Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Telly addicts

Related: Film discussion forum.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

21 kids and counting

765 replies

thannyflaps · 03/01/2019 22:00

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Hubanmao · 09/01/2019 07:51

Whenever that post appears from MNHQ, with its vaguely threatening tone, hinting at ‘legal repurcussions’, it just makes me think they’re getting in a little bit of a flap, because they’re getting a bit of hassle themselves. Maybe Sue has got her legal representative to write MNHQ a scary letter Grin

Fact is, people are perfectly entitled to give opinions about a tv programme that’s been broadcast. People are also allowed to discuss facts, such as the age of a child when she got pregnant.

If MNHQ can’t stand the heat, then shut down the (multi million £?) business. It’s pointless to periodically post a vague kind of threat. And also a tad ironic as it’s not that long since thousands of MNers had their personal details leaked to the internet, such was their level of cyber security.

Aeroflotgirl · 09/01/2019 08:21

I agree Hubanmao, they want their cake and eat it. You cannot have it both ways. If you don't want negative comments or opinions, stop courting the media, and just get on with your lives. With each pregnancy announcement, there are tv interviews, magazine articles etc, and a programme about he impending arrival. What do they expect, people will be talking about it, and not all favourable.

animaginativeusername · 09/01/2019 09:27

I hate videos of children uploaded online where they are the 'joke', it's cruel. Recording the 'paella' incident is evil when it's for public viewing, in family and closed viewing fair enough. Hate both the 'parents' as other than produce they haven't patented. My kids help out in looking after younger brother but only if it doesn't compromise what they need/want to do. It's disgusting that the children aren't encouraged to develop outside interests.

animaginativeusername · 09/01/2019 09:27

Parented*

evaperonspoodle · 09/01/2019 09:45

I thought the prawn scene was a very bad move of theirs. A pp likened it to filming a child sucking on a lemon; this was not comparable. They giggled as they anticipated his reaction, he was distressed and really crying. I'm shocked that they thought it would be a good thing to air on public tv as it does nothing to confirm their claims of being 'in tune' with all of their dc's needs. This alone actually would make me not like them as it shows either they are not aware that setting your child up to be distressed should not be entertaining, or they are aware but would rather include it as content to make a better program.

animaginativeusername · 09/01/2019 09:53

@evaperonspoodle exactly that, how can a parent knowingly cause their child harm or pain. I couldn't comprehend doing that. There actions and attitude are childish.

I'm oldest of 8 children, mum was a SAHM, but never expected us to do housework or childcare unless we wanted to. Didn't get the one to one attention, mum made our clothes so all the same for convenience. But we were well looked after, encouraged to learn and study.

louise5754 · 09/01/2019 10:07

Look at the older kids. They seem so mature. Grounded. Polite. I don't think they have done a bad job at all. I think they all seem very mature and intelligent.

Calvinsmam · 09/01/2019 10:13

Look at the older kids. They seem so mature. Grounded. Polite.

They seem to me like young people who’ve had to grow up fast. Of course they’re grounded and mature they’ve been stand in parents for years.
Sometimes when home life is chaotic the child responds by being extra cautious and responsible, picking up the slack and putting on a brave face. They’re probably hyper aware that the world is watching.

It’s not a childhood though.

evaperonspoodle · 09/01/2019 10:19

I agree the older ones do seem mature and coached in this program but that would make sense as they have to be in order to help raise their siblings. Children who have grown up in horrendous circumstances often are mature before their years so that is not an indicator necessarily of good parenting.

The This Morning clip came up on my laptop and EH was asking one of the girls who looked about 10 about growing up in their house and she said it was hard work because you have to help a lot. She looked quite sad about it too.

I'm sure by most people's standards they haven't done a bad job but their increasing media appearances don't help. Their children when asked openly say they have to help bathe and look after babies, can't find a space to do homework without their siblings ripping it and their parents wouldn't notice if they went missing. The media appears to be casting them from an alternate angle now so they would be best placed to take a step back and just parent from the privacy of their own home.

KittensAndCake · 09/01/2019 11:41

I think they all seem very mature and intelligent.

I agree with the others, this has nothing to do with their parenting and all to do with their lack of parenting. Poor things having to grow up fast to parent their siblings whilst the real parents are busy giggling inanely and making more babies.

Calvinsmam · 09/01/2019 11:51

I’ve always got the impression that they are very isolated, like the parents wanted to create a world that would be just theirs and that they were in control of and be the king and queens of.
One of the kids said in the programme that they all stay there for a long time before they move out because they have all their needs met, but I do wonder if thats just what they are told and they’ll feel the same once they’ve lived away from them a bit. Like they are made to fear the outside world a bit.

I felt really sorry for the daughter in the bakery the way the dad was guilt tripping her for wanting to have another career away from the bakery. Yes you miss your kids when they move on but other than the normal, I love you and I miss you, you keep it to yourself.

Hubanmao · 09/01/2019 12:06

Agree calvinsmam.

And while I also agree with pp that some of the older kids seemed nice enough, and certainly more mature than the parents, the cake baking scene with the one who works in the bakery was awful. She just barked at those toddlers who were crowding round on the counter top and some of them looked really distressed.

