I just bought a house. And just as Jake Ryan ruined high school dating for an entire generation of young women, HGTV ruined the experience of buying a house for me. If I may be frank, the process of buying a home had moments of major sucktitude. In part because my expectations of what it would be like were so completely off the mark.  Househunting on television and the reality of it are so widely divergent as to make one feel slightly stabby.

Let’s talk about  this woman Sandra Rinomato and her show, Property Virgins. She makes it all seem so easy. Just look past the wallpaper, and it will all be fine.

Well, it’s not all fine. Because do you know how hard it is to get wallpaper off? And then you have to do this thing to the walls before you can paint them that I can’t do and I had to pay someone else a small fortune to do for me. Sandra Rinomato, I CALL YOU OUT.

Because while I was looking past the wallpaper and the orange paint, I noticed that the chimney needed to be re-pointed. What does “re-pointing” mean? It means I have to pay a man with a ladder $4,000. You know what else I noticed? That the septic system was in shambles and needed to be replaced. There are no accurate depictions of the true horror of a septic failure on HGTV. Until television can convey a putrid aroma, it will never do that experience justice.

You know what else HGTV ruined for me?

Continue reading »

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Every night, there it is on your TV — more doses of Reality Television: finding a husband, losing weight, singing, dancing, vying for a slot as a supermodel, surviving in a jungle or just cat-fighting it out.

But what is all of this REALITY doing to our daughters?  It can be a challenge to tell the difference between the ‘real’ in ‘reality’ and the ‘manufactured for ratings’ portions?

A new survey released today by the Girl Scouts Research Institute includes both stats you might expect and a few you might find surprising.

These are my thoughts.  Tell me what you think…. do you let your daughter watch Reality TV?

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Exploitation or opportunity of a lifetime?

The other day I wrote a post about Kate Gosselin in which I found myself defending her. To be honest I had intended to talk some trash about Kate, but the more I read about why she was getting slammed in the media the more I couldn’t understand what the big deal is about Kate. She’s brash, somewhat abrasive and says what she thinks, which can lead to dislike. Especially when those features are showcased on television as you’re going through a very contentious divorce.

I suppose Kate is just someone people like to hate. So yeah, she has a few personality issues (who doesn’t?) but it seems that everyone’s biggest beef with Kate is that she “exploits her children”. Read any article about her on the web and of the hundreds of comments that follow, I guarantee half of them will talk about how she exploits her kids.

Here are my thoughts. If I’ve learned one thing as a parent it’s to avoid discussing how to raise children with anyone. You know how Miss Manners says it’s impolite to discuss politics and religion at the dinner table? Add parenting to that list. People go nuts on this topic. Inflicting their opinions on people as if they’re some sort of parenting expert. In fact, I’d rather talk religion than parenting.

So, when we see parents raising children on reality television, the claws naturally come out. And so much of our ridicule is deserving. Take the abomination that is Toddlers & Tiaras. That poor excuse for a television show should be illegal. Are those girls exploited? Absolutely. Now take the Gosselin children, who are featured in their home environment or on vacations specifically tailored to children. How can that be a bad thing? Continue reading »

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Guaranteed tear-jerker, but are surprise reunions good for military kids?

There’s something that isn’t quite right about surprise reunions between deployed soldiers and their families. Especially when those reunions involve a parent and child.  Especially when those reunions are uploaded on YouTube or used as the basis of entertainment, as is the case for two new reality shows, TLC’s “Surprise Homecoming,” and Lifestime’s “Coming Home.”

The unscripted script goes something like this: child is lured to supposed event for military families. After somehow being featured front-and-center at the event, the crowd starts cheering. Child looks around to see what the big deal is. No, wait, could it be? That figure in the distance. Face goes from surprise to disbelief to raw, desperate emotions. Child runs to parent, everyone’s crying — them, the audience, you, producers, camera crew. Everyone.

Parent and child are interviewed afterward, credits roll. Happy ending. But is it really happy? Continue reading »

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TLC has announced that Kate Plus 8 is in its final season.

People revealed Monday that Kate Gosselin‘s reality show Kate Plus 8, formerly Jon and Kate Plus 8, is currently in its final season.  At the end of this season, Kate Plus 8 will have filmed 150 episodes, what TLC calls “an exceptional milestone.”  TV’s original reality mom has lost a job, and so have her children.

According to Kate’s twitter feed, the Gosselin children spent Monday morning crying about the show’s cancellation. Kate has long maintained that her children love being filmed, but mental health experts and child advocates have expressed concern for the Gosselin children in the past. Continue reading »

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Watch out reality TV, here I come!

A guest post from Top 50 Mom Blogger Lenore Skenazy:

Reality TV, baby! That’s where I’m heading. I’m about to become the sort of Not-So-Super Nanny who comes to the homes of overprotective, worried-sick parents and says, “You can loosen up. It’s okay.”

Why? Continue reading »

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Let me preface my comments by saying that I am absolutely NOT anti-gun ownership. In fact, I am often the only progressive in the room arguing against draconian gun ownership limits.  If you go back and read anything I’ve ever written on the subject of guns and gun ownership, I think you will find that I have generally taken the position that responsible Americans have the right to own firearms.

Additionally, I have never been a Duggar-family-basher. I have written several times about my admiration for the Duggar family’s commitment to one another, and I have taken issue with criticisms of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s highly personal decision to have a (very) large family.

Now, with those things said, I am really bothered by this photo that was all over the Web yesterday. Continue reading »

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