds... they're still getting paid.

[BizBuzz]

I am sorry, fairly new to the dynamic here ... but a question because I am confused ... is there something contrary in doing this show purely for the money?

 

I have always been of the belief system that you can exchange value for money, it's just one way of exchange.  Is it ok for this couple to want to spread their message and in so doing accept money as one way of exchange for that service?

[BizBuzz]

Honestly @auntl, I am trying to understand your viewpoint, I am totally not trying to be contrary.

 

Why is important that educating people about a particular subject involve doing it for free, or for charity?

 

I am in the business of helping people, and I don't do it for free, yet, I don't go around saying I help people only for the money.  To be honest, I do it plainly for the satisfaction of helping people achieve their goals, but unfortunately, I have to ask for money because I still have rent to pay and food I have to buy to feed my child.  But I still help these people, and they are getting value and changing their lives, and I am getting value by offering my guidance, so it's win/win.

 

On the children?  I believe we have to agree to disagree.  I don't walk in their shoes, so I can't pretend to know if being on TV is helping or hurting, so for me, I just leave it alone.

[leighroda]

I'm still trying to find out the reason for the elevator in the house. Has it ever been said exactly? Bill made a comment that if they would have adopted children without dwarfism, they could carry him up and down the stairs. Is he unable to climb stairs or is it painful for him? (please don't tell me it's "unsafe", I don't want to re-hash Jen carelessly climbing on the counter when she had Kate an arm reach away to get the dishes for the take-out food)

I think if I remember correctly I was mentioned when they were building the house that it was because the regular use of stairs was really hard on their bodies, and the stairs were kept because it could be a fire safety issue to only have the elevator.

Regarding the timeline, I wonder if TLC did their usual wonky editing tricks and filmed the Easter episode over a couple of days.

Even if Jen had started early in the morning she still wouldn't have gotten home til two or three. Heading off on an outing that late in the day wouldn't make much sense, especially when you're relying on two small children to be in a good mood for filming.

If Jen arriving home was actually Easter Sunday my guess is the farm scenes were filmed the day before.

I'm not sure what shift she was working, I don't know if she has gotten back to doing 24 hour shifts, but it is possible she may have been overnight that she got off at 7 am... But I'm more inclined to believe this was shot over a few days

[ZoloftBlob]

BigBuzz - There's nothing wrong with earning money from doing a reality show if you're an adult. I was a lot more comfortable with this show when it was Bill and Jen, because they're adults, they're making the choice to be there and to display themselves to the public. Now they have kids, and if you've watched other reality shows with kids, its fair to say that putting your kids on a reality show a)opens your child up to public criticism and b) doesn't allow your child to have privacy. The children on these shows aren't getting paid, they aren't protected by law and they don't get a choice. A child shouldn't have to help support the family in a monetary fashion and that is what is happening on these shows, including The Little Couple.

 

When this is mentioned and that maybe the show should end, as it's been said again and again that Bill and Jen, unlike a lot of the other TLC families, don't seem to rely on the show to provide income, the argument is made that they are doing the show for awareness and education. When it's pointed out that they are still getting paid, then the argument becomes how we don't know how much it is - despite the evidence seen on the show and on other TLC shows that participant families have a serious uptick in wages. I facetiously noted that they don't claim to be donating their salaries or doing the show out of the goodness of their hearts and a few people ran with it, noting that we can't know that they aren't donating their wages.

 

Whether or not they donate their wages or not (and I have absolutely no reason, based on Bill's comments about doing the show to ennable an early retirement, to think they donate their wages) they're still doing the show for wages. Their children aren't getting a choice in having their childhood exposed to the public, and if you think the public is harsh now, wait until the kids are older.

 

Because reality shows are damaging to kids, in order to continue to paint Bill and Jen as people doing good, as opposed to people profiting from exposing their children to public scorn, they either can't be making much money and think the whole awareness thing negates that, or aren't making any money at all, thereby doing us all a favor.... as opposed to getting paid to be on a reality show.

