Erika Shupe *fake smile* Large Families on Purpose *cringe*

[constantgardener]

I don't think it's inherently weird. I think it is weird that

1) a plain water tea party warrants it's own album in Erika's page for her brand essentially. Plain water tea parties in my experience are child led spontaneous events. Plastic cups, throw a feather boa on your dad and tea party on

2) Erika's children are not allowed imagination or much pretend play, I think, if the idea that you can pretend water is tea was upsetting to her little boy. I thought erika only used a thing for its intended purpose, too!! Tsk!

I am always a little suspicious of people who post pictures of their kids doing 'fun activities' like this. I suppose lots of people do it, but to me it always smacks of 'quick, take a photo of the kids so that we can prove we provide them with fun activities!' We all know that a minute later Erika was whisking that water away in case there was a spillage, and the biscuits went back in the package because no snacks allowed!

[defraudingjezebel]

I am always a little suspicious of people who post pictures of their kids doing 'fun activities' like this. I suppose lots of people do it, but to me it always smacks of 'quick, take a photo of the kids so that we can prove we provide them with fun activities!' We all know that a minute later Erika was whisking that water away in case there was a spillage, and the biscuits went back in the package because no snacks allowed!

I agree. I wouldn't put it past Erika to "suggest" an activity for the kids for facebook and blog photo fodder. She is way too much of a control freak to allow any spontaneity from her children. And yeah, knowing how tightly she controls those kids' diets I highly doubt that she'd allow some of them a snack, even if it were only a couple of biscuits.

[Eternalbluepearl]

I was surprised to see the pics of the tea party. Erika has mentioned that she does not do scrapbook type posts just to post pics of her family. Well apparently, she does. :dance:

It's pretty normal for kids to pretend water or juice or something is "tea" in the tea pot. Erika does so many odd things to her kids but having a play tea set they fill with water isn't one of them, in my opinion. :shrug:

[mango_fandango]

I was surprised to see the pics of the tea party. Erika has mentioned that she does not do scrapbook type posts just to post pics of her family. Well apparently, she does. :dance:

It's pretty normal for kids to pretend water or juice or something is "tea" in the tea pot. Erika does so many odd things to her kids but having a play tea set they fill with water isn't one of them, in my opinion. :shrug:

She does it all the fucking time. Pretty much ALL her albums are like that: "Large Family Beach Play!" "Large Family Pool Play!" "Shupe Kids Back Yard Play 2012"! One of the earliest ones is called "Large Family Trip to Costco", which comprises three photos of how they cram the kids into two trolleys. Karen and Melanie aren't in them, neither is Brandon, but the other six are, including Anna Marie, Riley, Tyler and Spencer all in one trolley.

[16strong]

I was surprised to see the pics of the tea party. Erika has mentioned that she does not do scrapbook type posts just to post pics of her family. Well apparently, she does. :dance:

It's pretty normal for kids to pretend water or juice or something is "tea" in the tea pot. Erika does so many odd things to her kids but having a play tea set they fill with water isn't one of them, in my opinion. :shrug:

Really? Because a box of green tea packets at the grocery store is really fucking cheap. And sure, it's normal for kids to play pretend with water, but we all know that there is no pretend play in that house. She was putting on this tea party as an actual party. Not having tea in this case when the kids were under the impression that it was an actual tea party was mean.

[Eternalbluepearl]

I don't know, I think Erika contradicts herself. She says they don't pretend but does describe dress up play, tea parties, blanket forts in the backyard etc. I'm thinking she just doesn't like them to play pretend with something she wants to stay intact like laundry baskets. I'm just trying to decode the Shupe. :lol:

[defraudingjezebel]

I don't know, I think Erika contradicts herself. She says they don't pretend but does describe dress up play, tea parties, blanket forts in the backyard etc. I'm thinking she just doesn't like them to play pretend with something she wants to stay intact like laundry baskets. I'm just trying to decode the Shupe. :lol:

Yeah, she does sometimes contradict herself. I wonder if she has read a lot of the Maxwell books that discourage "foolish talk," creativity, and "silly" pretending, and wants to give that standard some lip service without actually holding her family to it. But I think you're right- they're allowed to play pretend as long as they don't use an object that is not for its intended purpose (a mortal sin in Erika's book).

[apandaaries]

Really? Because a box of green tea packets at the grocery store is really fucking cheap. And sure, it's normal for kids to play pretend with water, but we all know that there is no pretend play in that house. She was putting on this tea party as an actual party. Not having tea in this case when the kids were under the impression that it was an actual tea party was mean.

Exactly. Erika clearly put this on, so why not a spot of tea, as well? Tyler was CLEARLY disappointed in being served water, but In The comments, she says that they can't tell the difference. Nope! Maybe the girls didn't care (maybe) but not all kids were a-okay with that.

