"Little People Big World"

[MsAmerica]

I think they are the most fascinating family on television. I can't imagine how hard Matt has had to work to achieve his current success. He is an inspiration to everyone.

Matt is the dreamer, he has said it many times. Amy is the grounded one. He is ying, she is yang. I love them and believe they deserve everything they have in life, plus more!


MsA

 

[llp479]

We've watched the show from the beginning as well. To me, Matt has a very typical "short man" syndrom, and I'm not referring to his dwarfism. He's very much like all the short men I've dealt with in the corporate world. I think they over compensate for their lack of height through their personalities.

But hey, he admitted this past week to Amy that he messed up, something I don't think my DH has ever done!

 

[mytwotinks]

I personally think the dad is a jerk. I can understand how he developed this personality (having to fight so many tough battles his whole life) but still ... its not really an excuse for being a jerk. I seem to remember an episode (or maybe it was in the discovery special about their family that was aired a while before they had a tv show) where the mom was really anxious about money because he is such a "dreamer" -- always pursuing crazy pipe dreams instead of having a steady income. She has to work *all the time* to support the family, and notice that she also does childcare, housework, ferries the kids back and forth to all their activities, etc, while he gallivants off to conventions and conferences. I don't get the feeling they equally share in household duties.

I have to say that gf and I also wondered about their source of income ... we first started to wonder about it in the episode where Zach has brain surgery to repair a stent in his brain. I believe there is some sort of monologue by the dad about how they don't have insurance because it's hard for disabled people to get insured (very true), and then he says something like, "well, we'll just have to figure out how to take care of the bill" (please correct me if i'm not remembering this correctly). Now my question was this ... brain surgery and several days or a week intensive care is not expensive ... it is exorbitant ... probably running several hundred thousand dollars or more. How exactly could *anyone*, let alone people who don't seem to have a clear source of income, afford to pay for this???

I bet that they have worked with the hospital before. They probably just make whatever payments they can and get the bills paid down as quickly as they can.

 

[mytwotinks]

I think they are the most fascinating family on television. I can't imagine how hard Matt has had to work to achieve his current success. He is an inspiration to everyone.

Matt is the dreamer, he has said it many times. Amy is the grounded one. He is ying, she is yang. I love them and believe they deserve everything they have in life, plus more!


MsA

It is easy to dislike Matt a little bit when you see Amy stressing over money and responsibilities, but she has said several times on the show that she loves his dreamer qualities. I think that she has admitted that she stresses too much and that he has always provided for them and that she really should have more faith in him. She says all of the time that they wouldn't have any of the things that they have if Matt weren't such a dreamer.

 

[Swimnoid]

I like them all!

 

[themarquis]

I bet that they have worked with the hospital before. They probably just make whatever payments they can and get the bills paid down as quickly as they can.

Yeah, I'm sure that's what they're doing, but .... mmm ... do the math... say the hospital bill is 800,000 dollars. Putting down 2,000 dollars a month (which I think is a lot, but maybe I'm biased) would mean you're paying for 400 months = 33 years? (not to mention the other kids' hospital/dr bills).

I just don't get it... I guess here is what I'm thinking ... if I had four kids, one of whom was pretty much guaranteed to have major medical bills, I might think about looking for a "normal" job that would provide health insurance. It might be tough to find that job, but it would be doable. And the ADA doesn't allow companies to reject job candidates based on disability status (i.e., they can't say -- you're going to have a lot of medical costs because of you/your family's disability status so we're not going to employ you. They can reject candidates for other reasons, but not that one). I'm a bit of a dreamer myself and don't have a "normal" job, but if it was a choice between biting the bullet & working 'for the man' vs. having my kids suffer because I can't pay for their medical needs, I guess i'd pick the normal job.

I guess more generally one of the reasons he seems like a "jerk" is that he lets his family suffer because he would rather sell stools to Holiday Inn than find a job that would help his family. 'Course the same could be said of his wife ... but it does seem to me that it would be easier for him to find a good job (as a software engineer with such an esteemed career)...

 

[themarquis]

oh man... I really don't want to get flamed... I love the show & love all the characters and their individual quirks... I guess Matt just rubs me the wrong way is all. Sorry anyone if I've offended.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

He has a normal job. He works for a software company. He took it the end of last season. He had normal jobs before his hotel thing. Amy, Zach, and himself cannot be insured due to their preexisting conditions. I'm sure his other kids are insured.

 

[themarquis]

He has a normal job. He works for a software company. He took it the end of last season. He had normal jobs before his hotel thing. Amy, Zach, and himself cannot be insured due to their preexisting conditions. I'm sure his other kids are insured.

ah, sorry. I'm not caught up with the last season yet. I assume Amy, Zach, and himself will eventually be insured (once their conditions stop being considered "preexisting"?).

 

[sydally9367]

ah, sorry. I'm not caught up with the last season yet. I assume Amy, Zach, and himself will eventually be insured (once their conditions stop being considered "preexisting"?).

Actually IIRC, last season Molly had to have some dental work done and Matt had to pay in cash because they didn't have insurance. Of course, that is dental and not medical, but just putting it out there.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

ah, sorry. I'm not caught up with the last season yet. I assume Amy, Zach, and himself will eventually be insured (once their conditions stop being considered "preexisting"?).

