(Well, who doesn’t love weddings and babies?)
But now that we know better, it’s not fun anymore.
In fact, glorifying the families may be helping them hide the truth of their lives.
Multiply that by three or four (or more!
), and the mess, stress, and financial issues increase.
There are other drawbacks as well.
Oldest siblings fare worst of all, with lower cognitive scores and a higher risk of criminal activity.
Yet, looking at the mega-family reality shows, you’d never know those problems existed.
Of course, getting a hefty TV paycheck helps, too.
But behind all that heartwarmingness is the unpleasant truth of health risks.
Beating the odds becomes ever more unrealistic for mothers opting to have child after child.
Then there are the emotional costs.
Josie, her youngest, was born nearly four months prematurely and suffered numerous health crises early on.
Even after her last pregnancy ended in stillbirth, Michelle refused to say she was through.
What’s more, these families are usually members of extremist church groups.
Kim and Barry Plath are fundamentalists who shielded their kids from secular influences as long as they could.
The “Sister Wives” family belongs to a branch of Mormonism that still believes in polygamy.
(This is considered an “eye trap” that could tempt a man to sexual assault.)
Unhappy family secrets often lie under the TV surface
Sometimes reality shows get a littletooreal.
Kim and Barry Plath saw their marriage crumble and several of their children renounce their sheltered life.
Kody Brown’s polygamist life went south when three of his four wives left him (viaPeople).
Then there’s the sad case of “Jon & Kate Plus 8.”
Either way, marketing mega-families as entertainment does no favors to either the viewers or the families.
You want to have a dozen children?
Just don’t ask us to watch.
