The Family
 

Channel four has made a big brother style documentary focusing on one family for 100 days and nights.

Did anyone watch it? What did you make of it? Do you think they are a typical family, or are they are dysfunctional?

To be honest, I thought they were pretty much your typical family. I can see parts of my family in there, especially the arguements (at times). I'm 19 too, and my family keep talking about me paying my way now etc.

Would you ever agree to such a personal documentary being made about your life?

http://www.channel4.com/health/the-family/

Also, on the advertising surrounding the show, there have been some statistics. Do you agree with these? What do you think about them?

13% of parents admit to having a favourite child

35% of parents spend at least an hour a day shouting

1 in 10 parents regretted having kids

yeh i watched it, some of it i though oh my god over the top, but when they had an arguement about tiding her room i thought ooh i remember that conversation/arguement only too well and was juts grateful i dont like at home anymore!!

will prob watch the rest of the show, but mainly cos their aint much else on.

I think they're dysfunctional in the sense they are happy to be filmed. I'd also be surprised if they (especially the children) weren't playing up to the cameras.

I won't be watching it.

the family wason this mornin yesterday and were saying that Emily has actually calmed down a bit, she has a bf now and has found a job she actually likes.

i think the mum has some depression problems tho, i know she was turning 40 but she just didnt really seem a happybunni

yeh i dont know why you'd want to be filmed. altho they did say that they had a remote that if they wanted to turn the camera's off to get dressed, whatever but obviously they had to keep them on for while otherwise no point in filming!

I actually have no idea what to make of it. At first I thought they were acting but then I got confused. I hope that isn't what all 19 year olds are like, I don't want to have to put up with my brother being like that in 2 years time!

I was surprised that they were able to go about their daily lives with all of the cameras around them. I don't think I could do that.

i'd hibernate under my duvet for 100 days (i dont do much differnet now)

I completely agree!

I did wonder why they agreed to be filmed in the first place.

It's sad that 1 in 10 parents regret having kids.
Really sad.

I might tune into watch an episode of it at some point if I have time.. and nothing better to do..

it was strange. i am not sure if i like it or not but i want to watch it again.

I didnt realise it was a documentary, I thought it was like a drama.
I was watching it and thinking 'well what's the point of this?'
But then someone at my work said it was a documentary and it made a lot more sense then hehe.
I think I'll watch it next week.

Our family is absolutely nothing like that, I can say quite conclusively.

It was so dysfuntional, there was no basic communication; everything was done in grunts or shouts, the mum seemed to have real issues, the dad seemed like he had to be top dog all the time - not to mention, anger issues! - and I felt sorry for the girl. Yes, she was moody, but to have such a pushy dad, and such a emotionally malnipulative mum must've left her feeling really confused about her situation.

Also, at no point was she told 'that's okay'. It was always 'do this, do that, you're stupid, get out of bed' etc.

Is that seriously what the average family is like, because it's certainly nothing like mine.

That's what I thought too, that's how I thought it was fictional.

I didn't grow up in a nice house (Think of the parents times about 50, lol) and so seen as that's my only reference to family life I would've thought the family on TV was actually alright. Not perfect or even particularly nice but who's family isn't a bit messed up?
(I really hope I don't get a load of people replying saying "Well.. mine is good" and so will have to make me face just how dysfunctional my faily are :P)

But yeah, I thought the show was boring and I felt for Emily, and the mum a bit, except when she was talking to her son moaning about getting old I was just thinking you shouldn't put thoughts like that in his head, you're transferring your fears onto him, y'know? But I did find it funny when he was trying to comfort her and just making her feel worse "Why're your eyes so dark? Why is your cheek all sunken?" xD
Dad's a bit of an arse.

I watched it and think they were a pretty average family. I recognised bits from my family life. like arguing that you haven't washed up properly and left a little food on the dishes.

I wonder how much of it is editing though. You can pretty much make any programme go how you want if you edit it in the right way.

Which doesn't really help its case. It just makes it seem more fake.

i thought it was ok but i can see it getting boring. To be honest that Emily annoyed me. She doesn't pay anything in the house but she's out all the time. Then she's phoning up and saying she's ill because she's hung over, which, yes everyone does but she seemed to do it an alot. i don't know, she just annoyed me!

When the boy smashed the glass though. That was so funny. i always do stuff like that.

My family seem so much more functional than them!
Yeah I get ill but then insist on doing stuff and I'm a complete mess but I have so much more respect for my parents.
My family talk to each other so much more!
But the sitting on the sofa with your dressing gown over your clothes not moving is so me and my mum!

I think this is so true. I expect they have taken a lot of the episode out of context.