The Bowers Family

[canadian_bunny]

Originally Posted by Littlemermaid

Since Lisa's family is too poor to afford a maid, their responsibility includes keeping the house in shape. I only pay my cleaners if they do a satisfactory job. A tip is given if the service was good.

That was the point of trading spouses. The mother was to show them the lifestyle she lived. Since she wasn't rich enough to be able to hire a maid, they clean their home themselves. She wasn't asking the children to clean the house, she only asked them to put the dishes in the dishwasher and to fold their own clothes. Samantha taught the Bower children things she would teach her own children, and Lisa was trying to do that with the Pilek children. Grant it she went about it the wrong way, but it wouldnt had hurt the children to do the simple tasks she asked. That was the whole part of trading spouses and getting $50,000 at the end of the week. If they didnt want to participate, they shouldnt had been on the show.

[Google]

 

[decan]

Enough about the Bowers mom. I just want to say good luck to the kids. They'll definitely need it growing up in that kind of environment and stuff. I hope the kid's dream career as chef will come true. And I hope his sister will not have too much trouble in high school.... and dad, ease up on the kids.

[HomeGirl]

Lisa was supposed to come in and be a mom - not a boss. To be a mom, she needed to try to relate to the kids to be able to influence them to do the chores. Given the way she barked orders at them, she didn't earn the respect she needed to get them to do what she wanted. I do not think the fact that the Pilek kids didn't do the chores reflects badly on them so much as Lisa. You have to give respect before you can get respect.

[NYGal]

Erik and Katie seem like good kids. However, Erik’s remarks that he hopes Samantha allocate the money for “fun stuff instead of a stupid college fund” is cause for concern. I have a feeling they don’t plan to attend college. Hopefully, as they get older they will reconsider. I’ve noticed that the Pilek kids are reaching for the stars, the Bower kids not so much and I believe it all comes down to how they are being raised. I am sure seeing herself on national television was an eye opening experience for Lisa and hopefully she will change her ways. Something tells me the producers from the Dr. Phil show have already been in touch.

[Sunnyone]

Originally Posted by NYGal

Erik and Katie seem like good kids. However, Erik’s remarks that he hopes Samantha allocate the money for “fun stuff instead of a stupid college fund” is cause for concern. I have a feeling they don’t plan to attend college. Hopefully, as they get older they will reconsider. I’ve noticed that the Pilek kids are reaching for the stars, the Bower kids not so much and I believe it all comes down to how they are being raised. I am sure seeing herself on national television was an eye opening experience for Lisa and hopefully she will change her ways. Something tells me the producers from the Dr. Phil show have already been in touch.

I think Erik was being a kid- what kid, at age 12, is thinking about a college fund? For kids the money for college is a non issue- the parents should be worrying about it at this point. (I know that is coming out wrong, but hopefully you will know what I mean)
The Pilek kids are reaching for the stars because the parents have tons of money to spend on personal lessons. The Bowers don't. There is really nothing wrong with that. It would be hard to tell Erik, for example, to try to be a pro athlete, but then tell him there is no extra money for lessons. How much sense does that make? OTOH- I think there is a lot of pressure on the Pilek kids to perform, and having those personal lessons may be a downfall for those kids as well. When they are older they may feel that they can't measure up to what mom and dad expect.

[Sunnyone]

Originally Posted by Sunnyone

OTOH- I think there is a lot of pressure on the Pilek kids to perform, and having those personal lessons may be a downfall for those kids as well. When they are older they may feel that they can't measure up to what mom and dad expect.

I just wanted to clarify from my last post- I don't think it is wrong for the Pileks to be spending their money on private lessons at all- I think it is great that they can do it and the kids are benefitting from it. Even though it didn't show it- I hope the Bower kids are also involved in lessons of some sort, whether group or personal because I think all kids should have extra curricular activities.

[Sunnyone]

Originally Posted by HomeGirl

Lisa was supposed to come in and be a mom - not a boss. To be a mom, she needed to try to relate to the kids to be able to influence them to do the chores. Given the way she barked orders at them, she didn't earn the respect she needed to get them to do what she wanted. I do not think the fact that the Pilek kids didn't do the chores reflects badly on them so much as Lisa. You have to give respect before you can get respect.

I am wondering what, exactly, the producers told these moms before they switched. Looking at both moms and how they entered their *new homes*- Sam acted more like a guest, where Lisa acted more like a drill sargeant. What is the expectation here? Are they suppose to *be the new mom* and treat her new family like she does her old family, or is she a *guest* staying for a week, learning how the other family lives? I'm wondering if the lines were not clear or if I'm just confused at the role they were suppose to play? I didnt' see Sam cooking or cleaning either, where I saw Lisa doing more housework and chores.

[Zaaam]

Originally Posted by Sunnyone

I am wondering what, exactly, the producers told these moms before they switched. Looking at both moms and how they entered their *new homes*- Sam acted more like a guest, where Lisa acted more like a drill sargeant. What is the expectation here? Are they suppose to *be the new mom* and treat her new family like she does her old family, or is she a *guest* staying for a week, learning how the other family lives? I'm wondering if the lines were not clear or if I'm just confused at the role they were suppose to play? I didnt' see Sam cooking or cleaning either, where I saw Lisa doing more housework and chores.

The show is called Trading Spouses, Meet Your New Mommy
The show would be boring if we just had to watch two people relaxing in a house. So Lisa was being herself (cooking,cleaning,bitching) and Sam was being herself (shopping, talking,relaxing )

[Maveno]

Good post Zaaam!


My observations of everyone:

Lisa: Very annoying and crass.
Samantha: Endearing.
Pilek kids: Morose and lackluster.
Bower kids: Full of piss 'n vinegar and endearing.
Pilek dad: Pompous and arrogant.
Bower dad: Pushover and whipping boy.
Pilek friends: Self-serving, ugly bitches.
Bower friends: Polite.

Winner(s) of the show:Us.

[Sunnyone]

Originally Posted by Zaaam

The show is called Trading Spouses, Meet Your New Mommy
The show would be boring if we just had to watch two people relaxing in a house. So Lisa was being herself (cooking,cleaning,bitching) and Sam was being herself (shopping, talking,relaxing )

True, but certainly Samantha does more around her house than relaxing- I'm sure she does housework, disciplines the kids, cooking, etc. She probably did that at the Bower house, but they didn't show it. (there was even a commercial where Sam turned around in the car and told the kids to *knock it off* or something to that effect). I just got the impression from the show that one of Lisa's problems was that she expected to run the Pilek house like her own, while Samantha went with the flow of things and her goal was to get to know the Bower family instead of trying to run their house like hers. Sorry if I'm rambling- but watching the show made me wonder if the women were interepreting the premise of the show differently.