Wife Swap Last night

[bjgrazi]

Did anyone watch it? I caught it for the first time last night. I couldn't believe how the homeschooling family were raising their children like little robots. Somehow I think if those kids ever get freedom when they're older, they'll go nuts. It almost seemed like they didn't respect their parents but were afraid of them. I kept thinking they'll beat them when the "other mom" left.

 

[popeyeohoh]

I thought the Fla family were entirelly too strict with their children. The Virginia family was worse though. What a mad house. No rules 14 yr old with questionable morals, lazy, junk food fed slobs. I would rather have a family like the Fla couple. Without all the extreme rules and without the leather strap.

 

[luvsTink]

I thought it was fascinating. Of course it is clear that they choose families that are as far from one another as possible.

One question I would have is which set of kids do you think could function the best once in "the real world"? I personally felt sorry for the military kids. They looked so sad when she was leaving. And did you notice how embarrased the older girl was when the dad pulled over the car and he had to figure out how not to spank them? Granted, the "anything goes" mom was far to permissive for my taste, but she did seem to value individualism.

Anne

 

[Kimberle]

I watched it. I think the FL family did learn something. It sounds like they are going to "relax" just a bit. I honestly don't think the FL Dad knows how to just have fun. I wonder what his upbringing was.

I didn't like Cindy at all. She never even tried. Then at the end, she was mad that her dh followed the new Mom's rules. Hey, she totally expected her "new dh" to follow her rules. I think her dh learned something. I don't think Cindy & the girls learned anything.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

This show is one of my guilty pleasures! I like it, and I said I would never watch it...LOL!

Anyway I agree that cindy and the girls didn't get anything out of it. I didn't like her very much. If you go for this, you have to play by the rules. No mystery there.

I did like how the FL. mom came home and looked at the rules and asked what rules they could use. I would rather have the stricter family, but without that LEATHER STRAP! YIKES!

 

[hipporina]

What I found interesting is that my ideas are not that different from the Fl family, but in practice my house has a completely different feel. I agreed with them that backtalk is not acceptable, children should take responsibility in the home and do chores, the husband is the head of the household and makes loving decisions for his family, homeschooling is a great alternative, you should teach your children morals, and such. I think where they miss out is understanding that all of that has to be balanced with love and a good bit of fun. Of course, I can't imagine my kids doing all the chores. That would be great! If they could keep the rules, but temper them with fun then the kids would be a lot happier.

As for the other family, yikes! Those girls have the most horrible attitudes and lack of respect for their parents and themselves. If that 14 yo doesn't end up pregnant soon, I will be surprised. Their mom needs to wake up and realize that she is their mother, not just their buddy. Of course, that mom is awful herself. She doesn't know how to respect anyone else, so it isn't surprising that she isn't teaching her children respect either.

 

[ladycollector]

We watched it.. We homeschool and let me tell you, those are the kinds of families that give homeschooling a bad name. They were a little bit extreme. Those poor kids, you'd have thought the jelly beans were gold the way they reacted. I think the strict family should loosen up, or the kids are going to resent them for it. And I didn't see ANYTHING wrong with the birthday party, and the dad was freaking out. That said, I would rather have the FL family, than the unruly other one.

Do we get update shows on the families of wife/swap?

 

[OhMari]

That was the first thing I said, "Oh boy, they just gave homeschooling a bad name."

The Florida dad totally scared me.
His kids seemed to have a lot of spirit in them, but then they really only interviewed the younger ones, not the 2 older. Like a poster said, "the oldest daughter was trying to shield her face from the camera when the dad stopped the van. Do you think he really stopped the van to spank them, or he just couldn't take the noise and pulled over to stop everyone from screaming."

 

[4greatboys]

I think he pulled over to spank them because it seemed to take a while for him to formulate a new plan. Rules are great but being over bearing is not. Unless they loosen up those kids are going to go wild as soon as they get away from them.

 

[Kirby]

I got the impression that the dad was not used to pandemonium in his car so he pulled over before he lost it.

Even though the Florida family was way too strict for my tastes, they did learn from the experience. I liked the way the mom was open to adapting some of the other mom's rules for their family.

The other family, well, I think that only the dad really learned anything. Did you notice at the meeting between the two couples how Cindy got mad at the Florida mom for disciplining the younger daughter? She said something to the effect that no one disciplines her daughters but her. I feel sorry for the dad.

 

[4greatboys]

I also get the impression of the show they encourage the parents to act a little "Jerry Springer" at the end.

 

[AmyBeth68]

This was another one of those "YIKES" shows for me. It's a guilty pleasure show...I've seen several episodes. Last night though....WOW! Both families were way over the top for me. I mean, while I agree with children being respectful to their parents, having responsibilities in the home,etc. It just seemed that they were crushing any sense of individualism, identity, etc by having such a strict home. One of those kids is going to rebel...you watch....wait until they get to college!! BUT...the other side of the coin is very frightening. I agree...that girl is going to end up pregnant. I told my husband...NO WAY would my child wear THAT shirt in my home....that just wouldn't happen. Those girls needed structure but instead the mom came home and undermined everything immediately. UGH!

