Online Schooling Family from Supernanny - facing national cries of neglect

redchief wrote: Kaukauna Family Threatened After "Supernanny" Episode

While I'm all for the right to free speech, and no big fan of homeschooling for the social harm I believe it does kids, what gives people the right to pass such harsh judgment on a family that obviously is working hard to keep it all together? Does it make us feel better, on the whole, to find fault with what other folks do to survive? Is it easier for us to live with our own faults if we can find greater ones in others?

I understand that the show aired for public viewing, but what I don't understand is people actually calling the authorities after the show aired. Wouldn't you think that the producers of Super Nanny would have thought twice about airing this show if they felt there was any neglect going on and they failed to report it? What ever gives anyone the right to email death threats? I suppose the greatest question is, when did it become necessary for the people of this country to butt into the lives of people whose lives they have no business interfering in?

luvmykids replied: I didn't see that episode so I can't comment on the family but I will say this: we should all know by now that "reality" tv isn't always very realistic, and if these children are fed, clothed, schooled and otherwise cared for the reaction sounds very harsh

Calimama replied:
That's what I was thinking!!

My3LilMonkeys replied:
I saw the episode, and IF the family really lives the way they were portrayed (which I doubt they do the way reality TV is sensationalized), it is wrong IMO. Literally all you saw of the family's way of life was they get up, mom & dad go off to work and the 2 older kids are expected to watch the younger kids, clean the house and attend school online, all at the same time. So in a way, I can see why people who did take it at face value might be upset by it.

AlexsPajamaMama replied:

There is no need for such ignorant behavior as death threats, threatening to kid nap the children and all that Reality tv would not be entertaining if it showed the whole entire story, the shock value is what keeps viewers watching, imho.

msoulz replied:

Because certain sectors of our population are "right" and everyone else is wrong and doomed to a firey afterlife - just ask them, they will tell you - or don't ask and they will tell you anyway.

To this type there is no "to each his own". It's "my way or the highway to #@!!".

So it is their duty to point out everyone else's wrongdoings. They think they are helping. Maybe they are. But when we point back at them we are judging too. So it's in most of us to do so.

JMHO

luvmykids replied:
Good point, you're right, I think it's part of human nature to a degree

luvbug00 replied: I missed it, i have to find it on the web to give my opinion, But noone can pretend to know what is going on in any home unless u live there too or you are an athority investigating a matter withen a home.

redchief replied: It's true that we make judgments every day. Be they moral judgments, or deciding what socks to wear, we all do. We're even required, for the safety of our families, to pay police and the court system to put the bad guys away. So, we really must use judgment daily. We should all be concerned when alternate lifestyles become criminal. I find it inconceivable that the producers of Super Nanny and ABC would stand by without contacting the authorities if illegal or abusive activity was happening in that home.

How is it that grown adults, supposedly intelligent, can rush to judgment without coming to the same conclusion? Could it be that these are the same people that believe Rosanne Barr gave birth to an alien as reported by the supermarket tabloids? These people couldn't have a clue if they held the board game in their holier than thou hands. If we must protect our families from criminals, what can we do to protect them from plain idiots that think they're better than the rest of us?

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I think it's part fear/part ignorance, Ed. I think I just have a wider acceptance of a lot of things b/c I have friends who were raised in 3rd world countries. Most people would shudder at the stories of how the people over there are brought up. America "idealizes" everything and people are afraid of what's different and they don't educate themselves. They live in their own little existence and to them, there is not an entire world out there that lives differently than they do. Granted, this is happening in our backyard and NOT a 3rd world country...my point is that it takes all kinds to make the world go round. We had similar discussions with the Duggars. A lot of people consider it abuse when the older kids are asked to assist the younger ones in a large family. Again, in other countries this is the norm.

The hate mail and death threats, etc are another story. That's just ridiculous. No, ABC would not have allowed anything illegal or abusive. I remember when there was a big bru haha about Survivor and how the producers let the people starve, get injured and never supplied medical attention to the contestants...it's all reality, it's what boosts the ratings.

BAC'sMom replied:

Really when did that happen?

