So do you love Jon and Kate Plus 8 or hate it? There’s no middle ground.
I consider myself a casual reality television fan. Yes, I have my favorite shows – Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef and The Bachelorette – but recently have been introduced to Jon and Kate Plus 8.
Why have I been introduced to this show? My young children have become enamored with it. I found this show late one morning when I was trying to avoid the crankies with the kids before they had their lunch and took their naps. It seemed pretty straightforward to me – television cameras capture the life of a family with many children all under the age of 7. And I couldn’t complain too much because it’s had a somewhat positive influence in my life. Two things stand out to me. First, brushing of teeth. My kids hate having me brush their teeth. In one of the episodes they watched they saw the “babies” (their word) having their teeth brushed by Kate. So when they give me trouble I say “don’t the babies let their mommy brush their teeth” and it usually works. Second, potty training. I have two three year old boys who have absolutely no desire to use the potty. They saw one episode where the boys went on the potty and a pleasant surprise came out of it – my one child tried to use the potty and was successful. I thought I should try and use the DVR for this episode so I can replay it – if it worked once, maybe it will work again!
Becoming a relatively new fan of the show I decided to search on the internet for the show and the family, to find out some more information about it. And I came to one conclusion – people either love the show or hate it. There is no ambivalence. I’m not sure I can remember another show that generates such strong and passionate feelings one way or the other. One might come to me, but there is nothing off the top of my head right now.
People who love the show really love it. They think the family is super, the parents are great and any added monetary bonuses that come about from the show is not a bad thing. And then there are the people who think that Jon and Kate are Satan and his spawn and should not be parents. I’ve even found a web site that thinks that the child welfare department should become involved because they are exploiting their children.
What other show in recent memory can you think of that causes such sharp and divisive feelings? There’s none that come to my mind – any thoughts out there?
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