Edited June 8, 2014 by ZoloftBlob

[BizBuzz]

I absolutely love a healthy debate, thank you @ZoloftBlob for acknowledging my viewpoint, and then expressing your own without angst.  In my world?  Nothing good ever comes from a debate filled with angst.  However, a debate filled with opposing viewpoints that can make the other party think, well I think these are things that can implement change in the world.

 

In regards to the kids, I am thinking that my opinion lies in that I don't see any difference with sharing the lives of Will and Zoey, and those other kids in TV that we have watched grow up.  Sure, there is a reality vs fiction, but to me kids are kids.  Any child is subject to what Will and Zoey are going through, except one is reality TV and the other is fiction, but usually based on reality. 

 

All decisions are based on whatever the parents feel that the kids are able to handle.

 

So to me, there is no difference let's say in Ron Howard starring in Andy Griffith and growing up to be one of the greatest directors of our time, and little Will/Zoey starting off with their cute little selves and being able to grow up to be something in life.

 

I am sure that Ron Howard's parents might have considered, oh my, what is this medium doing to my child, but decided it was worth it, and their decision turned out ok.

 

In the big scheme of things, do what we think really matter to what the parents think?  If my mission in life was to send a message to the masses that parents with disabilities are just as capable at raising kids as anyone else, then I might be just as willing to allow my children to tell the tale.  But that is just me.  Again, I am not in that situation, so I play Monday morning quarterback and give my opinion.

 

Again, thanks, I love a good debate, thanks for letting me exercise my chops!

[mbutterfly]

I guess the main point of disagreement is whether it is rather automatically damaging to a child to become a public figure. Some have been. Many other children are raised in public view and turn out perfectly fine. Ron Howard is a good example. So are Shirley Temple, Caroline Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth II. These four were vastly more photographed that Will and Zoey. 

[jcbrown]

Sometimes I find Jen's nervous laugh noticeable. When I do, I remember that I have a nervous laugh myself and sometimes I wish I did not. I realized in the last decade since losing my mom that I learned the laugh from her and it is both a habit and a defense mechanism. When my own laugh annoys me a bit, I try to hear Mom in it. I give Jen a pass on having a nervous tic in the form of a laugh.

 

I have been snarking on TwoP for a dozen years. I teared up at Zoe in the Easter episode. I don't want to spend my time every week with this family finding fault; I want to enjoy them, so I do.

[walnutqueen]

Kids don't have a choice in most of the things their parents subject them to; some stuff is more traumatic, but you don't really know how it will affect a child until it's too late and they're working out their issues on a shrink's couch or in the forums.   ;-)

 

Interesting point about this brave new world of social media we live in, BizBuzz.  I watched a really interesting show on PBS (Frontline, I think) called Generation Like and it was a huge eye-opener for me.  I am very glad I don't have kids.

[BizBuzz]

No doubt @walnutqueen (just for the sake of information, if you want to notify someone that you mentioned them in a post, make sure you put an @ in front of their name, spell it correctly, and they will know) ... it's not an easy world we live in today.

 

As a parent of a 14 year old, I am lost sometimes with what I am supposed to allow and not allow and still be considered a good parent.  And my kid is 14, soon she will be an adult and really, it will then be in her shoes.   I cannot fathom how parents of young ones (3-5) are handling life.  I see some of my friends with 18 month olds playing on iPads and iPhones and actually knowing how to operate them, and I am scared.  However, they will learn what works and what doesn't.  Just like my Mom had to learn about color tv, or her Mom had to learn about movies, or her Mom had to learn about photographs, and how much further can we go back?

 

Each generation has to learn how to handle their legacy, and I can't pretend to know how to handle those that are having kids now.  Just like my Mom has no idea how to raise my child.  The life my child leads today is no where near what she had to deal with when I was my child's age.

 

The mere fact that these parents are taking their kids to a strawberry farm to pick strawberries (OMG, teaching children that fruit actually grows?) and showing them what chickens are in real life?  I consider that awesome parenting.

