Jon & Kate + 8 season premiere tonight!

QUOTE(Kendra @ Oct 15 2008, 05:58 PM) [snapback]1027498[/snapback]
There has been a lot of contraversy about them recently. A Minor Consideration has been looking into them, its a group started by former child stars to advocate for children in entertainment -- it IS entertainment, its not a documentary anymore, they ARE working, they call it "the family job".

http://www.minorcon.org/kids_and_animals.html

Wonder why Jodi hasn't been in recently episodes? Interesting story there.

Aunt Jodi's sister's blog


WOW!

 

I know I seem like a *%$#^ when I point to these web sites but what we see on the TV shows is faaaaaar from the reality. Its not just a camera guy following them around durring the day, its cameras and producer and sound and craft services and make up and hair and assistants and and and and.......

 

thanks for the info!!! I love watching them..they are amazing!

 

Thanks for the info, I will most definitely tune in!! I love them!!!!!!!

 

Wow, that was some reading!!

I can't watch the show, I find her to be Narcisistic and over bearing. I've seen only a handful of episodes because of that.

 

Also, for anyone reading this before the show comes on tomorrow, there is a form on the Good Morning America website where you can ask questions for Jon and Kate to answer tomorrow ont he show.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/story?id=6017075

 

QUOTE(Joanna831 @ Oct 15 2008, 10:19 PM) [snapback]1027902[/snapback]
Also, for anyone reading this before the show comes on tomorrow, there is a form on the Good Morning America website where you can ask questions for Jon and Kate to answer tomorrow ont he show.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/story?id=6017075

Very cool Joanna, thanks!! :good:

 

I like the show and I like Jon and Kate. I don't see the kids as acting. They seem to enjoy themselves. Maybe I am just naive?

 

That was a good interview. I loved Jon's response to the questions about the kids being on TV. Good answers! :good: Guess there are two sides to every story.

 

Ugh I missed it. Having a crappy morning here.......not the boys just everything else. Maybe they'll have it on the website later.

Erica

 

Oh no!! I set it up to record last night when I read this thread. There was no way I was going to remember!

 

WOW ive been reading the blog from Jodis sister--Quite interesting.--Makes you think twice and wonder

 

QUOTE(april6603 @ Oct 20 2008, 12:54 AM) [snapback]1033127[/snapback]
WOW ive been reading the blog from Jodis sister--Quite interesting.--Makes you think twice and wonder

Think twice, sure, but remember there are two sides to every story.

 

Three sides . One, two and the truth somewhere in the middle.

 

Many criticize Kate's treatment towards Jon
Then they go and treat THEIR husband the same way! Come on, probably everyone who has kids bickers with their spouses.

Another thing, what's wrong with them going on free trips because they advertise. Wouldn't you? They DO tell you that they're free because they advertise. They said so on the viewers FAQ episode.

I personally think Kate is a wonderful mom, and am a huge fan of this show!

 

QUOTE(Kendra @ Oct 24 2008, 01:08 PM) [snapback]1040006[/snapback]
Three sides . One, two and the truth somewhere in the middle.


in response to several of kendra's posts...
dang kendra-- you seem to be trying to stir up MORE trouble for them-- you think as a parent of multiples you would be a little more supportive-- maybe you need to start your own "anti- jon and kate thread" somewhere else.. since the people in this one seem to be fans and actually like them.

just a thought..

 

I'm a twin.

People are allow to enjoy shows and dislike shows. They are also allowed to discuss that enjoyment and dislike. When I see people looking at this show thinking its really real then I feel like I should say something.

I am NOT trying to stir up more trouble. What trouble could I stir up? I did say that I sound like a #*%@$ when I put this out there but I am trying to make people aware that its no longer a documentary of a family in extrodenary circumstances. It is a scripted show and those children are WORKING and aren't covered under any labour laws. The families whole income is dependent on 8 little kids. Its only been in recent episodes filmed since the contraversy has started that they have made reference to things being given to them, before that they always said they paid for themselves.

