<p>So I was surfing channels and stopped on Honey BoBo Child. I admit, it was out of curiosity. So what surprised me was my reaction. </p>
<p>Although this family is not similar to my own, in any way, from what I observed on tv, they appear to be a loving caring family. The H and W are together. H is working. Family do things together.</p>
<p>I do not understand or agree with BoBo “beauty pagents.” Nor do I agree with the families eating habits. BUT they are a happy together family.</p>
<p>Um. The matriarch is a grandma. At 32. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I do not support dolling up children. Women in this country have enough body image problems. Let kids be kids. Less than half of young adolescent girls report liking their bodies. Wonder why. </p>
<p>I don’t watch reality shows. Ever really. AI once in a GREAT while, but that’s it. I refuse to contribute to the train wreck, ESPECIALLY when children are involved.</p>
<p>I thought the show would be funny, in a twisted kind of way, but I found myself deeply disturbed at the way the little girl is being exploited. I guess the family is laughing all the way to the bank, However, what is Honey Boo Boo going to think of all this when she grows up, when she finds out she was the laughing stock of the whole country?</p>
<p>I happened to catch the episode of Toddlers & Tiaras which first featured Honey Boo Boo, and this mother was disturbing even by the standards of that bunch. I’m sure that’s how they got this spinoff show – Mom was a trainwreck on T&T and as far as TLC is concerned, that’s pure gold.</p>
<p>It is easy to condemn the pageant culture, but it is really no different than the little league or pop Warner culture for boys. And it is hard to understand for an outsider how deeply ingrained it is in Southern culture. I believe these parents have the best intentions for their children, but some get caught up in it, not unlike some little league parents, football parents, hockey parents, gymnastics parents, swim parents, you get the picture. I have watched the Honey Boo Boo shows and I agree with the Morrismm, they appear to be a loving family doing what they think is best for their little girl. </p>
<p>Yes, the eldest daughter is pregnant at 17 and the mother will be a grandmother at 32, this family obviously does not have the resources or advantages that the vast majority of people here on CC have. But the father goes to work every day and the older girls appear to have a very solid relationship with him, even though he is not their biological father. And Alana obviously adores her daddy, as any 6 year old should. The kids appear to live in a home full of love and laughter, with parents that are devoted to them. </p>
<p>Does this family look anything like my own family, not at all! But I have been pleasantly surprised by this series and hope that the show helps this family financially without damaging what they appear to be, a warm, loving family doing the best that they can to get by with the resources available to them. And who am I to judge.</p>
<p>This show is nothing but exploitation of a very “redneck” Georgia family and money that TLC can make from them…</p>
<p>I have lived in GA for a couple of decades now and my daughter was born here. As she was growing up, we would see time and time again on the national news “stupid” **** that happened here in the south, namely Georgia. Even as a young girl, my daughter was embarrassed by the stories. This show is nothing but a comedic attempt to make southerners look like complete classless idiots. Sure, let’s all laugh at the uneducated rednecks farting and throwing food at each other. Haha that there has to be subtitles to even understand them. In the end, this family is one that not one person here on CC would want to be or have as a relative. They are going to be paid by TLC an amount of money that is probably not fair to the Boo Boo family, which if I were a betting woman, will be gone before the show is off the air. What is left is a family that had a quick 15 minutes of fame and is now back to McIntyre GA, but now Honey Boo Boo isn’t quite so cute. </p>
<p>Sorry for the rant, but I find it very sad.</p>
<p>I like that little girl. I don’t like what the producers and her own mom are doing to her. I don’t like the obviously staged dialog and fake, staged situations. I don’t like the supposed street lingo she’s clearly told to use. But I see a unique little person there. She appears to have a genuinely good heart and occasionally lets out with one of those marvelous 6 year-old’s insights or questions. I had to smile when they were at the restaurant and she asked why her two sides couldn’t be meat. That’s something one of my own kids would have wanted to know (except their question might have been why their two sides couldn’t be dessert). She hasn’t won a pageant yet she is somehow sad for herself BUT not angry at or jealous of the winners - something many adults still haven’t mastered in competitive situations.</p>
<p>Yes, she’s being exploited and I can only hope that somehow this show and the money it’s bringing into the family will provide her genuine opportunities she wouldn’t have had otherwise. I’m worried that she faces a lifetime of obesity, and I have nothing good to say about kiddie beauty pageants. I’m rooting for Alana, though.</p>
<p>I think that Alana will be ok despite what the adults are putting on her, and that is what people are responding to.
