| Author |
Message |
Texannie
Member
07-15-2001
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 3:13 pm 
I'm not going to protest in the streets about it - for some reason that cracked me up!
i look at the show as Tmagicsaq described above. I tend to look for the best until I am proven wrong (Duggars).
Agree to disagree 
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 3:21 pm
Tmagic said what I was thinking and feeling.. so I'll leave it at that.
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Sketcher
Member
02-17-2016
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 3:37 pm
Personally, again, I would argue that families like the Hamills or Johnstons (spelling?) more accurately portray a real, ordinary family overcoming great odds without a lot of the advantages the Kleins enjoy. Sometimes I feel I'm watching "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" with Jen and Bill. But different strokes!
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Tmagicsaq
Member
03-26-2004
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 3:54 pm
I see where you can say that because of the extras they have been given or get (like trips and such) but Jen is a Doctor, she became a Doctor long before the show. Bill was a successful business man. I don't see how the TV show has "made" them. I think they would still be doing very well even if the TV show was not there. I see this women, who against what most people feel and think become one of the hardest professions there is. The amount of time, skill, sleepless nights is hard for anyone, much less someone who has a host of issues (being small is only 1 part of the picture.) They have and will continue to have huge medical bills, their children will have huge medical bills.. and I don’t see how those kids would have gotten the much needed care they receive now if it was not for Bill and Jen. I don’t think Jen or Bill think the world should accommodate for them.. they have accommodated for themselves.. they have built a life that works for them.
I personally look at them and see all the things they have overcome, I find them genuine (as far as I can tell on my tv) they are real people, they have dreams just like the rest of us. Their life has worked out for them.. and good on them.
But again, there is no right or wrong way of looking at it. People are different, people have different views .. that is life.
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Sketcher
Member
02-17-2016
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 4:20 pm
Frankly, I don't how it's physically possible for Jen to have passed medical school being unable to do all the things necessary (something as simple as performing CPR on an adult or doing surgical or trauma/ER rotations where you cut open people's chests, etc.). Clearly she was given "reasonable accommodations," and that's also why she ended up working on micro-preemies; she could physically handle them. As for Bill, I agree he built a successful business in NY, but I haven't noticed him working much lately! Even Jen has scaled back. Not to say they haven't accomplished a lot, but I hate to see them going down the same road as Jon Gosselin (who also quit his job to be supported by TLC) or the Duggars, who were put on pedestals by their adoring fans. Idols have a tendency to fall! I see them as flesh and blood mortals with flaws as well as talents -- not as adorable little darlings or bigger than life super heros -- and that's where I differ from the hard-core fans. They are not perfect, by any means, and they both need parenting lessons!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 6:27 pm
We do not see every moment of their day. We see random days, holidays, trips. It's not like it is 24/7. I find it very sad that we have to look for something wrong in everything. They seem to me anyway, two people who have their priorities in the right place. There are good people in this world who work hard, get passed a lot of difficulty and make something of their lives. They do not all become awful, horrible people who blow their money and not care about their children.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 9:35 pm
ITA Mamie. I admire this couple very much. Those children seem to me to be the happiest, most well-adjusted kids. The change in little Zoey is beyond remarkable in such a short time.
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Tmagicsaq
Member
03-26-2004
| Monday, February 22, 2016 - 9:37 pm
I personally see a huge difference between this family and other familys on TV. I am sure Jen would not be allowed to do the work she does if she could not handle it. Yes she is scaling back, but the lady beat cancer! she is getting older and the ailments they had planned for are starting to suffice. I wish I planned as well as they did for my future. Yeah they do a TV show, but I see positive things from that show, they inspire me to be better and work harder. I am in no position to say or think they need parenting lessons... I have definitely seen much much worse.. the kids are happy and getting the medical they need. It's funny how people see different things when watching the same material... no one is right or wrong.. it is a matter of opinion.
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Sketcher
Member
02-17-2016
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 6:37 am
Well, my question is answered; this is definitely a fan site! Thanks for letting me voice my view.
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Tmagicsaq
Member
03-26-2004
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 8:21 am
I think all views are welcome, we are all different so we see different things.
Not one person is right or wrong. I like seeing others views. Sometimes it makes me look harder at a situation, sometimes I change my view, sometimes I do not.
I think it is all good
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 9:02 am
I think it's a fan site in that we mostly like talking about shows we love and enjoy! But we also pick at them. Just read the Kate plus 8 thread, or The View. I think overall it's easier to find negativity online than positivity, so this place is a breath of fresh air for all the positivity. We love our TV shows!
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Connies
Member
03-11-2010
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 9:33 am
Okay, in reading all the things that are said recently about this family has my blood boiling. This is the one show on TV that I smile while watching through the whole thing. They stated early on their main reason for starting the show was to bring light to the fact that little people are just like everyone else, but they have limitations that make everyday living a challenge most of us don't face. The idea that a medical school would make an exception and give Jen an MD degree without her being able to do the job is ludicrous.