Think about where their family has gone. Recently they have re-run shows with Beth, Jodi and Kevin including Kate saying that she couldn't live without them. Where are they now? Beth co-wrote the book that is out right now. Where is she in any of the publicity for that? In the book Kate talks about how her family helped when she was on bedrest. Where are these rocks now? Gone, replaced by paid help.

I dislike the Duggar family for other reasons but if the TV all went away tomorrow, JimBob could raise his family on his own. Same with the Roloffs of Little People Big World. (whom I do like) I don't think the Gosselin's could.

 

Why would you think the show is scripted and these kids are actors?? Give me a break, they are 4-- i don't see any "olsen twins" in the bunch! lol
You say that it is not reality, what we are seeing on tv... i don't really believe that... is it the speculations that make you say that? The speculation is all stemming from some stupid website that some disgruntled jealous few started. As far as jodi's sister-- how are we even supposed to believe anything she says? How are we even supposed to believe that she is even who she says she is-- the web is big place! All the negativity is coming from blogs-- one where aunt jodi's "sister" actually quotes the National Enquirer to prove a point-- lol-- seriously?? Who would use the National enquirer as a credible source in trying to prove a point?? There was probably a story about Big Foot on the same page that she was quoting! Blogs and the tabloids and a jealous relative by marriage... hmm... seems a little lacking in facts to me.
I appreciate the freedom to post as we please (obviously) i just get frustrated when it seems like people are attacking for unknown reasons or based on tabloids. As a mom-- one of the harshest things to hear would be a stab at your parenting or love for your children. So i feel for jon and kate getting alot of the flack that they are receiving, especially on the mentioned website. To have people writing that Kate doesn't love her children is absurd, or that they are developmentally delayed and abused is so farfetched. IMO, The show provided a way for them to support their family and now that it is doing extremely well, they are able to live more comfortably than they were in the beginning. Sure they get freebies-- of course-- 19 million viewers?? That's free marketing and advertising for those businesses! It's brilliant for companies to use. I know even myself, i have googled things i have seen on there that i thought were cool.. the placemats/plates and tshirts that the kids have. Anyway, as far as Beth and Aunt Jodi-- there really haven't been any official statements by any of them on the subject, so how are we supposed to base an opinion on hear-say? Realistically-- we see about 20-40 days of the gosselins, out of 365 days in a year! It's not as if the cameras are there 24/7! I don't know why this struck such a nerve with me- sorry for the rant, i just hate to see people ridiculed and mocked for speculation that started on a few blogs and tabloids. I will stand corrected if any factual information were to actually surface, but until then-- innocent until proven guilty!

 

Agree to disagree.

QUOTE
Realistically-- we see about 20-40 days of the gosselins, out of 365 days in a year! It's not as if the cameras are there 24/7!


They film 3 days of the week year round (according to interviews with them) and the lights are permenetly installed in the house (according to the show)

Individually the shows may not be so bad but there have been so many contradictions over the years that the make so sense.

 

QUOTE(Kendra @ Oct 28 2008, 06:16 PM) [snapback]1046131[/snapback]
Think about where their family has gone. Recently they have re-run shows with Beth, Jodi and Kevin including Kate saying that she couldn't live without them. Where are they now?

Beth was just on one of the new episodes. They did a family photo shoot at her house. Several times in the show, Kate mentions how she is so grateful to have her in their lives.


QUOTE(Kendra @ Oct 28 2008, 06:16 PM) [snapback]1046131[/snapback]
In the book Kate talks about how her family helped when she was on bedrest. Where are these rocks now?

They addressed the family issues in their recent FAQ show (I think it was that one).

 

The photo shoot was a rerun from season 2. Their family is said to "not know how to help them".

 

I live in the UK so I get the episodes way behind you guys, but we enjoy it. (we're just on the first season, I think) I don't know that it's *that* scripted-in fact my son told me the other day "That Kate lady talks just like you, mom!" Thing is, I think you have to realize that this was also a viable option as a second income for them once she quit working. If I had 8 kids to provide for, and I liked to eat and use all organic stuff, I'd be looking for a way to make some money too!