Not that you can totally blame the daughter... she’s been making pies for 9 years while actually wanting to do something else, it’s clear she gets dumped on for regular childcare and no doubt the tv crew suggested the cake making as ‘good’ footage.

I said upthread, if you genuinely did cake making with that number of young kids, you’d have a calm clear routine. It would be like doing the activity with nursery kids. Actually scratch that- nursery would probably do it with groups of 4 or 5 max... not a dozen kids of various ages crowding round. It was obvious that they weren’t used to doing this kind of activity in a calm, pleasant, organised way, which was why the older girl just snapped at them. But then again, as I also said before, yelling of wrestling each other to the ground or giggling inappropriately (‘it takes two to tango, when talking about the parents sex life Hmm ) seemed to be the only methods of communication in the family.

The older kids are probably trying their best but are victims of their upbringing and the whole media circus around it

Hubanmao · 09/01/2019 12:28

Oh and slightly off at a tangent but there was one, possibly two posters who brought up the idea of giving a baby a lemon to suck on, and how this is funny. I’d be really interested to hear there explanation of why ?

I can see that if you are genuinely introducing a baby to normal new foods during weaning, and you happen to be filming them and they pull a funny face in surprise or dislike, that might be something amusing to be replayed privately within the family.

But why the actual fuck would a parent give a baby a lemon, which is not a normal foodstuff adults would eat raw, and be poised ready to capture their obvious dislike on camera? I mean just why? You know the baby won’t like it. Just why do you get your kicks out of that?

Hubanmao · 09/01/2019 12:29

their

TheFairyCaravan · 09/01/2019 12:35

I felt sorry for the older kids. I've got 2 adult children and, I may be biased, but they didn't come across as confident as mine. My 2 (22&24) have went off at 18&19 to do pursue their own careers. DS1 is in the army so we don't see him that much and DS2 is a nurse in the city he went to university in 2.5hrs away.

I think that Sue and Noel have made their children believe they can't do that, we've seen it with Chloe, and we heard it when Noel said 'why do they need to leave they've got everything they need here." It's not a family imo, it's verging on a cult

KittensAndCake · 09/01/2019 12:39

the cake baking scene with the one who works in the bakery was awful. She just barked at those toddlers

I think we have to cut her some slack, the poor girl was also anxious about her mum giving birth for the umpteenth time, knowing its highly dangerous. She probably has a more realistic idea of what the outcome could have been than her mother ☹️

Calvinsmam · 09/01/2019 12:43

I know if I was trying to bake a cake with a load of my siblings whilst also being filmed I’d probably not come across very well.
I thought she came across really well I just felt so sorry for her!

SaturdayNext · 09/01/2019 12:51

I was surprised at all the emphasis on the children having everything they need there. Except privacy, peace, space, attention from their parents ...

InternetRandomer · 09/01/2019 12:55

Setting your kids up with something that you know will upset them and then filming it is not at all uncommon if the YouTube videos my dc watch for are anything to go by. In fact it’s much worse than giving a baby a lemon to suck on - there’s an entire genre of “fake presents” where the children get a toilet roll/jar of jam/pack of wipes to open on Christmas Morning. Kids get v upset. And older kids getting empty iPhone boxes and being utterly thrilled thinking they’ve got a lovely new phone and then parents laughing at their distress when it’s revealed as a prank.

I didn’t like the prawn in the paella thing either and I’m not justifying it any way.

Hubanmao · 09/01/2019 13:12

Weird isn’t it how some people get their kicks? I’m wondering if anyone who thinks that type of thing is funny will actually post and explain why.....

Re the cake making- I did say that I thought the older kids are doing their best. It’s not their fault they’ve had this life style and the media circus thrust on them. The bakery girl had made it very plain she didn’t want to be making pies; she actually had some aspirations beyond the family but has been actively discouraged from following her own wishes. And she was clearly worrying about the risks of her mum giving birth for the 21st time. It didn’t make pleasant viewing though.

evaperonspoodle · 09/01/2019 13:13

I was surprised at all the emphasis on the children having everything they need there

I think this bit was drummed into them for the benefit of the audience. Previous criticism was that the older boys in particular looked miserable. They all said it, even Chloe, who then went on to say that she wants to break away and forge her own life but it was hard because they need her as a surrogate mother everything is at home.

Noel himself said that he encourages independence but it's hard because they live in their own little world. The two of them need counselling.

Aeroflotgirl · 09/01/2019 14:37

They are really damaging their kids, there will be lots of issues later on for them to deal with on a big scale. God help them. They have made a rod for their own back, it is not about chugging out kids, but raising them!

Aeroflotgirl · 09/01/2019 14:38

Raising them to be happy, healthy independent adults which they are not doing.

KittensAndCake · 09/01/2019 14:43

because they need her as a surrogate mother**

Omg, can you imagine? 😱

Lifeofa · 09/01/2019 15:04

How would you prepare and support that many children through university? With up to 3 at university at once over so many years the costs would really add up.