 

[disykat]

I really surprise myself when I watch this show. Although the reality of it is that I'm more like the FL family, I found myself relating to the other family more. Granted, they were too lax and "Jerry Springer" ish, but I liked the love I saw there.

The thing that bothered me the most was watching the children who had no freedom. It seemed similar to me to the family the other week where the parents were really into meditating, etc. and the children just seemed to be there - they really didn't show them having any ownership in the household. IMO the whole feel of the house shouldn't be about the parents - there should be some sense of the children as well.

We run our house with a fairly strict sense of order - my kids clean up, aren't supposed to back talk, have strict bedtimes, etc. etc. However, I actually EXPECT some resisitance from them at times. I think they need to exert their independence. If they come to us with good reasoning we sometimes even change the rules to accomodate them. They are part of the family, and while we aren't exactly a democracy, we try to make everyone a part of setting the rules for our family.

In a situation where a stranger came into the house, while I would expect my kids to be polite, I would fully expect that they would be upset that THEIR house and their routine was being disrupted.

That said, the strangest part of the show to me was when the lady was so upset that her husband followed the rules of the show - when she had been so adamant to the FL dad he had to follow them.

 

[orvilleair]

Homeschooling. I hope the Florida family recognizes that their kids need to interact with other kids. I thought homeschooling parents get together for lessons, sports, field trips etc....

The kids in Virginia are probably borderline obese, and I hope the Virginia family prepares healthier meals for their kids. I don't think Carol got anything out of this experience, but her husband did.

I watched the show with the nanny before this show, and I like that show better than Wife Swap. Both are entertaining lol!

 

[mtemm]

I didn't see it but did read the manuals and rules. OMG is all I have to say. if you want to check them our, they are here:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/wifeswap/episodes/7.html

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

They did show the oldest daughter in ballet and one of the boys talked about his "friends" talking about school. So, I imagine they do interact with other children---maybe sports?

And all of the kids at the party had to come from somewhere. I assume they knew them.

That said, the dad in FL did seem controlling, anal, and did not seem to relate to his kids at all.

But I thought their mom seemed very loving, just strict

 

[orvilleair]

Originally posted by JessetheCowgirl
They did show the oldest daughter in ballet and one of the boys talked about his "friends" talking about school. So, I imagine they do interact with other children---maybe sports?

And all of the kids at the party had to come from somewhere. I assume they knew them.

That said, the dad in FL did seem controlling, anal, and did not seem to relate to his kids at all.

But I thought their mom seemed very loving, just strict

Yeah, good point at their pool party. I just think homeschooling took a bad rap last night, because their kids were having so much fun in public school.

 

[DopeyRN]

One of the reasons I love this show is that I often see some character traits on the show that I strongly dislike and then realize I have that same trait. It has given me a lot to think about. What I like the most is when some of the parents realize they are too "something" and make changes for the positive. Last night the strict family seemed to loosen up a little, the other family will stay as dysfunctional as they already were.

 

[Maleficent2]

That said, the strangest part of the show to me was when the lady was so upset that her husband followed the rules of the show - when she had been so adamant to the FL dad he had to follow them

I agree, made her look really bad at the end.


The Fl family was scary esp the father. Did I hear correctly and the FL wife never does chores only the children do.

Talk about a dictatorship.....

At our house DS(6) does have rules but they are flexible when need be.

I think we a raising a very polite/ respectful child who makes good grades and is a great kid, at least that is what all his teachers tell us and what we see.

I like watching this show I get a few good laughs and a few OMG's these people are ......


Mal

 

[EltonJohn]

Originally posted by bjgrazi I couldn't believe how the homeschooling family were raising their children like little robots. Somehow I think if those kids ever get freedom when they're older, they'll go nuts. It almost seemed like they didn't respect their parents but were afraid of them. I kept thinking they'll beat them when the "other mom" left.

I absolutely loved the military family-it is completely structured and the kids are very well-behaved and respectful (as are their parents), though they do have some drawbacks as all families do. I'm not sure about that "whacker" (I loved Bittner's reaction when she read that), and the couple tossed it after the wife swap. Hubby as head of the household-this sounds like a conservative Chrsitian family to me. I think that this family learned a few more things

The other family, well, I was impressed with the hubby-he was trying his best to abide by the military mum's rules. I think that the other mom's kids are going in the wrong direction, and she was all mad at her DH because he made them follow the rules. She even said something to the effect that "nobody tells my kids what to do". Yeah, tell that one to the cops once they get arrested.

One of those kids is going to rebel...you watch....wait until they get to college!!

Time will tell if that happens, but if it does then it won't be the parents responsibility anymore because the child would be an adult. I can see your point though, Madonna was raised as a strict Roman Catholic, and looked at how she turned out . OTOH, I can see some of them following in their father's footsteps and spending some time in the military. If that is the case then our country is in good hands!

I was just looking through the rules for the military family, and came across the following:

"Do you spend time without the children? We do not spend time without the children."

How did they end up with 5 children in the first place? LOL