I just tried to have a read of the sisters blog with that link you provided, Kendra, and it's evidently been taken down-which I find interesting. I have no idea about any controversy surrounding them, and I'd never read the sisters blog, but it smacks of something my sister would do to me. If I got a bit of attention she wasn't getting she'd throw up a "anti-Becky" blog in a heartbeat!

Everyone is allowed their opinions, for sure, but I enjoy it. ::shrug:: I am smart enough to know it's TV and that it's been edited, but at the same time if I wanted to edit something to make my family look perfect, I'd be editing out the crying and Mady's tantrums.

 

Yeah-- on julies blog that is linked here earlier.. "Jodi" made a statement on october 28th and now all of the other blogs are gone! It really wasnt any business of jodi's sister anyway and i think she was just trying to get her 15 minutes! lol i think it's funny that she even changed her purpose/motto at the headline of her blog page too-- one down, one to go! Julie hasn't been posting on GWOP anymore either. GWOP still has links to julie's blog, but maybe now this will be less fuel for them. Even if they have had their family drama-- who doesn't-- it seems like they want to move on (which is what jodi's entry says). The GWOP website seems to be very malicious in my opinion. For people who dont like the show, why do they continue to watch it? There is a very poorly inaccurate "recap" of every episode that basically is not a recap, but a bashing of Kate's parenting skills each week. I loved one of the bloggers/mods on there griping about all the free stuff jon and kate receive and how she is a mom with several kids barely able to make it..blah blah blah-- how about stop whining and blogging all the time and get a freakin job! I love how everyone compares themselves to kate and jon..lol.. as if they ALL have 8 kids in 3 years while losing 2 jobs. People are so jealous and money hungry and cant stand to see success. If the GWOP people put an ounce of effort into their actual "cause" that is supposedly the reason for the blog in the first place-- ALL child actors may actually get some support! But they spend so much time bashing jon and kate, how could they possibly have time to promote anything else? I would love to post on their site, however, the "mods that be" somehow just never get around to posting any of the defending posts..lol. -- love the equality of that!

 

Julie's blog is still there: http://truthbreedshatred.blogspot.com/ She has the text of a letter that the surviving Dionne quints sent to the McCaughey after their septuplets were born.

QUOTE
Dear Bobbi and Kenny,

If we emerge momentarily from the privacy we have sought all our adult lives, it is only to send a message to the McCaughey family. We three would like you to know we feel a natural affinity and tenderness for your children. We hope your children receive more respect than we did. Their fate should be no different from that of other children. Multiple births should not be confused with entertainment, nor should they be an opportunity to sell products.

Our lives have been ruined by the exploitation we suffered at the hands of the government of Ontario, our place of birth. We were displayed as a curiosity three times a day for millions of tourists. To this day we receive letters from all over the world. To all those who have expressed their support in light of the abuse we have endured, we say thank you. And to those who would seek to exploit the growing fame of these children, we say beware.

We sincerely hope a lesson will be learned from examining how our lives were forever altered by our childhood experience. If this letter changes the course of events for these newborns, then perhaps our lives will have served a higher purpose.

Sincerely, Annette, Cecile and Yvonne Dionne


As published in Time Magazine, December 1, 1997.


Interesting from people who have been there, done that.

 

Well, then I must have the only computer on Earth that can't access it. I just tried again, and got the same page I've been getting. this is what it says (copied and pasted directly)

QUOTE
Page not found
Sorry, the page you were looking for in the blog "Truth Breeds Hatred" ~Bias of Priene, Maxims does not exist.


