Twins, Twin & Sextuplets
December 9, 2008 by Tracee Sioux
Filed under Parenting
I thought Kate Gosselin was the only woman on the planet who had twins and then Sextuplets.
Turns out Betty and Eric Hayes had 2 sets of twins and then a set of sextuplets, one of which has cerebral palsy.
The image of her older brother, Kyle, volunteering to make Rebecca, his charge because he knows she finds his presence calming, was truly one of the most touching examples of a young man, as I’ve seen in a long time.
The difference between The Hayes and The Gosselin’s family style is marked.
One thing I noticed is that the mother, Betty Hayes is much more laid back than Kate who has some sort of perfection disorder. Kate has all these very specific rules about how things absolutely must be for her to be okay. It must be exhausting to live under that kind of pressure.
Because everything must be done just so, the parenting style is to get the kids out of the way and serve them.
Betty, liberated from that, seems to enjoy her role much more. Her kids help around the house. This does make it more chaotic – but, they also LEARN how to participate in the making of a home and it looks like a lot more fun. My parenting style is much more like Betty’s. My children will be self-suffecient and capable when the move out of the house.
And yet, I find Kate more entertaining and relatable.
I, personally, thing TLC’s Monday line-up is the best thing on TV.
I love to see family life in such a positive light.
Some environmentalists believe having such a large family is bad for the environment. I disagree.
I think it’s about the quality of human being you’re raising. Have you seen My Super Sweet 16? Those kids are generally raised in very small families, but they’ve been so over-indulged that they are hyper-consumers and bad human beings.
I’ll take a large family raising good humans over a small family raising bad people any day. So would the planet and its environment, I imagine.
I even enjoy watching Michele Duggar manage her home schooling, ultra-conservative bunch of almost 18 children. Who cares if she believes Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs? She can manage 17 children by herself, while pregnant, with a smile on her face and I heard her children say She NEVER yells. Imagine that.
Another thing I love about these families is the example of marriage. Every one of these men Matt Roloff, Jim Bob Duggar, Eric Hayes, to Jon Gosselin are examples of good guys. Really great men who are devoted to their families. It’s nice. Makes me appreciate my husband – also a real family guy. I love a guy who can say, “You’re a princess who pooped in her shoe. Oh, well, it could be worse,” as he handles his daughter’s diarrhea crisis in a public restroom.
These families – every one of them – can teach us something about valuing children and family and being happy.
They all strike me as . . . happy.
Man, the two times I watched my super sweet sixteen, I couldn’t help but think what a waste of precious resources those brats take up. Monsters ARE real. Those kids give me nightmares.
True that. And to think they will grow up and “rule” with all their parents money. What are their parents thinking? I’ll take a dozen children from a Kate Gosselin or Michelle Duggar to share the planet with any day.
My sentiments exactly! I couldn’t agree more about loving the TLC shows. Even though many of the families depicted are drastically different than my family – they all put off this positive vibe – and it feels good to see a real family. Back in the eighties – and I guess before that too, there were so many clean, family centered shows..it seems like since then the family hasn’t really been represented well up until now. In real life, it marched on, like it always will – but, culturally became a little less “popular” I think.
And these shows don’t show a fictional, cookie-cutter family that make you feel bad about your own – they give us real life. It’s so refreshing.
I just get a good feeling about it. WE’re all just doing the best we can with our unique circumstances. We’re learning as we go..and that’s interesting in itself. It doesn’t need a plot, or writers, or polls, or a villan, or a hero.. it reminds me to look at my own life as interesting and full of wonder and adventure you know?
I could not agree more. I look at them and think, I can do this AND it’s kind of sweet and fun.
To some extent I have always admired kate’s organization. It really is born out of necessity. The dugger house seems to run on rules as well. But you missed my favorite monday mom Amy roloff. She doesn’t let her teenagers get away with much. She also abviously gives her children a lot of love.