21 kids and counting

[thannyflaps]

Just watching the latest episode - how on earth do they afford to run that household? iPhones for the kids, holidays to Spain for 20 people, a new kitchen.

There is no way a bakery would generate that much money. Would channel 4 really pay that well for their participation in the programme?

Thanny Flaps

Yes, I think quite aside from the age issue, the tide might well have been turning against them anyway.

I mean, even if they had both been 18 or over when the first child was conceived, the general neglect of their children would still be there. The shocking values (obsessing over new prams while the kids seem to have no books, quiet spaces or enriching experiences) would still be there. The controlling behaviour that keeps the older kids in the home rather than allowing them natural independence. And of course the environmental impact of having such a ridiculously huge family.

Societal shifts in thinking have highlighted these issues over recent years- particularly environmental issues. So even though the underage issue is a major one, I suspect the tide might have been turning against them anyway. I wonder whether they’ll be able to come back from all the negative publicity this time. Interesting that out of all the programs, this was the one that was most scripted, and there was a marked attempt to steer the children away from talking openly and honestly, so they must have been aware that public opinion was shifting a bit, and that they needed to try to counter some of the views their children had previously expressed. But it feels like they’ve dug the hole deeper....

The kids are all pasty faced with bad hair. The parents are hideous.

Wow makes me wonder how many of you have perfect lives.
Do you know how harmful your comments and assumptions can be to a family who seem to be living a peaceful not bothering anybody else's life?

I am sure you have a life to take care of why not get on with it rather than be so hateful to a family that has no effect on it.

And can I add it is sad seeing supposed grown assed women wishing ill on a family. Shame on the lot of you.

Now that the Mail has finally noticed that Sue was pregnant at 13, I suspect some of the sponsorships are going to dry up, and indeed the TV companies may be less keen on publicising this family. They really are going to feel the pinch then.

Love your username PP ^^ but yes whilst i have my issues with some of this vitriol and sneering is uneccesary, pasty faced with bad hair?

Beaverhausen, few if any of us are putting our imperfect lives on TV or parading the virtue of living without benefits when in fact we claim them, so how we live our lives is irrelevant. If this family chooses to make money by publicising itself, it's perfectly reasonable for others to comment.

i dont wish them to loose their sponsorships etc thats a but far

Grown assed women?

How on earth can you say they're not bothering anyone else's life? Do you not understand the sheer strain they're adding to the NHS, school system, environment? It's so selfish - plus they're not living a peaceful life - they're imposing themselves onto the general public through their TV shows and sponsored adverts across social media and news papers. They choose to be in the public eye and to have a TV show on mainstream TV so we are perfectly entitled to discuss our opinions on the content of those TV shows. Nothing discussed here isn't based on the current or past TV shows or their vblogs/ blogs/ social media which they provide.

pasty faced because they don't eat properly. Poor hair because they are not cared for properly.

They have courted publicity to fund their lifestyle. I feel very sad for the kids.

How the fudge does Sue not have any stretch marks after all those pregnancies??

Misses the point of this thread

Of course they have an impact on the rest of us.
The amount of energy they use for one is damaging to our environment.
You don't seriously think that Sue pegs out all that washing on the washing line and let's it dry naturally outside do you?
Of course they will have the washing machine and tumble dryer on virtually constantly.
That is just one example.
Another is the cost to the nhs.
The cost of educating them all.
Tbh I was in awe of them and of the opinion each to their own. I have always thought this would not be for me for many reasons. The main one being that I don't see how this is a great life for the children. There is no way that they can't get a decent level of attention from either parent, they just can't.
Fair enough have a large family but 21 kids!!!
I posted up thread that if the kids want to pursue something, for example gymnastics, they simply can't. They are not able to excel in anything like that and that is a own to their parents.
So a potential gifted sports person is thwarted, I just don't agree with that at all.
And what benefit does a child have for forsaking that, 20 siblings, no I don't think that's fair.

A few posters have commented that they saw no books in the house. Hasn't Sue supposedly said she doesn't believe in reading?

Sue and Noel chose to let tv companies, newspapers etc into their lives, presumably for the money. Their children never had a choice did they?

I really hope they don't lose their sponsorships because the children will be the ones they suffer. Having her first child so young is far from ideal but I suspect that she may be the 'victim' in this depending on the circumstances.