So who knows. I doubt I will try again to read it, or delve any deeper anyway-I've got my own stuff to deal with. It's not my right to tell Jon and Kate Gosselin what is and is not right for their kids. I guess I just have bigger fish to fry than telling other people how to raise their children-especially as I wouldn't want someone to tell me how to raise mine. It's a TV show, and it angers me when total strangers who don't live in their house and don't know them or their kids from Adam, presume to say they're being horrible parents.
I feel that if most people put as much worry into their own lives as they do into TV shows, and other peoples lives, the world would be a very different place. Just my personal opinion.

 

QUOTE(Neumsy @ Oct 29 2008, 02:15 PM) [snapback]1046914[/snapback]
It's not my right to tell Jon and Kate Gosselin what is and is not right for their kids. I guess I just have bigger fish to fry than telling other people how to raise their children-especially as I wouldn't want someone to tell me how to raise mine. It's a TV show, and it angers me when total strangers who don't live in their house and don't know them or their kids from Adam, presume to say they're being horrible parents.
I feel that if most people put as much worry into their own lives as they do into TV shows, and other peoples lives, the world would be a very different place. Just my personal opinion.


I agree with you 100%!!

 

I love this show!!!
If you have a problem with Jon or Kate's parenting, than why did you come to this forum, just to bash them!!!

 

QUOTE(mandylouwho @ Aug 26 2008, 08:40 PM) [snapback]949073[/snapback]
My kids will be 4 in feb. They have not worn a bib since passed 2. I wish they would have, but they kept ripping them off. I learned to deal with messy shirts, and when it came time for really messy stuff, off went the shirts.

Im not knocking anyone who does this, but in a way, I dont get it. My kids are 3.5 and are fairly good at eating now. Yes, they spill sometimes, but they use forks and spoons and eat over the plate when asked.

SHE STILL HAS HER 4 YEAR OLDS IN BIBS!!! To me it looks so rediculous that a child that big has one....she is unreal with the analness about being clean.

I cant imagine being in her shoes, and I am not judging her, but it just looks so rediculous to me....

Sorry had to get that out.

And this is no way a bashing thread. What she does with 8 kids every day is amazing.




Kate already does a couple loads of laundry every day. Imagine if they DIDN'T wear bibs!

 

QUOTE(MommyMelissa @ Oct 29 2008, 07:38 PM) [snapback]1047519[/snapback]
I agree with you 100%!!



me too

 

QUOTE(Evelyn @ Oct 30 2008, 03:37 AM) [snapback]1048402[/snapback]
I love this show!!!
If you have a problem with Jon or Kate's parenting, than why did you come to this forum, just to bash them!!!



Because duplicate threads are not allowed. The was a thread started about not liking the show but since there is this thread on the show we get to share. Just found Jodi's sister's blog, the link worked for me. Personally can't stand the woman, the whole gum thing w/the teddy bear was way over the top. All Kate had to do was the bear away and deal w/it at another time. To scream at a child about gum in a bear And they put themselves out there to be criticized when they went on tv. The few snippits of the show I do see, I shake my head. Well that's why there are different shows on tv so everyone has something to watch. T

 

I didn't see the "gum episode"..... Can someone fill me in?

 

QUOTE(Evelyn @ Oct 30 2008, 04:37 AM) [snapback]1048402[/snapback]
I love this show!!!
If you have a problem with Jon or Kate's parenting, than why did you come to this forum, just to bash them!!!


Me too!! I like them for the good and the bad.

To be honest it upsets me to see other mothers put down other mothers. We are all try our best to raise our children the best way WE KNOW HOW and so is Kate. Don't we all complain (like I've seen in our forums) when people pick on us be it family or strangers about how we are raising our kids right or wrong? So why are we doing it to her? Just because she's on TV/famous? We are all in the same club be it just one child or eight, we are all in it together, the Mommy Club... we should support each other like we do here.

None of us are perfect, if you know of a perfect mother please let me know, I need notes and lessons from her. We are all trying our best and we all have different methods on how to raise our children and this is how THEY have decided to raise their family in the public eye so be it.

