I have to admit I am probably the only person left on this earth who hasn’t seen the show “Jon and Kate Plus Eight“. But I know plenty about them just from turning on the computer and checking out at the grocery store. A lot of reports accuse Kate of being obsessed with fame, but I can’t help but wonder if she knew what she was signing up for when she agreed to the show. Every aspect of their lives have been picked apart and it just may have ended her marriage. The most recent case in point is an “article” that I saw this morning about Kate spanking her daughter. Here is an overview.
Photos were taken on June 13 that show Kate playing outside with her children. Apparently when Kate’s daughter Leah blew a whistle after being asked to stop, Gosselin allegedly grabbed her and spanked her. The photos show Kate holding the girl’s arm, and then the daughter crying and holding her rear. “The girl was screaming and crying. Kate just pushed her away and walked off with her coffee. Her older sisters were trying to make Leah feel better,” a witness reported.
Now I am not a fan of spanking in the least bit. But I am even less of a fan of telling other parents how they should be raising their kids(aside from abuse, of course). I saw the photos and it looks like an innocent swat in line with spanking guidelines set forth by pediatric experts who believe in spanking as a correctional tool. I have a feeling that the witness quoted here does not have children. Because anyone who has dealt with young children knows that sometimes you just have to walk away before you start yelling and saying things you don’t mean. Especially when you have a team of cameras following you around ready to blare every regrettable word from every news outlet available.
I only have two children and I have those moments where you can’t tell them to stop it one more time without turning into a tornado of fury. I have to put my boys in time-out just so they don’t see me screaming into my pillow with frustration. I can’t be mad at Kate for having the faulty moments every mom experiences. I mean she has six five-year-olds! And at the same time I can’t really be mad at the people who criticize her either because she is the one who puts it out their for them to see and with that come the inevitable criticism. Hopefully this boom in realtiy TV will teach our childrens’ generation that fame for the sake of fame does come with a price tag. One that they can’t pay with their new found riches. The cost to so many reality stars is their family and friends, their dignity, their privacy and for some even their sanity. Unfortunately, many of them learn too late that the celebrity status our society holds above all else, has little value at all in the long run.
