Reality TV Review: Little People, Big World

Little People, Big World airs quite a bit on The Learning Channel, and the only unusual thing about this family of four is that three of them are so-called little people. Little People, Big World follows the daily lives of Matt, Amy and their four kids, one being a little person. The term little people refers to men and women of extremely short stature.

Little People, Big World is a very well-done show, thoroughly covering the family's vacations, arguments in their RV, outings to eat, building a tree house, visiting the beach, swimming in the surf, you name it. I recommend you view Little People, Big World because, quite frankly, this family is interesting to watch, even though everyone is very well-adjusted. Amy has achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that causes dwarfism. Matt has a bone disorder that makes walking increasingly difficult; he relies on crutches and a scooter.

I'd be lying if I said Amy wasn't cute. As short and pudgy and round as she is, the voice that comes out of her throat is perfectly normal (not high pitched like you might anticipate) and confident. She passed the achondroplasia gene down to her son, who appears to be either an adolescent or teenager. From a production standpoint, Little People, Big World is an entertaining TV show.

But geez, if you see only one episode of Little People, Big World, you'll probably wonder why the heck Matt and Amy don't make an appointment for their little person son to get his teeth fixed. The boy never closes his mouth. I don't think he can, or maybe he can, but has a bad habit of letting it hang open.....and the viewer is met with big horse teeth. As self-conscious as teens usually are, I'm shocked that this boy doesn't make efforts to keep his mouth closed when he's not talking. It doesn't make him come across as very bright, but he DOES have normal intelligence and is an adept soccer player.

Matt and Amy have teen twins of normal height, and another young boy of normal height. They seem to be a well-adjusted family, but then Matt was arrested for drunken driving. Shame on him. Okay, nobody's perfect, right? Well, this isn't about walking on water. It's about not driving drunk and risking killing yourself and leaving your kids fatherless, or killing someone else. Don't drink and drive. How tough can that be?

Check out Little People, Big World. I never did agree with the term "little people" when referring to someone with a disorder that causes extremely short stature, because "little people" or "little person" are also terms used to refer to narrow-minded people. At any rate, watch Little People, Big World and watch how little people make it in a world designed for much taller people.