 

but you don't really know how it will affect a child until it's too late and they're working out their issues on a shrink's couch or in the forums.

 

I joke with my kid all the time when I am dealing with a sensitive subject that ultimately comes down to a "it's because I said so" thing ... I tell her, this is something you can discuss with your shrink when you get older.  Since I am the Mom right now, what I say goes.

 

::giggle::

[Absolom]

Part of what bothers me about kids on reality TV is that in most states there is no protection for them.  There is no provision for money to be put in trust for them.  There are no restrictions on how many hours a day or hours without a break that they can work.  There is no requirement for an impartial advocate such a set teacher.  Faith is put in the parents to see that the children are not put in a bad situation. 

 

I see a big difference in children portraying a character and a child being themselves.  The character is not them and they go home and put it away. 

[walnutqueen]

No doubt @walnutqueen (just for the sake of information, if you want to notify someone that you mentioned them in a post, make sure you put an @ in front of their name, spell it correctly, and they will know) ... it's not an easy world we live in today.

 

 

I know this feature, BizBuzz, but I have issues with the @ symbol, and am stubbornly clinging to the notion that people will eventually read a post they've been mentioned in and have a happy surprise.  :-)    Besides, these days I'm mostly interested in making MY life easier.  Hee!

 

I'll tell you a little secret - the memories I have of little traumatic moments in my early childhood, my Mom has no memory of or found inconsequential at the time - and just the opposite is true as well.  She'll tell me how awful she felt about a certain moment, and I have no fucking clue what she's yammering about!  

 

From my perspective only, it is very important for a young child to feel unconditionally loved and secure; from what I can see, Will and Zoey are feeling just that. 

[ZoloftBlob]

Kids don't have a choice in most of the things their parents subject them to; some stuff is more traumatic, but you don't really know how it will affect a child until it's too late and they're working out their issues on a shrink's couch or in the forums.

 

Well, you can look to the examples that came before. For every Shirley Temple, there's a Dana Plato, a Jodi Sweetin, the Olsen twins, an Anissa Jones, a Todd Bridges, a Gary Coleman, a Jonathan Brandeis. I could list a lot more. I could also point to the various reality shows where the family ends up torn apart.

 

Most kids aren't asked to help support the family's lifestyle from toddlerhood. Absolom has some really good points about reality show kids in that they don't get the minimal protections that child actors get. A child on a reality show has no one advocating for them. They don't get paid. I've seen Kate Gosselin and Matt Roloff both brag at times that the cameras were in their homes 18 hours a day at times.

 

To roll it back to the money issue - Bill and Jen do get paid for this, so there is a profit motive. Since they don't seem as strapped as other TLC families, is "dwarfism awareness" really worth the potential damage to the kids? To me, that's the question.

 

 

[Absolom]

Rather than @someone, if you quote a snippet from their post then they'll get a notification if they allowed notifications. I'm antiquated enough to dislike @s everywhere also. 

[Lillybee]

At least Bill and Jen unlike the Duggars, are not claiming that their reality program is a ministry.

[BizBuzz]

I know this feature, BizBuzz, but I have issues with the @ symbol, and am stubbornly clinging to the notion that people will eventually read a post they've been mentioned in and have a happy surprise.  :-)    Besides, these days I'm mostly interested in making MY life easier.  Hee!

Fair enough! And ::giggle:: And Amen, aren't we all, it's the little things eh?

 

From my perspective only, it is very important for a young child to feel unconditionally loved and secure; from what I can see, Will and Zoey are feeling just that.

 

^That, no doubt.

 

To roll it back to the money issue - Bill and Jen do get paid for this, so there is a profit motive. Since they don't seem as strapped as other TLC families, is "dwarfism awareness" really worth the potential damage to the kids? To me, that's the question.

 

Fair enough question that to me, the answer would depend on perspective.  