Naturally we don't see 24/7 of their lives and I am sure they can afford a house cleaner, etc. We have seen their nannie on numerous occasions. If I worked full time and had the money, I would definitely hire help as well.
We have one show on TV with no drama, other than medical problems, no cussing, no sex, no violence. Why can't we just relax and enjoy and be grateful they allow a glimpse into their lives.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 9:56 am
Yes, it seems quite insulting to suggest that she doesn't deserve her medical degree. I have a friend who is in charge of patient safety in a hospital in the east and they are talking with Jen and the hospital she works at. Jen seems to be respected in the medical profession and it's not because she's on TV.
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Sketcher
Member
02-17-2016
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 10:10 am
Connies, can Jen perform those procedures I described? Obviously, at 3', no. So clearly reasonable accommodations (which the ADA requires) were made to enable her to earn her medical degree. There's no doubt that she is fully capable as far as intelligence and knowledge is concerned; I'm sure she's great as a professor or (as she is now exclusively) director of the SIM center. But it's simply a fact that she is physically unable to resuscitate an average-size patient or perform countless other routines that are otherwise required of medical students. This is just common sense.
<99>
They've overcome obstacles, but so have plenty of people (and, I dare say, ALL little people). They were also lucky enough to be born into fairly well-off families with lots of support, so... I'm not sure how that gives them lifetime protection from any acknowledgement that they are human and flawed and even the good-natured snark that other people who exhibit themselves fall prey to. Why are they the exception?
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 10:17 am
Jen is available on Facebook (The Little Couple TV Programme) to answer any questions and/or assumptions about her credentials and capabilities. I'm sure she'd welcome your queries and be happy for the opportunity to set you straight with the facts. If you choose to do that, perhaps you can post her reply here for all of us as well.
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Sketcher
Member
02-17-2016
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 10:22 am
Jen tends to "skew the truth" when she does her talking heads, so I won't bother... But thanks!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 10:24 am
What do you base this on? I'm genuinely curious.
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Moderator
Moderator
06-29-2002
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 10:27 am
Reminder- at TVCH, we have a very strict policy that says you may not criticize other posters. Please keep your comments about the tv personalities, and not about other posters, or your posts will be removed.
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Sketcher
Member
02-17-2016
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 10:58 am
I base it on watching the show very carefully since it came on the air. Jen is a perfectionist and isn't above slanting the truth to make herself look better. I'm fascinated by the whole phenomenon of reality TV and this couple in particular because, as I say, they seem to have a "glass wall" around them that the others don't.
Again, thank you for letting me share my opinions.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 11:22 am
I don't mind cutting them some slack. I wouldn't want to spend one day in their shoes with all their physical challenges. I sort of wonder if they ever have a pain-free day?
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Tmagicsaq
Member
03-26-2004
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 11:34 am
I have never noticed Jen slanting the truth.. but then maybe I just don't look hard enough. I don't see them as perfect, I see them as a couple who have worked hard for what they have. I see very happy kids.. and I will stand by my statement that these kids would never ever have had the opportunity they now have without Bill and Jen.
I can not know what they are really like, I am taking it for what I see. Unless I meet them, I will have to base my views off what I can see on my TV.
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Lilfair
Member
07-09-2003
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 11:58 am
This family appears to be very human in every aspect. They have good days and bad days. They love each other and their kids. They have never claimed to be perfect and in fact I doubt they want perfection.
Jen received her diploma and it wasn't a gift, she earned it. SIM training is vital and she seems to be well liked and thanked by her peers.
I watch a lot of "reality TV" and this family is inspiring.
adding- finances don't make the person. Hard work should be admired and financial success shouldn't be envied.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 12:52 pm
I certainly welcome other opinions, but hope they are based on facts. I think to say Jen didn't earn her MD is not just insulting to her, but to the medical school she attended.
I personally wouldn't base opinions of this family on the actions or shows of any other family.
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Sketcher
Member
02-17-2016
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 1:15 pm
Can anyone explain to me how she would be physically capable of performing effective CPR on an adult, executing a thoracotomy, or any other number of life-saving procedures on a full-sized person? It simply defies logic. Obviously the hospital made "reasonable accommodations" as mandated by the ADA to allow her to be exempt from completing these tasks. That's not to say it's not a legitimate degree; simply that there are things she wasn't required to do and, as a practicing physician, obviously still can't do. My goodness, she wasn't even a match for three-year-old Will who wanted to walk off in another direction (this rerun was on just yesterday). <99>
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Tmagicsaq
Member
03-26-2004
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 1:43 pm
I do not think .. at least to me that this show is any different then all the other shows. I judge them all the same. I happen to like this family, see the struggles and accomplishments that they have done. I don't see how having money or good jobs or help changes that. I like the other families you mentioned as well.
I personally don't view these families with critical thought or skeptical examination because I don't walk in anyone else's shoes, I don't know these people, I only see a very very small part of their life.
That doesn't mean no one else can't look at it that way. I may not agree with you, I may want proof that Jen was given special advantages.. but doesn't mean I think they are exempt from any type of criticism.
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