Sister Wives

[dreamin_disney]

I was shocked to hear about the nanny, but it makes me question whether her 2 younger kids are neurotypical? Robin's oldest son is autistic and her oldest daughter has severe issues with anxiety. So I wonder whether Sol and Ari possibly either have autism or some type of behavioral disorder like ODD. Even severe ADHD or a learning disablility would explain why Robin feels they need this tutor/nanny. My daughter is 10 and diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia so if I could afford it I would totally get her a tutor to help with the online schooling. As it is, I end up doing online school with her after I'm done with an 8 hour day of work and it's kind of exhausting and she is not getting the best of me. I also wouldn't necessarily trust that duty to my sister wives who don't have any training in dealing with whatever hypothetical disability my kids had, and I wouldn't want to talk too much about the hypothetical disability on a reality show out of respect for the kids' privacy. There's got to be a lot that we aren't seeing behind the scenes. Either that, or Kody and Robyn are a$$holes.

Edit to add that I'm trained to work with kids with special education/emotional support needs so my daughter has had it relatively easy during this pandemic but a lot of kids with disabilities haven't had proper services in the last 2 years and their education is suffering for it. I worry what will happen to this generation of kids.

If Robyn two little ones do have special needs why would it not be aired. Her older son is. It’s part of their family story or am I wrong here? I think it would answer a lot of questions. I’m not Not being rude just asking. If I’m wrong don’t flame me just educate me. I’m a special Ed aide for over 25 years so I know it’s a lot of work for parents.

 

[wenrob]

If Robyn two little ones do have special needs why would it not be aired. Her older son is. It’s part of their family story or am I wrong here? I think it would answer a lot of questions. I’m not Not being rude just asking. If I’m wrong don’t flame me just educate me. I’m a special Ed aide for over 25 years so I know it’s a lot of work for parents.

And why would Christine be questioning it if that were the case? She’s bitter but she’s not heartless. That episode came off as if the nanny was a new revelation to the other wives. I feel like if assistance were needed for disabilities Kody would have just said that and Christine wouldn’t have asked about it on camera.

 

[mom2rtk]

And why would Christine be questioning it if that were the case? She’s bitter but she’s not heartless. That episode came off as if the nanny was a new revelation to the other wives. I feel like if assistance were needed for disabilities Kody would have just said that and Christine wouldn’t have asked about it on camera.

Yeah. That. ^^^

 

[Luv Bunnies]

And why would Christine be questioning it if that were the case? She’s bitter but she’s not heartless. That episode came off as if the nanny was a new revelation to the other wives. I feel like if assistance were needed for disabilities Kody would have just said that and Christine wouldn’t have asked about it on camera.

Exactly. I feel like if it was extra help for a child with disabilities, Christine wouldn't question it. It just seems insane that Robyn can have a nanny at her house, but not Meri (a family member who has been carefully following safety protocols). It would make a lot more sense for Meri to spend time with the kids and perhaps help them with their schoolwork.

 

[Alicenwonderment]

I was shocked to hear about the nanny, but it makes me question whether her 2 younger kids are neurotypical? Robin's oldest son is autistic and her oldest daughter has severe issues with anxiety. So I wonder whether Sol and Ari possibly either have autism or some type of behavioral disorder like ODD. Even severe ADHD or a learning disablility would explain why Robin feels they need this tutor/nanny. My daughter is 10 and diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia so if I could afford it I would totally get her a tutor to help with the online schooling. As it is, I end up doing online school with her after I'm done with an 8 hour day of work and it's kind of exhausting and she is not getting the best of me. I also wouldn't necessarily trust that duty to my sister wives who don't have any training in dealing with whatever hypothetical disability my kids had, and I wouldn't want to talk too much about the hypothetical disability on a reality show out of respect for the kids' privacy. There's got to be a lot that we aren't seeing behind the scenes. Either that, or Kody and Robyn are a$$holes.

Edit to add that I'm trained to work with kids with special education/emotional support needs so my daughter has had it relatively easy during this pandemic but a lot of kids with disabilities haven't had proper services in the last 2 years and their education is suffering for it. I worry what will happen to this generation of kids.

