Bienvenue chez les Plath

First get past the fact that the show is a complete contradiction; meaning that the parents claim to keep their children sheltered from exposure to TV, radio, the real world, cell phones, sugar and more, yet they are in a reality TV show. Then look past the fact that the older daughters of this so-called extremely conservative family are allowed to drown themselves in makeup, gaudy jewelry and horrendous nail polish. After you get past all that the kids are cute. And it's refreshing to hear teenagers speak without saying "like" between each word. And although the older kids are itching to stake their independence The angst is at a minimum. It's nice to see kids get along with each other and with their parents. There's no yelling, bickering or fighting. It's actually a sweet show.

A pair of parents who shield their children from the reality of humanity suddenly agree to film a TV series? This is completely fake. Despite the children of these parents being extremely interesting, the parents abhorrent and entirely disillusioned, for a fake "reality" series it does become interesting. But fake it is. These parents, were they real, would have never agreed to this. And if they did I would love the producer to explain to me the process of how they got them to sign the contract. I won't hold my breath on that one, but I will continue to watch.

Besides the fact that the parents want to "shelter" their kids...but they don't mind letting them on a reality show...besides that... it's a cute, funny show... but it's also hard to believe that this family doesn't have any skeletons...they all do!!!

I feel Olivia was being selfish! Making it all about her and what she is feeling. I feel she wanted all the attention on her! I am not dismissing her feelings at all, but it wasn't about her! For her Ethan and Olivia saying they didn't want Kim to be because of the issues going on between them three! Kim is the mother and had every right to be at the farm! Proud of Ethan for taking initiative to work on his relationship with his mom! Olivia needs to seek therapy and stop thinking about herself & grow up! She driving a wedge between her and brother/sister in-laws! Needs to think about Ethan also.

I think this is a lesson in futile effort to control people, and the inevitable repercussions of when those people break free. The parents in this family (apparently) had wild ways in their past, and as a result decided to raise their kids in complete isolation. They are homeschooled, only friends are their siblings, restricted in diet, no learning about the "outside" world, vilification of anyone or anything that is not in their ideology, etc. The kids have grown-up with extreme trauma, resentment and anger. To top it off, the kids are also not at all prepared to deal with the real world - both on an emotional/social level, as well as vital skill level in things the average person takes for granted (eg something as simple as searching for something on internet), as well as needing to get their GEDs, etc. The parents either can't see how completely myopic and selfish their judgments and views are for their children, or don't care. If every single one of your children, by the time they are 'coming of age', want nothing to do with you, perhaps you are doing something wrong.

The positives of this show, is it shows the resilience of the human spirit, and what a gift it is to find and express your true self - and what a gift it is to be able to do that. I'm glad this show has given the older kids the means to build their own lives.