I've read the other blogs tonight to see what all the fuss was about and I had to stop, there are really mean people in this world and it sadden me to see all the venom put not just Kate but the children as well. I read people putting her down for fertitily treatments, 'she made her bed', she knew what she was getting it too... I don't even know what to say about the cruelty of what people write out there in the cyberworld.

DH and I were talking about it (I had him read some of the blogs and comments from here) and we both thought, if we were in their situation and we're offered as well trips, surgeries, 'supplies' and other stuff would we turn it down? H(LL no.

DH and I both said this show is 'entertainment' and a 50,000 level view of their live and take it as a snapshot . If we were in their shoes would we be any different?

I say God Bless their entire family... ok that's my two cents

 

QUOTE(first time mom at 34 @ Oct 30 2008, 10:27 PM) [snapback]1049669[/snapback]
Me too!! I like them for the good and the bad.

To be honest it upsets me to see other mothers put down other mothers. We are all try our best to raise our children the best way WE KNOW HOW and so is Kate. Don't we all complain (like I've seen in our forums) when people pick on us be it family or strangers about how we are raising our kids right or wrong? So why are we doing it to her? Just because she's on TV/famous? We are all in the same club be it just one child or eight, we are all in it together, the Mommy Club... we should support each other like we do here.

None of us are perfect, if you know of a perfect mother please let me know, I need notes and lessons from her. We are all trying our best and we all have different methods on how to raise our children and this is how THEY have decided to raise their family in the public eye so be it.

I've read the other blogs tonight to see what all the fuss was about and I had to stop, there are really mean people in this world and it sadden me to see all the venom put not just Kate but the children as well. I read people putting her down for fertitily treatments, 'she made her bed', she knew what she was getting it too... I don't even know what to say about the cruelty of what people write out there in the cyberworld.

DH and I were talking about it (I had him read some of the blogs and comments from here) and we both thought, if we were in their situation and we're offered as well trips, surgeries, 'supplies' and other stuff would we turn it down? H(LL no.

DH and I both said this show is 'entertainment' and a 50,000 level view of their live and take it as a snapshot . If we were in their shoes would we be any different?

I say God Bless their entire family... ok that's my two cents

Very well said. :Clap:

I know there are people who like them and people who don't. But it's like you said, why do we have to bash them? I think that is SO unfair. Unless you know them personally and have talked to them about every single claim out there against them, you have no right to put them down, right?

I too read some of the stuff out there and was so sad. There are so many people with hatred in their hearts. I feel bad for them.

 

QUOTE(5girlies @ Oct 30 2008, 09:17 PM) [snapback]1049654[/snapback]
I didn't see the "gum episode"..... Can someone fill me in?


They got some gum at Jodi's and Joel got some on his lovey bear. Kate took it and yelled at him that she was going to throw it out. He was crying his eyes out. Its in the "Mady's Day" episode. (I think you can see it on youtube)

Certainly no one is a perfect parent BUT Kate is being held out in the media right now as a parenting expert and when you try to link different comments made a different points in time on the show, they don't add up. (last year we heard that their wedding was perfect, now we are hearing that it wasn't what they really wanted) They've invited the public into their home and as such, have invited the critics.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the families whole income is based on the children. There wouldn't be people giving them things if they were Jon and Kate and the twins. Sure the kids are cute but they film 8-12 hours a day, 3-4 days a week. That is not a normal life for those kids. They say that they would have interest in them even if they didn't have the show which is true, there is an interest in the Dilly family and the McCaughey family but for them, a yearly update is sufficiant and they aren't disrupting childhood for the children.