No, they are uninsurable since they will always have dwarfism. I do wonder how Matt's parents managed all of those surgeries for him if he was not covered on insurance. That's a lot of hospital bills.

 

[themarquis]

No, they are uninsurable since they will always have dwarfism. I do wonder how Matt's parents managed all of those surgeries for him if he was not covered on insurance. That's a lot of hospital bills.

you might be right, but when I've been insured through my job, they usually say any "preexisting conditions" are considered as such for only six months. After that, the insurance kicks in and starts covering them. I thought when you were extended insurance coverage through your job, you were never fully "uninsurable" -- "uninsurable" occurs only when you attempt to purchase your own insurance and are rejected. Maybe this is not always the case, idunno.

 

[Seahunt]

What I can't understand is why the twins (the boys) seem so clueless?

I mean, Matt and Amy seem to be pretty smart, but did you see the episode where the boys couldn't even use the phone book? Amy was getting really exasperated with them

And Zach and the drivers license test - whew, I wondered if he would ever get that figured out

 

[RNMOM]

I too love this family. Quirks and all.

I believe they will never be able to be insured also. Most medical insurance won't take on several issues like this. People who have transplants and stuff like that also.

In Ohio I believe you can get on Medicaid if you can't get traditional insurance, at least for the children. I personally know some well off families who have children on Medicaid due to transplants. Perhaps Oregon is not that way.

 

[momsgoofy]

I love this show! I've been watching it since the beginning...the family is amazing in so many ways!

Sometimes I think they are all off their rockers, but like someone else posted they do seem to have a really good ying/yang about themselves.

Matt...yeah, he's a dreamer and he admits it. I'm guessing that he's been that way his whole life and Amy, well, she knows that is just Matt.

Amy...that is one strong woman! She manages that bunch like nobody else could! She's so involved in her kids lives and loves it...stereotypical soccer mom.

Jeremy and Zack...I've got one teenage boy...two would put me in the looney bin for sure. I think they are just showing some serious sibling rivalry when they fuss. (The whole family seems very competitive.)

Molly...she's the only daughter, but she doesn't seem to let her brothers get the best of her...she's one tough cookie and when the boys start getting all "macho", she just lets them be like when Zack and Jacob were building the treehouse in the last episode.

Jacob...he's the baby of the family, so he's got that hanging over him...gotta prove to the big boys he can do it just as much as they can if not better.

I don't know...they seem pretty normal to me. I've learned something from Amy though...she must really love that husband of hers cause she puts up with all his quirkiness and that is what unconditional love is about isn't it?

 

[C.Ann]

I love this show! I've been watching it since the beginning...the family is amazing in so many ways!

------------------------------------

When did this show first air? Is there a channel - and a time - when I can catch the earlier episodes? I really would have liked to see it from the very beginning so I'd have a better grasp of what is going on..

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

C.Ann--It's on The Discovery Channel and I know sometimes they air past shows at odd hours. The new episodes generally air on Sat. evenings at 7 pm.

I've been watching this show from the beginning, mostly because I am a complete reality show junkie. But I've really gotten to love it. I cried when they showed the boys going off to their high school's winter formal with their dates. Both Jeremy and Zach looked so cute in their tuxes! And Zach's LP date (I think her name is Kristy or Kari..something like that) was just gorgeous.

I think the Roloffs are dysfunctional, like a lot of families, but they manage to be just short of completely wacked. You can tell the parents are really dedicated to the family even if the kids drive them nuts sometimes.

Like a lot of people, when I found out about Jacob's accident, I was hoping he'd be alright. I imagined it happening to my own DS and how Amy must've really flipped out over it. I know I would have in her place. I hope that Jake doesn't have any lingering problems from this down the road.

I can't wait for the new eps to air on Sat night..it showed Amy going out of town and Matt buying an old car while she was out of town. Boy she is going to be peeved off when she finds out!

TOV

 

[WaltD4Me]

I LOVE this show! I've been watching for awhile now and I can't believe Jacob got hurt by the pumpkin launcher! -- I bet Amy had a FIT...the launcher was one of Matt's inventions and I remember her worrying about if it was safe or not...at the time though, she was worried about someone getting hit by a pumpkin, not the 2,000 pound concrete block! Scary!

Matt rubs me the wrong way too, I can't help it, he is too pushy and too much of a know-it-all for me, but I like Amy and the kids. I think Amy is the one holding that whole family together.

Glad to hear Jacob is okay!

 

[emmabelle]

I love this show, but then I can relate because I also have a 16 yr old son who would have a problem with the phone book.

I can't wait for the new eps to air on Sat night..it showed Amy going out of town and Matt buying an old car while she was out of town. Boy she is going to be peeved off when she finds out!

TOV

I'm also dying to see this show, Amy is going to flip out!

 

[disneysnowflake]

Little People, Big World is on TLC. New episodes are on Saturday night at 8pm est. They usually show last week's show at 7pm Saturday night (and a couple more times during the week).

I love this show.

Matt said he used to sell computer software. They saved up and bought their house. He decided to give up that job and wanted to live from selling peaches and pumpkins from his farm. Money was tight, so Amy was working 2 jobs.
Matt then had to go back to work.

They have a lot of things now because I'm sure TLC is paying this family quite a bit for starring in this show which is in it's 2nd season.

I love to watch this show.