Posted on 11/17/2008 12:17:58 PM PST by buccaneer81
‘Jon & Kate’ are doing their children no favors By Mark A. Perigard
TLC’s favorite fertile couple renews their vows tonight.
But this wedding may have some viewers raising objections.
As the episode opens, the Gosselin clan - parents Jon and Kate, twins Mady and Cara and the 4-year-old sextuplets - are vacationing in Maui.
The parents hammer out a renewal ceremony. The girls go for pedicures. Jon meets with relatives he hasn’t seen in several years.
Even by “Jon & Kate” standards, it makes for a slim show.
Why do the couple feel the urgent need to renew their vows after only nine years of marriage? Kate tells the camera that she wants her kids to know that while not all moms and dads stay together, she and Jon are forever.
As the ceremony later demonstrates, not even the oldest girls understand the ceremony’s significance, and the youngest surely will forget it.
This cynic is forced to conclude the “wedding event” is a way to capitalize on a free vacation in Maui.
“Jon & Kate” has become increasingly about the freebies the Pennsylvania family can gather. The visits to increasingly far-flung destinations are nothing more than travel infomercials, with the kids as adorable props. Jon’s morning on a golf course here is a chore to the eyes, but he dutifully plugs the management in his armchair confessional.
If we’re rewarding people on the basis of fertility, shouldn’t the prizes go to the least blessed?
Yes, it’s kind of horrible the way Kate talks to Jon as if he’s one of the 4-year-olds.
As he samples wedding cakes tonight, Kate tells the wedding planner, “I’ll try what he decides. And then I’ll argue, if he decides wrong.”
But as my favorite relationship coach - that would be Judge Judy - would say, he picked her. Save your concern for the children.
Mady, for example, almost has a meltdown when her mother expects her to be her maid of honor. Is she just another reality show witch? No, she’s just an 8-year-old, having a perfectly normal moment for a child - that is being broadcast to millions of homes.
The younger kids have been trailed by cameras for almost their entire lives. What does that do to a child’s perception of the world and his or her importance in it?
The kids might not mind the cameras following them now, but they’ll probably feel differently in about 10 years when their high school classmates can download footage of their potty training to their iPods.
Imagine having all your worst moments from childhood available to anyone who wanted to see them for the rest of your life.
That’s what the Gosselin children face.
Maybe it’s time for Jon and Kate to drive the cameras out of the home for some quality family time.
I don’t watch much TV, but I’ve seen this show once or twice, also seen the shows with the very large families (there are a couple families with 17 kids who have had specials.)
Anyhoo, my point is, I don’t care how they raise their children. It’s their business. If they want to take vacations paid for by their sponsors...that’s fine. If I don’t agree, I don’t have to watch the show.
All reality shows are scripted, plots outlined.
It does make it to TV Land. They took them to some show about the Bible. They’ve taken them to church. They talk about it alot.
I figure it’s a way for both parents to stay home, and they make enough money to send all their kids to college.
Heck, it’s better than them being on welfare!
I had nothing to do with it.
That's the strongest argument that the writer makes, but who cares? What are their friends going to say? "Oh look, you were potty trained!" This will be invasive when the kids get older, though. OTOH, they must have been financially strapped, so I can understand their consenting to the TV show.
I don’t like reality television because the reality is that you’re seeing what the director wants you to see.
I wish that people would say “no” to allowing themselves or their families exploited but the money I assume is very attractive.
Someday I hope this genre fades away.
Kate has a strange way of acting like a Christian when she abuses her husband both verbally and physically.
That woman is a harpy. I feel sorry for Jon.
I like the show and I don’t think they’re doing any harm at all to their children. People just want to find things to critize about other people. I’d like to look into this persons family and see what they’re doing that could “harm” their children.
I guess we shall see in the future whether they enjoyed it or not.
(Picturing 8 cute little kids smoking cigars and popping wheelies on Ducatis. Unnngh.)
The show is the best thing that could happen to those children. In the quest for ratings the children will get to try out all the hip new things to do for kids, get to see new places and experience everything from a front row seat standpoint. Money and careers will be lined up for all of those kids as they grow up.
Jon should have kicked her mule when she demanded that he get a hair transplant.
An awful lot of children on TV have turned into adolescent and adult train wrecks.
According to Kate, a Korean infant became available while Kate was an obstetrics nurse. They decided not to adopt the baby boy, but instead return to fertility treatment.
To be frank, I'm kind of glad that their beliefs aren't played up. The world doesn't need to see another set of Christians who blow ther money on fertility treatments and hair plugs in a world where kids starve.
A pastor friend of mine is going over to get his second daughter from China sometime in the next two months. He and his wife and children have scrimped, saved and sacrificed on a small salary to save this kid and her older adopted sister from a crappy life, and do I have to even mention he doesn't have hair plugs?
The show that REALLY grates me is the one with the family of 58 kids or whatever the number is...
For such a holy family, they sure want to be exploited and paid...
Sure, Kate gets frustrated..(maybe you would be too if you had that many children 24/7)....
..but to their credit when they tried for ONE MORE CHILD and ended up with all those babies in utero, they accepted the responsibility rather than SELECTIVELY ABORT!
I love to watch this show....I'm worn out when it's over, and appreciate the energy they both need to get through a day.
They mention their faith often and shame on you all for your sniping of this family!
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