You might look into the Children's Dyslexia Centers. They offer free Orton-Gillingham tutoring usually twice weekly for an hour. I looked at the PA locations and they are in Harrisburg, PA, New Castle, PA, Lancaster PA. There may be more. The centers are funded through the Masons. The instructors are being trained in Orton-Gillingham. They must have over 100 hours tutoring hours, 8 seminars, book reading and observations. Usually there may be a waiting list but it is well worth it. I received my training through this program.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

You might look into the Children's Dyslexia Centers. They offer free Orton-Gillingham tutoring usually twice weekly for an hour. I looked at the PA locations and they are in Harrisburg, PA, New Castle, PA, Lancaster PA. There may be more. The centers are funded through the Masons. The instructors are being trained in Orton-Gillingham. They must have over 100 hours tutoring hours, 8 seminars, book reading and observations. Usually there may be a waiting list but it is well worth it. I received my training through this program.

Thank you! someone else recommended them to me but I haven't contacted them yet because of some other stuff going on. But I definitely need to contact them and see about getting some help for my daughter because I am really trained to work with students with autism and don't have as much experience working with students with other learning disablilities. I'm familiar enough with dyslexia to know what accommodations to offer my daughter and I can adapt her online lessons for her until we get her IEP through but that's all I can offer her. I'm really interested in the training program for educators, how did you get involved with it and what was your experience?

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

If Robyn two little ones do have special needs why would it not be aired. Her older son is. It’s part of their family story or am I wrong here? I think it would answer a lot of questions. I’m not Not being rude just asking. If I’m wrong don’t flame me just educate me. I’m a special Ed aide for over 25 years so I know it’s a lot of work for parents.

Those are good points, I really don't know except that maybe there was some negative fallout from her older son's autism being so openly discussed? My son is autistic and he doesn't like people to know because he doesn't want to be known just as the autistic guy. My son is high functioning enough that it's hard to tell for a lot of people, he just comes across as a little bit weird but he has about a decade of weekly behavioral therapy behind him (plus a mom trained in ABA, and believe me I ABA my kids 24/7!). If they had a bad experience with their older son maybe they would wait for the kids to be old enough to make the decision to share?

As for Christine mentioning the nanny, there's a lot of people who deny that autism is a real condition. It's unbelievable to me but Christine strikes me as a bit of a Covid denyer and if she can deny Covid she can deny autism too. I can't remember whether she has ever said anything about Robin's son's autism on camera before?

 

[mom2rtk]

Those are good points, I really don't know except that maybe there was some negative fallout from her older son's autism being so openly discussed? My son is autistic and he doesn't like people to know because he doesn't want to be known just as the autistic guy. My son is high functioning enough that it's hard to tell for a lot of people, he just comes across as a little bit weird but he has about a decade of weekly behavioral therapy behind him (plus a mom trained in ABA, and believe me I ABA my kids 24/7!). If they had a bad experience with their older son maybe they would wait for the kids to be old enough to make the decision to share?

As for Christine mentioning the nanny, there's a lot of people who deny that autism is a real condition. It's unbelievable to me but Christine strikes me as a bit of a Covid denyer and if she can deny Covid she can deny autism too. I can't remember whether she has ever said anything about Robin's son's autism on camera before?

I think you're trying too hard here.

And I'm not sure why you think Christine is a Covid denier. Lots of people who believe Covid to be the danger it is wouldn't agree to Kody's list of rules. And would do whatever it takes to get surgery for their child in a pandemic. And have found ways to see family over the last 2 years.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I think you're trying too hard here.

And I'm not sure why you think Christine is a Covid denier. Lots of people who believe Covid to be the danger it is wouldn't agree to Kody's list of rules. And would do whatever it takes to get surgery for their child in a pandemic. And have found ways to see family over the last 2 years.

I mean, we're all analyzing a reality TV show here and we have no personal involvement in these people's lives except what is represented on TV. So most of what we are discussing is conjecture. I guess I just see things from Kody and Robyn's point of view, and less from Christine. My kids and I absolutely did everything from that list of rules and still continue to do most of it, except for the 10 feet apart outside. We still got sick and my son has lasting chronic health problems now from Covid and that's why I continue to do the things on that list that everyone thinks are crazy. I honestly don't see why that list is so crazy to people, and I'd love to know what Christine and Janelle are doing that they think means they are being safe, if it's not any of the stuff on Kody's list. Also, Christine didn't own a toaster because she thought it would burn her house down and didn't she also say she won't use a microwave?...she seems like a conspiracy theorist. And Kody is nuts for not wanting his kid to get medical care, I 100% will agree he is crazy for saying that. In spite of our precautions in our household, my kids and I have all had medical care through this.

 

[wenrob]

I think you're trying too hard here.

And I'm not sure why you think Christine is a Covid denier. Lots of people who believe Covid to be the danger it is wouldn't agree to Kody's list of rules. And would do whatever it takes to get surgery for their child in a pandemic. And have found ways to see family over the last 2 years.