I can only assume that the jars of curry showed on the program were product placement as in the past their meals were very protein lean but high in green veg. Noel said he got cabbage, carrots, potatoes at farmers market and many pictures show their plates to be very green, so they ate well. I thought the girls have lovely hair.

What waS the matter with how Noel spoke to his daughter when he took her for a driving lesson ?? I thought he did well.

I too hope they don't lose their sponsorship but only because of the children. I would not care about the parents.

I have never really understand why anyone would want to sponsor/ promote this family. What is the supposed achievement of selfishly bringing 21 children into an already overpopulated world?

There was a family on one of the original 16 kids and counting series who spoke about how the media turned against them. The Watson family, think they had 14 or so children. With each new child came a newspaper article showing all immaculately dresses blonde children and a glowing article praising the parents for supporting their large family. Then the dad lost his job and they were villified for going on benefits, he was then done for benefit fraud and did jail time. I guess that’s what’s happening to the Radford family, as pp have said only so long the press can promote the wholesome family image, this time instead of their income (which I’m guessing must be purely bakery money, tv fees and considerable child benefit or they would’ve jumped on that) they’ve focused on the ages of sue and noel.

I do think there’s a lot of grabbing at straws on this thread however, the house looked fine in sue’s house tour blog. Also the scene with no sheets on the bed, the kids were running all over the beds having a pillow fight so probably pulled them off. Doesn’t mean they weren’t there.

I do think worryingly the children are being brought up kind of institutionalised, like they would have no clue how to manage life outside of the family home. It’s like they’re growing up in a children’s home. Bar the oldest 2 (who presumably had the most normal upbringing of all of them) it’s very telling that none of the older ones have moved out.

@RoadrunnerMeepMeep is this them?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2094897/amp/15-Kids-Counting-Single-mother-14-Joanne-Watson-slams-critics-brand-scrounger.html

Really disliked the way they filmed the child’s distress over the prawn in the paella, it was awful hearing them laughing at him. The part with Noel shouting at Sue about the sat nav was dreadful.

Ooh fgs kids whine and cry over new food all the time. And Noel and Sues disagreement with the sat nav is a typical argument when two people are tired and in a unfamiliar surrounding. It's not a sign of anything more sinister.

IMO the children are suffering more through the sponsorship, and the media intrusion it brings into their lives, than they would be if it dried up. Sure, it might put an end to the large scale package holidays to Benidorm and the sparkling Zanussi appliances. But it might give them something more valuable: a childhood that isn’t plastered over the media with the resulting backlash.

Remember: most of those children are too young to be giving permission to the tv cameras.

Yes Roadrunner that was the family from Jersey or Guernsey. The newspapers after praising them for years labelled her 'The Baby Making Machine' and she was very distressed. A lot of the families who were on 16 KAC were upset about how the show was edited and how that depicted them as a result. One of the families (the Sullivans) actually lodged a complaint, I remember her blogging about it at the time and she felt that C4 very much had an agenda from the outset with how each of the families were portrayed.

I was looking through past articles and up until now the headlines were all really positive. Perhaps as some have said due to the changing climate the media are using this to garner more publicity, but it seems like such a crappy thing to do (especially for the children) after bigging them up for so long.

Chloe and the cake making was a fiasco and most likely just done for the cameras.

Just watching the 16 Kids one as my children loved the one from the other day and demanded to watch more (my 5 year old is going to have 100 children apparently). It's about seven years ago going by ages. Sue's dad is on it talking about the kids - he sees them once a week - and the oldest lad appeared extremely briefly. Lots of repetition even in the first few minutes; they've already mentioned Noel not knowing the birthdays. It's the infamous door handles one. The material really is very similar so I do wonder how this is all being spun out over the years other than the sell of a new baby each time.

Cushioncovers- I think you’re spectacularly missing the point. Of course a lot of it was done for the cameras. You think that makes it any better?

I can just picture it:
Camera crew: ‘which kid is the most sensitive and likely to freak out? Stick a plate of seafood in front of him- that’ll make good telly!’
‘Sit that kid in the fridge while she’s chomping on a block of cheese. Hilarious!’

The parents have no fucking interest in putting the needs of the children first- they are the ones milking this.