Bringing up the topic of premarital sex also raises the expectation that these kids will one day be getting married. Are they interested in the kind of polygamous marriage their parents have? Not so much. Only one of the four teens said she’d like to have sister wives when she grows up. The other two girls and one boy were not enthusiastic about the idea.
Some of the commenters on Jezebel snarked that of course the kids would want to avoid polygamy after watching their parents be depressed their whole lives. I don’t watch the show. Maybe the parents are depressed. But they always say they’re happy in press interviews (who wouldn’t?).
There are plenty of reasons for the kids not to embrace their parents’ lifestyle, even if it’s totally working for the adults. Reasons the kids gave when asked. Per Jezebel:
Aspyn and Mykelti seemed pretty sure they weren’t interested — Mykelti noted that while she loved growing up in a large family, she wouldn’t want one for herself; Aspyn said she wasn’t into the polygamous lifestyle because she didn’t want to deal with “jealousy.” Logan said he wasn’t sure, and wasn’t really thinking about it, but it seemed like that was a “no.”Imagine that! A teenage boy with the chance to marry — and, uh support — multiple women is less than enthused. Only Mariah said she would “definitely” be into plural marriage, and that she “couldn’t wait” to have sister wives.
It seems like the kids are operating from some pretty clear sense of self-knowledge. They do or don’t want a lot of kids. They do or don’t want the kind of complex dynamics that come from sharing your spouse with other partners. They’re figuring things out on their own, and they don’t feel like they have to follow in their parents’ footsteps. That all seems like a pretty normal, healthy approach for a group of teenagers to take.
What do you think? Are the Sister Wives kids reacting to trouble at home, or just figuring out what they want in life like all teenagers do?
Source: http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2011/10/03/most-sister-wives-kids-not-interested-in-polygamy/ Photo: Jeff Belmonte
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Well, they need more girls than boys, so I doubt they are as worried about Logan and his brothers, but I am sure Kody would like to see Logan in it.
ReplyDeleteNothing like Christine guilt.... remember her saying she would feel like she failed?
ReplyDeleteI ask, where's the religion?
The one thing this show doesn't deliver is a religious message.
ReplyDeleteThey can't have any religion except for their own made up version. If they belonged to any one religion they would be accountable to someone and I'm sure their recent bad decisions wouldn't go over well. Kody wants to be the next Jeff something or other.
ReplyDeleteWell, think about the role models these poor kids have. Not exactly the highest functioning.
ReplyDeleteMy dad had his issues, but he worked without rest, and I never saw anything but respect for my mother. Having a dog of a father must be weird. I think it would mess with your entire vision of what a healthy relationship is.
These kids are higher functioning than their daddy. As soon as they can get hold of a paycheck, which they deserve since they are the best part of the show, and comprise half the action and interviews, they are hightailing it out of the craziness and back to Utah. Great going kids, hats off to you.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting take by Sam Brower who was instrumental investigating the FDLS.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-brower/sister-wives-_b_952693.html
I think they are just talking. They don't know. WHO they fall in love with will probably highly dictate their choice.
ReplyDeleteSam Brower Story going up tomorrow for us to talk about.
ReplyDeleteI agree-they are so young, WHO they fall in love with will have a lot in determining what they do. And how much guilt is suddenly put on them.
ReplyDeleteThe late Steve Jobs said, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the Brown children have already figured this out and learned to think for themselves. Good for them.
Okay...can someone tell me why these mormons and polygamists feel the need to have a shitload of kids?
ReplyDeleteI graduated from a catholic university and many friends came from families with ALOT of siblings- as many as 17 kids! The common thread among my catholic friends was that they never felt as if they benefited from having a genuinely close relationship with their parents. One friend claimed her older brother molested her. All would have loved more of their parent's attention. It's sad.
I grew up Catholic as one of five children, and went to Catholic schools from first grade through my B.A. My family was not large, by the standard of our neighborhood. I might have gotten less attention from my parents than my only-child husband did from his. But I never doubted their love for me, and they were there when I needed them.
ReplyDeleteAnd while they're both gone now, I have siblings that I'm very close to. So it all balances out.