 

Rather than @someone, if you quote a snippet from their post then they'll get a notification if they allowed notifications. I'm antiquated enough to dislike @s everywhere also.

 

True, but if anyone out there is like me, I am a little technologically challenged and wouldn't have the foggiest notion that this would even be a possibility and so most things would be left in the default position.  ::giggle::  But thanks for pointing that out, now I know!

 

At least Bill and Jen unlike the Duggars, are not claiming that their reality program is a ministry.

I am assuming the Duggars are part of some other reality show?

[LazyToaster]

Amen and hallelujah! (In response to them not claiming to be a church, I.e., Duggar style)

ETA explanation. Sorry, don't have the quote thing down yet.

Edited June 8, 2014 by LazyToaster

[CousinAmy]

Regarding the elevator: I'm 65, not a dwarf, but oh, how I appreciate elevators! I have a touch of arthritis and try to avoid stairs if at all possible.

It's more of an "aging" thing I'm told, but my knees are starting to go. I can imagine Jen and Bill would want to minimize the strain on their joints as much as possible.

[BitterApple]

BizBuzz, I don't think anyone begrudges Bill and Jen for being paid to do a reality show. I think ZoloftBlob was making a point to those who feel Bill and Jen are some sort of sacrificial lambs who've given up their lives for the sake of "educating the public." At the end of the day it's a business, it's a job, and their lifestyle has upgraded significantly from appearing on tv. Dwarfism awareness is just a nice by-product of that.

[ZoloftBlob]

Right. As I said originally, they aren't doing the show out of the goodness of their hearts, they're getting paid. There's nothing wrong with that but no one really claims that the Real Housewives of NYC are doing us a service, by making us aware of a different lifestyle we weren't exposed to as children. No one claims that for My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding either. I don't think the Kleins started doing this show with the express intent of exploiting their childrens privacy, but I also don't think they started doing the show with no profit motive in mind. There's nothing wrong with that, but there is something wrong in assigning them a higher motive simply because they're little people. Frankly the only real takeaway I got from Little People Big World is that little people can be sneaky self serving arrogant assholes, just like everyone else.

[MrMattyMatt]

I agree with the above comments as well.  Sign on to do a reality show, Show people we are the same yet different, and get a nice added paycheck.   Add a bit of kids and drama and "Wow we're popular and making great money!"  Now I would think they are sort of at a turning point of sorts.  I think they are smart enough not to allow TLC to flim up fake ramped drama and they will probably just keep doing the fake holidays and cutesy stuff until people get bored with it.  I do also think there may be an attempt of some sort of spin-off for either Bill ot Jen that does not involve the kids.

[CousinAmy]

The episodes we've been shown have been mostly "occasions" - not typical days, I assume - and it's natural to treat your child to a piece of birthday cake on his birthday, ice cream when you're in the park. That's why it seems that the children are fed a steady stream of goodies. But we don't see their everyday life - where their menus could be more nutritious.

So I was thinking about Will's reaction to seeing the ice cream truck, and the little scenario that was spun out of it: the reaction shot, the bribe of the photograph, sharing the sherbet with Zoey. Was all that completely spontaneous? Because life doesn't happen that neatly - especially with very young kids involved.

And what about camera angles, lighting, etc.? It all seemed to go so smoothly, almost like they were following a script. But this is a reality show! How can there be a script...

[LazyToaster]

@ZoloftBlob regarding: Frankly the only real takeaway I got from Little People Big World is that little people can be sneaky self serving arrogant assholes, just like everyone else.

Sorry, if this not how to do this.

Just wanted to say I agree with what you say about LPBW, and wanted to offer that while nobody (I don't think anyway) thought of that show as really educational; it did demonstrate that - as you put so much better than me - they can be like everyone else. That in itself is a really good message.

I have an adult son who is developmentally disabled and he belongs to a group called People First. It has been a confidence booster to him to receive a clear message that he is more than his disability. Course, I tried to tell him that his whole life, but since I'm Mom what do I know? Ha!