Jon & Kate +8: Too Late

For many months The Learning Channel has been inundated with requests that they take the reality show Jon and Kate plus 8 off the air.

Viewer concerns for the children's emotional welfare, first documented in a letter to TLC's chairman John Hendricks in June by the national child advocacy group Child AbuseWatch.net, have become more vocal and intense as time has passed. A vague feeling of "I told you so" may be permeating through the TLC offices as they watch their golden goose hit a wall.

The Gosselin family, once the darlings of the reality show club, has devolved into a sad spectacle of narcissism, feeding on itself in an orgy of greed and unbridled ego. All the time the children have been exposed to (publicly viewed) neglect and emotional abuse as the parent's marriage is ripped apart and Kate Gosselin tours the country talking to audiences about who knows what; generally herself.

Mrs. Gosselin has appeared on a number of talk shows - the View, Good Morning America, etc - all the time believing that she is a celebrity. No really, she does believe it. She's has not yet come to realize that she is invited on as a guest as a result of the same curiosity that prompts children poke a dead animal with a stick. She comes across as weird; an example of what happens when some people start to believe the hype written about them.

As a parent she is a disaster, not that her husband is any better. She claims to be putting money away for her unpaid children (they receive nothing as they not regarded as employees by TLC). As partners in the show the children should be receiving 10% of the proceeds each per season, as there are (including the parents) 10 people in the show. This would amount to $300,000 PER CHILD per season, as the folks receive $1.5 million each. Anything other than this is nothing less than stealing from the children. Kate's talk of a 'fund' and 'college fund' are poor excuses for taking the food out of her children's mouths; the 'funds' she boasts of are but crumbs from her table.

Poppa Gosselin - Jon - has been fighting the show for some time wanting to take it off the air. His parenting skills are not much better than his soon-to-be ex-wife's. He's deserted the family pursuing his own adventures and, by all accounts, is spending money faster than he can make it. Just recently he put the brakes on TLC's show production, rescinding his permission to use the children for further recording. In doing so he's pulled the plug on Kate's latest child exploitive endeavor, Kate Plus 8, essentially ending her TV career and slamming the door on her windfall source of income.

The family, and TLC, is currently under investigation by Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and the Department of Children and Family Services. Child AbuseWatch wrote to the DCF in June requesting an investigation into allegations of child abuse on the show. These are two heavy shoes ready to drop, though for reasons of privacy the public may never hear the results of the enquiries unless TLC is found in breech of child labor laws and gets fined.

The family does receive funds from a book for which Kate claims authorship, which was in fact written by someone else. She has appearances scheduled by her publicity company MediainMotion. It remains to be seen whether she will continue to be interviewed when she no longer has a show, a career or a marriage. Even curious children eventually tire of poking dead things with sticks.

The Gosselin children's future is up in the air. Without the shows funds the family are currently used to, their lifestyle will degrade, and quickly. The freebies, the trips, the goodies, the attention will be all gone.

The world will move on. The question is, can they?