On a scale of 1-10 for taking Covid serious even without Kody’s rules she’s like a 1.5. From my perspective she only follows basic guidelines when she *has* to. Christine just learned some independence and then Covid hit. She’s pushing back on that. I get the feeling even if Kody’s rules weren’t so over the top she’d still have a problem with them. That’s the headspace she’s in. At the same time I feel like even if his rules were reasonable and she followed them he’d find another reason not to stay with her. This whole thing is power struggle between them and I think it would have happened without a pandemic.

I mean, we're all analyzing a reality TV show here and we have no personal involvement in these people's lives except what is represented on TV. So most of what we are discussing is conjecture. I guess I just see things from Kody and Robyn's point of view, and less from Christine. My kids and I absolutely did everything from that list of rules and still continue to do most of it, except for the 10 feet apart outside. We still got sick and my son has lasting chronic health problems now from Covid and that's why I continue to do the things on that list that everyone thinks are crazy. I honestly don't see why that list is so crazy to people, and I'd love to know what Christine and Janelle are doing that they think means they are being safe, if it's not any of the stuff on Kody's list. Also, Christine didn't own a toaster because she thought it would burn her house down and didn't she also say she won't use a microwave?...she seems like a conspiracy theorist. And Kody is nuts for not wanting his kid to get medical care, I 100% will agree he is crazy for saying that. In spite of our precautions in our household, my kids and I have all had medical care through this.

You still wipe down groceries/mail and change clothes outside your door after going anywhere?

 

[mom2rtk]

On a scale of 1-10 for taking Covid serious even without Kody’s rules she’s like a 1.5. From my perspective she only follows basic guidelines when she *has* to. Christine just learned some independence and then Covid hit. She’s pushing back on that. I get the feeling even if Kody’s rules weren’t so over the top she’d still have a problem with them. That’s the headspace she’s in. At the same time I feel like even if his rules were reasonable and she followed them he’d find another reason not to stay with her. This whole thing is power struggle between them and I think it would have happened without a pandemic.

That doesn't make her a Covid denier though. Which was brought up as a link to assuming she might be an autism denier.

 

[bethbuchall]

It seems like the people here who agree with Kody’s (Robyn’s) set of rules think it’s all or nothing with Janelle and Christine. Just because they don’t agree with all of the rules doesn’t mean that they are Covid deniers or aren’t following sensible precautions. Are you really still wiping down all groceries and mail before bringing them into the house or changing clothing if you’ve been out? In the beginning, that seemed safest, but we knew before Fall, 2020 that fomite transmission was highly unlikely. Just because Christine and Janelle don’t do that, doesn’t mean that they aren’t following the other protocols. I will admit that after the first week or so, I didn’t wipe anything down. It’s just my husband and myself, so we washed hands after touching anything that came into the house recently and trained ourselves to keep our hands away from our faces. I realize that would have been more difficult with young kids. It’s not like the virus is jumping off the surfaces to get at you.

I never had grocery delivery. I did limit my trips out and, of course, wore a mask and kept my distance from others (and still do).

Christine traveling to see her other kids is riskier, but if they have been quarantining, too, then the risk is relatively limited. But I’ll give Kody that one if they haven’t been home for 10 days. I did travel to see adult children who also worked from home and didn’t go out. I was able to drive there in a straight shot and felt comfortable with it, but I understood that I was taking a risk.

Janelle has kids who work outside the home. Not everyone can stay home and not work. We were lucky in that my husband works from home and I am out of a job because the preschool closed down (that last part isn’t really lucky, but we can make it without my income). We also know that Gabe sees his girlfriend, but we don’t know what protocols they follow. That could be either extremely risky or much less so. Janelle also said that there was a separate apartment that the boys could use. She mentioned that she’s following cdc guidelines, so it’s not as if she is completely blowing Covid off.

I think that they are building drama by making it seem as if it’s an either/or situation. Kody and Robyn are believers and Christine and Janelle are not, but I’m not so sure that’s the case. Plus, we know that Robyn and Kody are now shopping maskless in a mall away from their home. That’s an awfully big shift in a year when we’re still in the thick of it. I’d love to know if he sees the other wives now.

And poor Merri follows the rules and still isn’t granted any visits because he doesn’t really like her any more. So, it doesn’t seem to really be about the rules.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

On a scale of 1-10 for taking Covid serious even without Kody’s rules she’s like a 1.5. From my perspective she only follows basic guidelines when she *has* to. Christine just learned some independence and then Covid hit. She’s pushing back on that. I get the feeling even if Kody’s rules weren’t so over the top she’d still have a problem with them. That’s the headspace she’s in. At the same time I feel like even if his rules were reasonable and she followed them he’d find another reason not to stay with her. This whole thing is power struggle between them and I think it would have happened without a pandemic.