And of course, normally, who would care? But this is Erika's household. It'd be nice for those kids to get some fun in their lives.

[constantgardener]

Yeah, she does sometimes contradict herself. I wonder if she has read a lot of the Maxwell books that discourage "foolish talk," creativity, and "silly" pretending, and wants to give that standard some lip service without actually holding her family to it. But I think you're right- they're allowed to play pretend as long as they don't use an object that is not for its intended purpose (a mortal sin in Erika's book).

Forgive me if this has been mentioned before, but there's a classic bit of double-standard-ism in one of her posts where a reader suggests using laundry baskets for play. Erika replies with something like she stopped using laundry baskets because they got broken and they should only be used for laundry. However, she does let them play with beach towels because beach towels are meant to be played with. Wtf?!

[mango_fandango]

Ooh guys, something I just clocked: looking at the tea party album, Tyler magically changes shirts at one point. For most of the album, he's in a white t-shirt, then in the final photo, "wa-la!" (as Erika spells it), he's in a grey shirt with stripes. Wonder why this is? If they're only drinking water, and probably small amounts, he may have spilled some, but water dries easily, right? In that final photo, it is mostly of Tyler, but you can still see one of the twins' dresses (a red one). Only the four youngest were involved, so it's not a different kid- and I recognise which kid is which anyway (apart from the twins, but that's a minor detail, I'm not Erika). Tyler's six. He may have spilled water and requested a t-shirt change, kids can be weird at that age, but that seems like too much unnecessary faff for neat-freak Erika.

Just something interesting I noted.

Original white tee: facebook.com/LargeFamiliesOnPurpose/photos/a.954129134630188.1073741877.171658456210597/954129194630182/?type=3&theater

New grey tee: facebook.com/LargeFamiliesOnPurpose/photos/a.954129134630188.1073741877.171658456210597/954129137963521/?type=3&theater

It's definitely not Spencer, who was wearing a red tee.

[salex]

Eh, fair enough. I didn't realise it was a thing. It just seemed a little weird to me. I never did anything like that myself.

We had tea parties with tea or cocoa and usually graham crackers or little cookies when I was a young girl. With small china tea sets. It was something my just younger sister and I did relativel often.

[rosethorne]

I LOVE tea parties, and I always have. As a child I was allowed to have tea, and learned to use the stove for the express purpose of making water for my tea parties.

My niece had her 7th birthday last month, and I gifted her a small enameled-tin set (including creamer and sugar pots) in bright primary colors. I did also add a box of assorted herbal/decaf teas as well.

I mean really, it's not much harder to add a teabag to the water, since any normal person is probably going to rinse/wash the teapot when done anyway, and her son wouldn't have been disappointed (yet again)!

[HermioneSparrow]

Am I the only one who thinks that "tea party" was the most boring non tea party ever? Erika is so cheap, she couldn't just buy decaf tea and throw some little sandwiches and biscuits in there... I had a few tea sets when i was little and my mom always made sure that i had tea and snacks for my parties, i also lived in London so to me that wasn't a tea party at all.

[Eternalbluepearl]

While I get what everyone is saying about little sandwiches and cookies and tea and it sounds delicious....I have nieces and nephews and have babysat for kids where "tea party" is a game they've thrown together on their own. Empty plates and empty tea pot with imaginary tea and imaginary treats. They just pretend they are having tea. No adult is setting up a party and making sure there are treats and tea. Just kids playing with toy tea pots and toy cups. Sometimes the sets are even plastic. I've even seen pretend tea as a game in the tub. I'm not used to it being so proper I guess. It never occurred to me I ought to be making the kiddo tea and setting out food. I am shamed. :lol:

[mango_fandango]

While I get what everyone is saying about little sandwiches and cookies and tea and it sounds delicious....I have nieces and nephews and have babysat for kids where "tea party" is a game they've thrown together on their own. Empty plates and empty tea pot with imaginary tea and imaginary treats. They just pretend they are having tea. No adult is setting up a party and making sure there are treats and tea. Just kids playing with toy tea pots and toy cups. Sometimes the sets are even plastic. I've even seen pretend tea as a game in the tub. I'm not used to it being so proper I guess. It never occurred to me I ought to be making the kiddo tea and setting out food. I am shamed. :lol:

I know, I know. But this is Erika Shupe we're talking about here. It's highly unlikely the youngest four Shupes came up with this on their own. As others have said, the fact that Erika posted an album of it onto Facebook, and given what what we know about the lack of spontaneity in that house, makes it seem very odd. "Look! We do do fun things as a family!" Frankly, I'm half surprised she didn't involve the oldest five too. Wonder what they were doing.

