Plath Family - Unsere kleine, heile Welt

Besides the fact that the parents want to "shelter" their kids...but they don't mind letting them on a reality show...besides that... it's a cute, funny show... but it's also hard to believe that this family doesn't have any skeletons...they all do!!!

We don't let our children watch tv but we welcome a tv crew in our lives. But the worse is how the parents make it seem it's all about protecting the younger kids from their older siblings bad influences that is why they can't be alone with them. It's not. It's all about control. The mother has a serious control problem and since the kids have grown up and she lost control she is using the younger kids to still have some control over the older kids. They should be proud that they raised them like they did but now it's time for them to leave the nest and trust/support them as they navigate life.

First get past the fact that the show is a complete contradiction; meaning that the parents claim to keep their children sheltered from exposure to TV, radio, the real world, cell phones, sugar and more, yet they are in a reality TV show. Then look past the fact that the older daughters of this so-called extremely conservative family are allowed to drown themselves in makeup, gaudy jewelry and horrendous nail polish. After you get past all that the kids are cute. And it's refreshing to hear teenagers speak without saying "like" between each word. And although the older kids are itching to stake their independence The angst is at a minimum. It's nice to see kids get along with each other and with their parents. There's no yelling, bickering or fighting. It's actually a sweet show.

I think this is a lesson in futile effort to control people, and the inevitable repercussions of when those people break free. The parents in this family (apparently) had wild ways in their past, and as a result decided to raise their kids in complete isolation. They are homeschooled, only friends are their siblings, restricted in diet, no learning about the "outside" world, vilification of anyone or anything that is not in their ideology, etc. The kids have grown-up with extreme trauma, resentment and anger. To top it off, the kids are also not at all prepared to deal with the real world - both on an emotional/social level, as well as vital skill level in things the average person takes for granted (eg something as simple as searching for something on internet), as well as needing to get their GEDs, etc. The parents either can't see how completely myopic and selfish their judgments and views are for their children, or don't care. If every single one of your children, by the time they are 'coming of age', want nothing to do with you, perhaps you are doing something wrong.

The positives of this show, is it shows the resilience of the human spirit, and what a gift it is to find and express your true self - and what a gift it is to be able to do that. I'm glad this show has given the older kids the means to build their own lives.

Self-centered narcissistic parents without the insight to allow their children to grow without projecting their own flaws onto them to the extent that the result is that the kids are socially dysfunctional. It is the epitome of selfishness.