You still wipe down groceries/mail and change clothes outside your door after going anywhere?

Yes, (I don't change clothes outside the door though, I think Kody's rule was shoes outside and we still do that sort of, the shoes are in baskets in the entryway, but yes we change clothes and shower as soon as we get home) and I do understand that the CDC said that wasn't necessary anymore. Covid weakened my son's heart and now he has a problem with one of his heart valves, he also developed a condition called dysautonomia and it is awful, the daily symptoms are so much worse than the heart condition. Not only do I continue to do all the sanitizing, but I also left a career I loved and took a big pay cut and gave up my pension to work from home, and pulled my daughter out of in-person school. We kept getting sick this school year--my daughter and I kept bringing it home--and with my son's health conditions he can't handle being sick anymore, we end up in the ER because of his heart. I will do literally anything to preserve my son's health. My daughter and I had to quarantine 3 times in the first 5 weeks of school because we kept picking up respiratory illness at school so we had to quarantine because of symptoms, even though we ended up testing negative for Covid every time, when my son inevitably got whatever illness we had he would end up having problems with his heart and we had to go to the ER. So yes, Covid precautions are still a big deal in this house! I don't know how long we can keep it up so don't bother asking what my long-term plan is for that because I don't have one, I'm basically praying for a miracle and taking it one day at a time.

As for Christine, I agree with your assessment. I think she got a taste for independence and will never go back.

 

[wenrob]

That doesn't make her a Covid denier though. Which was brought up as a link to assuming she might be an autism denier.

Oh no, I don’t think she’s a Covid denier. I do get the vibe she doesn’t feel it’s that’s big of a deal though. She seems…reckless given the time frame this was filmed in. She would be the last person in that family I would think of as an autism denier.

Yes, (I don't change clothes outside the door though, I think Kody's rule was shoes outside and we still do that sort of, the shoes are in baskets in the entryway, but yes we change clothes and shower as soon as we get home) and I do understand that the CDC said that wasn't necessary anymore. Covid weakened my son's heart and now he has a problem with one of his heart valves, he also developed a condition called dysautonomia and it is awful, the daily symptoms are so much worse than the heart condition. Not only do I continue to do all the sanitizing, but I also left a career I loved and took a big pay cut and gave up my pension to work from home, and pulled my daughter out of in-person school. We kept getting sick this school year--my daughter and I kept bringing it home--and with my son's health conditions he can't handle being sick anymore, we end up in the ER because of his heart. I will do literally anything to preserve my son's health. My daughter and I had to quarantine 3 times in the first 5 weeks of school because we kept picking up respiratory illness at school so we had to quarantine because of symptoms, even though we ended up testing negative for Covid every time, when my son inevitably got whatever illness we had he would end up having problems with his heart and we had to go to the ER. So yes, Covid precautions are still a big deal in this house! I don't know how long we can keep it up so don't bother asking what my long-term plan is for that because I don't have one, I'm basically praying for a miracle and taking it one day at a time.

As for Christine, I agree with your assessment. I think she got a taste for independence and will never go back.

I’m sorry for your son’s struggles. All I can say to the rest is don’t make yourself sick trying to keep from getting sick. I mean that with sincerity.

 

[sarah4770]

Very sorry to hear about your son. I hope things improve for him.

 

[happily single]

Interesting. I just saw on Instragram a photo of both Janelle and Christine promoting Plexus Nutrition.

 

[stitch'sgirl]

Remember when they bought a fitness center? Lol.

 

[Claudia1]

So, Janelle got Robyn a gift, put it on the porch, then Robyn took it into the house while she was still there? She may have sprayed it down (that we didn't see) but it didn't follow the guidelines of sitting for 24 hours like the mail. Did anyone else notice that?

 

[dreamin_disney]

We need to hear from the Nanny lol!

 

[Dakota731]

After last night it seemed to me that Kody only has an interest in his younger kids with Robyn. He doesn’t seem to want to see the older ones and just wants them out of the house. Even adult kids still need their parents so I’m glad Christine and Janelle are there for them.
It’s ridiculous to call someone a covid denier because they don’t follow Kody’s rules that are totally anti-science. Because Christine is able to think for herself and not just follow blindly like Robyn doesn’t mean she doesn’t think covid is real. Everyone has the right to do what they think is right for their own family.