 

Again, I reiterate, who is anyone other than their mother and father to say what is "normal for those kids". What do you believe qualifies you to say that? (I'm not being smart, I just really am genuinely curious why you think you're qualifed to say what constitutes normal for kids you've never met.) My childhood wasn't what alot of suburban dwelling middle class folk would call normal, but I turned out pretty fabulous. My job at three or four was to help hang out and take down the laundry on the line, pick produce in the garden, and help squish up the tomatoes for my Mom to can. I was on a tractor, detassling, and walking beans by the time I was ten, and plucking ducks and geese and field dressing deer by the time I was 11, and I worked at a *paid job* from the time I was 12. I wouldn't have my kids doing that stuff, for sure, but I don't think my folks were bad parents for having us do it. (They were bad parents for other, much more tangible reasons, not because we were required to pull our weight.) There were only five of us, but if we hadn't all done a little something to help out...well. It wouldn't have worked very well.

For example:I got so much criticism from people when I had Owen start getting his own cereal and juice and things when he was 4. They said I was pushing him, that I was just doing it because it was easier for me, etc, etc. No-it was *normal for Owen*. I wasn't pushing him. Yeah, most kids don't do as much for themselves at 4 as he did, but it worked for him. Not me, HIM. He was getting frustrated at his lack of independence and as soon as I started letting him do things for himself, his frustration driven tantrums stopped. As far as bibs at 4, WHO CARES? If it saves on laundry (which is as much about saving on utility bills as it is on saving work), go for it.

QUOTE
a yearly update is sufficiant and they aren't disrupting childhood for the children.


With all due respect, just because that's your definition of childhood, and you think that's sufficient doesn't give you the right to say it should be other peoples definition of it for their kids. Would I have a camera crew in my house that much, personally? No. Doesn't mean the Gosselins can't if they want to.
People who let their entire Universe revolve around their kids, and never teach them that everyone in a family has to do their bit, are in for some real trouble later on, IMO. I think kids need to learn, "Sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do." I believe our job as parents is to not only love and protect our kids now, but to teach our kids how to eventually surivive in the real world, and coddling and insulating them from everything is done at our own peril and theirs-it's not doing them any favors.

Yes, these other famliies are handling things really well too. Because thats what works for their family. This is a well publicised situation, and it's very easily trackable by the PA (it's PA where they live, right?) Department of Childrens Services, and as far as I know, they don't seem to have a problem with it. (And you can bet some nosey-parker has reported it to them.)

These little ones are well taken care of, have a lovely home, eat lovely organic meals (no matter WHO prepares them), are clean, reasonably well adjusted,have toys, a schedule and are on time developmentally. They are imperfect human beings being raised by imperfect human beings, and just because we might not all do things that way for our kids, it doesn't make them bad parents if they do. (I used to go bonkers when my sister would let her boys pick stuff they'd dropped up off her very clean kitchen floor and eat it. Meh.)

As far as the media holding Kate out as a parenting expert, well, if a person isn't smart enough to differentiate between the truth/reality and what the media says, then that's their problem. The media also told us the world was gonna end on the millenium, that the accelerator in France was gonna kill us all, and that everyone who ate chicken or beef was gonna die of bird flu or mad cow disease. So, I mean, c'mon.

At the end of the day, the Gosselins are darned if they do and darned if they don't. They're gonna get s**t from every quarter cause they're on TV, and if they are willing to accept that, then so be it-who am I to tell them to do otherwise. The day they can't take it anymore is, I'd imagine, the day they'll quit doing it. They've put their kids on a "reality" TV show, not down the mines and up chimneys for heavens' sake. Kids bounce. IMO, a few extra people with cameras in thier house isn't any different than the fact that my MIL would video every bloody move the boys made if I let her. I'm betting they don't notice much anymore, and how can extra eyes on that many kids be a bad thing during the day. I'm betting more than one camera man or boom mike man has grabbed a kid before they ran out the door, cuddled a kid with a scraped knee, or said the phrase "Ooh, Kate, so-and-so-is about to get into the cupboard!"

Again, I guess for me the bottom line is: Why do people with their own kids, their own lives and their own problems feel they have to worry so darned much about everybody else. I wish I had that kind of time-must be nice for those people who are so perfect that they can solve all thier own stuff, raise perfect children, and still have the time and energy to devote to telling everyone else how they should live their lives and raise their kids.

He without sins...casting stones... all that.