I don’t see most people laughing " at her", I see them rooting " for her".</p>
<p>I think if you actually watch the show you may have a different impression than the commercials give. I am no fan of children’s pageants but it’s a really small part of their life. I do think it is similar to dance, cheer, little league, etc.
I also think this family is in on everything and figures its a way to make some money. They seem to legitimately love one another. Alana is frequently adorable. As reality TV shows go, this is one of the healthier families going. Well, not physically healthy, but it is a good explanation of obesity in lower income people.</p>
<p>ek is right. My d3 first told me about Alana and sent me youtube links about her. She and her friends (all early 20s) think Alana is a neat, funny little kid and are not laughing at her.</p>
<p>I can’t really watch the show because I don’t enjoy bathroom/gross-out humor, but I have watched several clips. I don’t blame anyone for being fed up with the way TLC, or “reality” programming in general, portrays the South. I would hope that most people recognize it as an unfounded stereotype.</p>
<p>I haven’t watched it, just seen clips. My girls refuse to watch T&T so I think I’ve only seen part of one episode. Of course, you could take the TV completely out of my house and I wouldn’t even know it was gone From what I have seen though, the little girl is very polite. Pageants are not the road I went down with my girls, but to each his own.</p>
<p>Fishymom: I can assure you that Pop Warner fanaticism is not limited to the south. It’s alive & well in parts of NJ. Even I got sucked in for a few years because it wasn’t just about the football, it was about the cheerleading. And when all your D’s 5 year old little friends are involved, they want to as well.</p>
<p>My Dd did that Mini Football cheerleading thing one season, those Moms were over the top, way too into it all. Making signs on Friday nights, I understand for HS kids, but not for 3rd graders. It felt like most of the mom’s missed their HS cheerleading good times.</p>
<p>I have to agree with the OP. I was channel surfing one night when everyone else was out and watched 3 episodes. It’s exploitive, like pretty much all reality TV, and there’s a bit of the “watching a train wreck” quality, but I was surprised how the happiness and love of the family comes through. Somehow, despite even being involved in kiddie beauty pageants, there is a thread of positive self-regard that comes through. They don’t take themselves too seriously but they support one another. I found it fascinating.</p>
<p>my3girls and the OP and fishymom - I have to agree with you all. I think this family, while not my style, is a positive family. The “dad” works two jobs, they own a house that they can afford, the mom stays home with the kids but works very well on a budget, I don’t believe they are on any government assistance, they support and love each other. The kids and dad think the mom is a good cook (really, “sketti” with butter and ketchup?!) which is more than my family often thinks of my cooking. Loved that the mom told one of the older girls that she didn’t think she was fat but would diet with her for support. Not thrilled with the oldest daughter being pregnant but hey, I seem to recall a Vice-Presidential candidate in a similar situation with her daughter. </p>
<p>I think the vast majority of people who are watching this show love this family, some might even wish their family was similar in many ways. Few are laughing “at” them.</p>
<p>I recently read an article where the mom stated that the money coming in is equally divided and saved for the four (? I don’t watch) daughters. They will continue to live in the same house and the dad will continue to work at his job.</p>
<p>If they can do this they are showing far more common sense than some other TLC stars. Kate Plus 8 comes to mind…</p>
<p>Alana happens to be a funny girl and I could see her being casted on a tv show, not a reality show. She has a way about her and could really make something of herself.</p>
<p>I watched an episode of Honey Boo Boo the other day in which the mother and Alanna’s dad, “Sugar Bear”, were going on a “date” because they’d never really been on an official date. Although the four girls share the same mother, none of them share the same father. All of the fathers have done prison time for a variety of crimes including arson, theft, and sex offenses. The mother, who has also been in trouble with the law, has not been married to any of her children’s fathers, and refuses to marry “Sugar Bear” although he has asked. IMO, she’s trash. Those girls know no better because they have no one respectable from whom to learn. It’s just sad. It turns my stomach to think that some people may think all us southerners act that way.</p>
From what I have seen though, the little girl is very polite. Pageants are not the road I went down with my girls, but to each his own.</p>