Kate + 8 (Jon Optional)

[Ladybug]

I really loathe this woman.

What is the point of going public with this? This is her son's private information. Did she need to get paid by People for this cover? Was she feeling left out of the spotlight? Needed some public sympathy and/or saw an opportunity to remind us of how shitty Jon is?

Was this story about to be revealed by the National Enquirer and Kate wanted to get ahead of it? If so a statement from a publicist (or lawyer) would've sufficed. Not a spread in People.

I feel sorry for Collin that his personal educational needs are made public on the cover of a national magazine. I feel sorry for all these kids having these horrible people for parents.

[divasahm]

I can't imagine sending my child away to learn how to cope with his/her special needs. IMO, the entire family should be involved to offer support and learn how to best help their son/brother assimilate.

On the other hand, I also can't imagine having sextuplets + two and a TV show, with a deadbeat dad as the cherry on top.

[DaisyNukem]

I understand what you're saying, divsahm, but I can't stand Kate either. We are the products of the life choices we make. She chose to have that many children, and she chose the guy she had them with. My children's father is an idiot too, but guess what? That's a mistake I made.

I don't have a lot of experience with special needs. I did work as an educational assistant for a while, but my students were mostly cerebral palsy and fetal alcohol syndrome. But I can't believe that sending a kid away is the best solution.

[laurenj]

Aug 25, 2016 10:13:24 GMT -4 DaisyNukem said:

I understand what you're saying, divsahm, but I can't stand Kate either. We are the products of the life choices we make. She chose to have that many children, and she chose the guy she had them with. My children's father is an idiot too, but guess what? That's a mistake I made.

I don't have a lot of experience with special needs. I did work as an educational assistant for a while, but my students were mostly cerebral palsy and fetal alcohol syndrome. But I can't believe that sending a kid away is the best solution.

In this case, it honestly might be. There are 8 kids in that house and if the problems of one kids is truly affecting everyone and can't be controlled, that's going to cause huge problems for all of them.

Plus, it could be good for him to be away from being a sextuplet (and a famous one, at that) and maybe establish an identity outside of the family dynamic. Not that I'm suggesting that all large families parcel out their kids, but if he's having a lot of problems and they don't have the at-home resources to help, separate schooling might turn things around for him and help the other kids as well.

What he categorically did NOT need is a People magazine cover story about this and unless Kate needs the story money to pay for this school (which she probably doesn't), there was absolutely no reason to do this.

ETA: to clarify, the above is an opinion based on the idea that the 'special needs' being referred to are more emotional/life events-based difficulties and not a medical issue.

[Laira]

I was disgusted by the number of commenters who were whining about "poor Jon", the hapless victim of Evil!Kate. Come on, he walked out on his family, moved to Hollywood, partied hard, dated women half his age and can't keep a job. He's a grown man and those were all choices he made of his own free will.

[chonies]

I'm not a parent, but if Kate is being honest, it sounds like a last resort option. If Collin got expelled from school, and she tried other options, I don't blame her for sending him away. Maybe the giant family--eight kids and one parent--was part of the problem, or maybe he was harming the other siblings, or maybe his problems are far more severe than she wants to acknowledge publicly. I read 'special needs' as more of a psychiatric situation, too. I know residential care for adolescents is a difficult proposition, but it's possible it was warranted.

ETA: I cross posted with laurenj.

[Deleted]

What he categorically did NOT need is a People magazine cover story about this and unless Kate needs the story money to pay for this school (which she probably doesn't), there was absolutely no reason to do this.

Jon had popped up out of nowhere the last few weeks and done interviews with Entertainment Tonight. I don't think the timing is a coincidence. On the ET interviews he bitched and whined about his custody situation, but there wasn't any new revelation to disclose. At least, not yet. Based on his past history I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has been threatening Kate over the summer about "exposing" Collin's problems (especially if Kate and the kids were filming Jon-free specials for TLC like they were last summer). I put expose in quotes because a child with special needs shouldn't be stigmatized or considered a dark tabloid-worthy family secret, but unfortunately, that's how it would be characterized by a tabloid like Star or National Enquirer.

As far as Kate making money from a People magazine article, I say go for it. She is raising 8 kids on her own and is determined that all of them further their education and succeed in life. It's been years since she had a regular income from TLC or some other entertainment venture, but she's managed to keep her 8 kids in the same home and in private school ever since. That's no small feat. That being said, if she went out of her way to exploit Collin's story to make a buck rather than it being a situation where she had no choice because she had to cut someone to the chase, that would be disgusting and inexcusable.

[Gigiree]

I just read an interview with Jon last week where he mentioned how he hadn't even seen Collin in almost two years because Jon only sees whichever kids get off the bus (!?!). (I would link but I'm posting from my phone...)

I can hate on Kate for a lot of things, but I've never once questioned her live for her children. I hope for Collin's sake his situation improves, and he gets whatever help he needs.

[Baby Fish Mouth]

Jon is now saying that he's shocked by Mady and Cara's comments on their estrangement from him.

I don't know what's going on with this family. It's not like you can force teenagers to do something they don't want to do - but the custodial parent is supposed to support the relationship between the kids and the non-custodial parent. I have a feeling Kate is not doing this. The twins are at an age where many kids start rebelling against the custodial parent in favor of the non-custodial parent, so they must really hate their father.

[Ladybug]

How did this all go so wrong for this family? When this show started, they did not seem so horrible. Overwhelmed, yes, but capable of meeting the basic needs of the family. Now they are divorced, bitter, estranged, and one kid is not even living with the family due to his issues. Jon had a professional job at one time didn't he? Now he can't hold a job at TGI Fidays. When is the last time he paid child support I wonder? You could not have written a better cautionary tale about fame, money, and reality tv.

ETA: they probably would've gotten divorced even if they had not done the show, but I have to wonder if they could've kept it slightly more civil without media attention they both seem to love feeding.