I watched the show the parents didn't have the best parenting skills. But I am not sure that it was abuse more than likely it was editing

We all parent differently and the sooner everyone learns that the better off we all be

redchief replied:
Good point, Jimmie. As a boy, I had to work in the family business, as did most of my peers. It's just the way it was. I spent many, many days caring for my little brothers. I wasn't always happy about it, but I took care of my brothers because they were family and it was expected of me. While I didn't miss school, I did miss out on a lot of leisure activities. But again, it was just the way it was.

I have pretty conservative ideals, as most of you already know, but I certainly wouldn't force my beliefs on someone else, regardless of whether or not I agree with them. It's simply none of my business, as long as the children are not harmed physically or mentally. I can even predict how a kid might come out under different parenting ideals, but that doesn't give me the right to try and call down the law on them.

luvmykids replied:
I personally don't think that, in and of itself, is wrong....to me, that is just part of being a family, everyone has to chip in and do what needs to be done. Of course some things are out of the realm of fair expectations, but I truly believe for the most part that the majority of parents do the best they can to do what they believe is right for their family. It's too bad when that differs from what we think is best for our family we're so quick to judge.

Again, I didn't see the episode, but I know many, many people who had to help take care of siblings. Fun? Not always. Wrong? Not necessarily.

HuskerMom replied: It's sad that people watch an hour long tv show and then feel they've seen enough of these peoples lives to feel the need to judge them so harshly and make death threats.

my2monkeyboys replied: I have to say that I didn't see the episode either, but I will say that I agree... an hour of heavily edited tv does not make for a good basis for judgement. Also, depending on what state they homeschool in, one of the parents has to do 51% of the teaching. Meaning that they can't just leave them home all day and leave the teaching up to the computer. Again, it may vary with the state, but most of the states have that in their laws.
I think that for the most part everyone does the best they can for their family. And I for one think we should go back to the time when children were a little more responsible for things that effected the family (chores, taking care of younger siblings, etc). I think the whole "let children be children" mentality is what has gotten us in the state we're in now with kids that are so lost and confused that they shoot up classmates and family with not a second thought.
JMHO.

lisar replied: I missed the entire episode. Which I normally the watch the show. So I dont wanna make judgement on them cause I didnt see it.

jcc64 replied: While I agree in principle with the idea of "live and let live", my sympathy for the fallout that results from airing one's life on television for entertainment is limited. They can raise their children any way they please, but surely they can't be shocked when people feel entitled to comment or pass judgment on them after watching them on a heavily edited tv show. After all, we don't have the whole story about Britney Spears, or Angelina Jolie or Hilary Clinton, or anyone else, but because they have chosen to put themselves in the public eye for whatever reasons, we all feel that we somehow "know" them and thus know what's "best" for them. With celebrities or politicians, the appeal is obvious, but why anyone would want to go on a show like "Supernanny" is beyond me.
I'm sorry the freaks are coming out of the woodwork attacking this family, but then again, had they never appeared on a tv show, things would undoubtedly be much different for them right now.

my2monkeyboys replied:
VERY true! It's hard to have sympathy for those that ask for the attention. Surely they must know that some of it will not be good.

My2Beauties replied: I agree with Jeanne. I saw the episode and I was appalled at the way they treated their children to be honest. But...you get so wound up in reality TV that you do tend to forget it's heavily edited. So, I can't completely pass judgment on them. One of the little girls did pass out though due to being stressed out, so that does speak a little. In the show, it showed the parents going to work in the AM, the mom never coming home on time, until 6pm or so at night, the girls were stuck to watch the other 3 kids all day long (and they were not the most well behaved) and then were stuck doing their schoolwork from a computer at night. That was their whole life. I know it was edited, but it showed some pretty deep conversations between the girls and you could tell they were unhappy, one girl looked deathly sick as well. Her eyes were droopy, she had large bags under them, they were black looking around them, she was very thin and pale, this is the one that passed out, she couldn't be healthy. The mom would come home and spend like 2 hours with the boys and say I'm done with it, i cant take them anymore and leave the teenagers to put them to ped! It was pretty awful from what I could see, even if that happened 2-3 days out of the week, it was horrendous. So I don't feel that sorry for them, except death threats and stuff like that, those people should be punished to the fullest extent of the law for terroristic threatening, that is absurd...BUT they let their dirty laundry air on National TV!