[Brittany15]

I know, I know. But this is Erika Shupe we're talking about here. It's highly unlikely the youngest four Shupes came up with this on their own. As others have said, the fact that Erika posted an album of it onto Facebook, and given what what we know about the lack of spontaneity in that house, makes it seem very odd. "Look! We do do fun things as a family!" Frankly, I'm half surprised she didn't involve the oldest five too. Wonder what they were doing.

I don't know, I can't really fault her for the water. She may have been looking for a quick activity for them and wanted to put it together quickly and not have a lot of clean up. She is a mom of young kids, I would say a lot of moms with young kids would do similar. This actually seems like more normal behavior than I am used to seeing out there. I feel like an elaborate tea party for your four young children is the stuff of pinterest.

[princessmahina]

I doubt tea is regularly drunk in the Shupe household. Besides, do kids even like tea? I have yet to meet one that does. We had mandatory tea parties once a year in elementary/middle school with real tea, and we all gagged it down. I don't think the lack of tea is particularly mean- though she should have been honest upfront with the kids about it being a "tea" party.

[morri]

hebal or fruit teas are quite popular here /

[constantgardener]

I doubt tea is regularly drunk in the Shupe household. Besides, do kids even like tea? I have yet to meet one that does. We had mandatory tea parties once a year in elementary/middle school with real tea, and we all gagged it down. I don't think the lack of tea is particularly mean- though she should have been honest upfront with the kids about it being a "tea" party.

I think Erika has mentioned she drinks decaff teas and coffee. My kids drink tea every day, I've just made my 11 year old his morning cuppa. But we're British! My mother in law weaned her children on bottles of milky tea - perhaps not to be recommended :o .

[princessmahina]

I think Erika has mentioned she drinks decaff teas and coffee. My kids drink tea every day, I've just made my 11 year old his morning cuppa. But we're British! My mother in law weaned her children on bottles of milky tea - perhaps not to be recommended :o .

Ha! Hot tea doesn't seem to be so prevalent here as it is elsewhere. I acquired the taste for it in my late teens- after years of turning my nose up at it! Other than one little cousin, I've legitimately never met a child who enjoyed hot tea. Iced tea is a completely different matter, but I'm not sure it's that common in the northwest.

I didn't remember Erika ever talking about tea, which is why I asked- I only remembered coffee and that grotesque hot chocolate recipe she posted. I did a search though and found that she drank a lot of it while on that crazy diet.

[Maggie Mae]

Ha! Hot tea doesn't seem to be so prevalent here as it is elsewhere. I acquired the taste for it in my late teens- after years of turning my nose up at it! Other than one little cousin, I've legitimately never met a child who enjoyed hot tea. Iced tea is a completely different matter, but I'm not sure it's that common in the northwest.

I didn't remember Erika ever talking about tea, which is why I asked- I only remembered coffee and that grotesque hot chocolate recipe she posted. I did a search though and found that she drank a lot of it while on that crazy diet.

I liked it when I was a kid, but in hindsight I think I just liked the free reign my grandma gave me with the honey. My tea was probably 1/2 tea and 1/2 honey. (only a slight exaggeration)

[princessmahina]

I liked it when I was a kid, but in hindsight I think I just liked the free reign my grandma gave me with the honey. My tea was probably 1/2 tea and 1/2 honey. (only a slight exaggeration)

Lol! The librarian was the one who hosted the parties for us. After the first one, she put a limit on the number of sugar cubes we could have. Too many kids drinking vaguely tea flavored sugar water. :lol:

It seems weird that I used to hate it, even with sugar. I drink a lot of it now, plain, and love it.

[princessmahina]

Zsu and Erika battling it on the LFOP facebook page. I love it when people argue with Erika!

[Phoebe]

Ha! Hot tea doesn't seem to be so prevalent here as it is elsewhere. I acquired the taste for it in my late teens- after years of turning my nose up at it! Other than one little cousin, I've legitimately never met a child who enjoyed hot tea. Iced tea is a completely different matter, but I'm not sure it's that common in the northwest.

I didn't remember Erika ever talking about tea, which is why I asked- I only remembered coffee and that grotesque hot chocolate recipe she posted. I did a search though and found that she drank a lot of it while on that crazy diet.

I loved hot tea as a child, and love it now -- at my dad's house, Sunday morning breakfast was some types of eggs (usually scrambled or omelettes), toast, and hot tea. Eggs optional. :lol: Earl Grey, Constant Comment, and peppermint tea were our top 3, but occasionally I'd have Darjeeling or Oolong, depending on the toppings on the toast...butter, honey, jelly, cinnamon sugar...

Dang, now I need toast and tea.

[Wingnut]

Zsu and Erika battling it on the LFOP facebook page. I love it when people argue with Erika!

That is funny :D I cannot stand Zsu and her beliefs but you have to admit she can destroy Erika intellectually.