Flashback No. 5: Kate shows Alexis' poop to the camera, then strips her naked

Anyone with small children knows that children can be gross--spit up, throw up, snot, pee, and of course poo, come with the territory. You clean it up and move on, it's no big deal.

But Jon and Kate freely allowed all these moments to be filmed up close by TLC's camera crew and broadcast to millions. When Alexis is a teenager, it will be embarrassing enough to have Mom tell people about the time she pooped herself. But unfortunately this incident is preserved on film to embarrass her forever. Why is it funny and cute to show a child's BM, but not an adult's? Would Kate want us staring at her BMs? Children's private moments deserve the same respect as an adult's. For those who say she was just a toddler, at what age is the cutoff for a child to be bestowed a right to her privacy? Three, four? Fourteen?

And think about this. A child who is brought up without any boundaries is a child who could grow up to have a great deal of difficulty respecting or even comprehending other people's boundaries in adulthood.

This is but one example of the Gosselin children's private bodily functions being displayed in all their glory and documented permanently. By the way, the slow motion when Kate shows Alexis to the camera was inserted by TLC editors, not us.

Flashback No. 4: Cara is jarred awake by blinding production lights while the crew laughs

All child actors have to work under bright production lights. But most child actors don't have to deal with those lights in their own homes, and even while they are trying to sleep.

By their own admission, Jon and Kate permitted TLC production crews to install permanent heavy duty studio lights throughout the house. Reportedly, TLC picked up the high utility bills for all these extra lights. Because of oddities like this, the children's home was not (and still isn't) a safe haven, a place of quiet and privacy, as most children's homes are, but instead was a fully functioning television set in which the children's own schedules, needs and wants were given little to no consideration and where there was no place to go home to that wasn't "on set."

In this clip, which happens to be the same episode in which Collin was forced to work while painfully constipated (and it may be that this equally exploitative moment with Cara has been overshadowed by what happened to Collin just a few hours later that day), Cara is rudely awakened by a flash of bright lights. The reason? The crew had flipped on the lights in the basement where she was asleep. She was sleeping in the basement because her room was being remodeled. Cara goes to Kate for hugs and comfort. Not only do the lights hurt her eyes, but Jen, a producer, and another crew member, who are taping this all, are seen laughing at her.

Just because happy upbeat music is playing doesn't mean it's funny when a child is in discomfort.

Flashback No. 3: Alexis traumatized at the dentist while a camera crew films

Lots of children are afraid of the dentist when they are little. But few have to go through the experience with a camera crew just inches away from their tear-streaked face.

In this clip, Alexis' first trip to the dentist is terrifying for her. The Gosselin children were often filmed when they were at their most vulnerable. We never heard any discussion about turning the cameras off and letting them have their moment in peace. No, in fact, the camera just gets in closer when she starts losing it. A child's fears and anxieties should not be for our personal entertainment. These children should not be filmed at all, but certainly when a child is this upset, the cameras should be shut down immediately so that they can have privacy.

It's easy to say well, this was just a trip to the dentist no big deal. But it sure was a big deal for Alexis. Why are her feelings not important? Because she's three? People marganalize and brush aside children for no good reason other than that they are "just" children. But children are people and there is no good reason why they don't deserve the same exact respect, dignity and privacy you would show an adult. Raise a child with respect, dignity and privacy, and they will learn that all people are to be given the same. But disrespect a child, and they will learn to be disrespectful right back. (Incidentally, it was 6-year-old Alexis who was seen spitting on her sibling in North Carolina this week).

For the few left who think filming these children is okay, I ask you to put yourself in Alexis' shoes and think about what moment in your life terrified you the most. Perhaps it was losing someone you love, or being laid off from your job, getting a scary medical diagnosis, or breaking up with your significant other. Perhaps you cried and were upset like Alexis was. Now imagine you are forced not only to have a camera inches from your face as you experience this horror, but you then have the experience replayed over and over on a cable network in reruns, as well as DVDs for sale in Wal-Mart. It matters not what someone is upset about, only that they were upset.

To Discovery, Kate, and Jon: This was and is wrong.

Flashback No. 2: Kate calls Mady "awful"

Time for another flashback in our ongoing series documenting the Gosselin kids' most exploitive moments ever aired on TV.

One of the most despicable themes throughout Jon and Kate Plus 8 was the tendency of Kate and to some extent Jon to talk freely about their children's most negative behaviors and personality traits. This clip of Kate calling sweet and remarkably intelligent Mady "awful" is but one of the many examples of exploiting the children's worst moments for profit. Never a care or thought is given to how showing the children's bad days will affect them at school and with their friends. Never a care or thought is given to how labeling and pigeon-holing the children could stick with them a long time, especially if it's documented on film.

In this particular clip, Kate is cooking in the kitchen and has started without Mady. Mady eventually comes down from her nap. Mady is upset because she says that Kate promised to come wake her up before she started cooking. Kate, however, plays with semantics and says she only promised to "come get" her, and that since Mady was sleeping when she went to get her, Kate decided not to wake her up. Mady is understandably irritated. Kate tells the camera that Mady can be "awful" after waking up from a nap, and goes on about how she needs her sleep. Then she makes a sour face at the camera as Mady continues to whine. Mady gets her back though by eating pretzels directly off the floor with a defiant smirk at her mother. Go Mady.

Jon and Kate Plus 8: Sugar Rush, Season 2 Episode 6, 11/11/07.

Daddy don't go: Kids hysterical and distraught to leave Jon

After a brief visit with Jon after their trip to Alaska and L.A., Jon dropped the kids off at Kate's yesterday. This disturbing video shows kids in hysterics not wanting to go.

And the "rumor" that Jon is forced to drop the kids off at the end of the driveway again appears to be true. This is the second time Jon has been seen at the end of the driveway for a drop off. Jon and Kate should please pick a neutral location to pick up and drop off the kids. This business at the end of the driveway sends kids the very unhealthy message that their beloved Daddy is an outcast not worthy of gracing the front door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TLWZH91VYY

Flashback No. 1: Collin is constipated on national TV

We're going to do something new thanks to a suggestion from the masses. Sometimes it's easy to forget everything these eight kids have been through over the years so their parents could have their show and their fame and their money. Most of us believe filming has been way too intrusive and that the money has been grossly mismanaged (they still don't have adequate college funds, Kate?), but let's take a look at some specific examples. This might be helpful anyway when trying to explain to a newcomer (or apologist) why this show has been so negative for these exploited kids. So when news is slow, we're going to do little flashbacks to the past. Little Collin covering his face in public all the time suddenly makes a lot more sense when you look at the long, five-year history of what they've been through.

First up, in one of the most egregious examples of exploitation ever aired on this show, little Collin is having some constipation issues. How do we know this? Well, because Kate and Jon told us all about it. On what planet would it ever be okay to talk about your child's bowel habits with three million strangers? Collin, who was three at the time, is nowhere near old enough to consent to such information about him being disclosed. Not only is the child dragged to a furniture store to film an episode when he's extremely uncomfortable (he is seen just sobbing), but Jon removes his impacted bowels on national TV. All the while Kate sits around wondering which beds to pick. As if TLC didn't already pre-approve which beds they would get and paid for them all.
Jon and Kate Plus 8: Babies and Bedrooms (Part 1), Season 2 Episode 9, 11/26/07.