Welcome to Plathville

The parents say they are baffled why their son is estranged. Really? You don't respect his marriage and you are baffled why he is not respecting you? Come on.

It is easy.

He is an adult now, you don't have to like his wife, but you have to respect their marriage if you want a relationship.

The sons are very awkward, and the girls except for Moriah are too much like little house on the Prarie. The parents raised their kids to be so naive. They should be ashamed. It's very close to cultists. I wonder if anybody ever called DCFS on them for mental and emotional abuse?

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.

What's with the word "siblings"? All the children always refer to their brothers and sisters as siblings. They never refer to them as their brothers and sisters or the other kids, only "my siblings." I find it odd and weird.

The parents should not be allowed to raise kids. Why was the child, James, I think, by himself on the grounds at 17 months old, while the mother was behind the wheel of her car and moving? That's negligence. Surely she knows kids move fast and get around fast, yet she still drove around and then killed him. Where is childre s protective services? The kids are essentially enslaved. They cook and clean while the mother relaxes. They can't do anything without the mothers literally looking over their shoulder. It's creepy. The father is creepy too.

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.