Erika Shupe *grim rictus* Large Families on Purpose Part 3

[slickcat79]

29 minutes ago, defraudingjezebel said:

The only reason Erika wants them indoors constantly is so she can control their every movement. She claims that her backyard is too muddy 9 months out of the year because of PNW weather. I live a mere hour south of her and although it rains often, I don't see mud everywhere. So in this case, when Erika says its muddy I think she is afraid of a small clod of dirt coming into contact with her deck. There are ways to get around tracking dirt into the house but she doesn't seem to give a shit. 

Hell, she has a walkout garage that's right next to the laundry area and clothing/shoe storage. Surely she can't care that much if there's a little dirt tracked into the garage? Oh wait, it's Erika...

[princessmahina]

6 hours ago, slickcat79 said:

Hell, she has a walkout garage that's right next to the laundry area and clothing/shoe storage. Surely she can't care that much if there's a little dirt tracked into the garage? Oh wait, it's Erika...

But she put a carpet in her garage! You can't get mud on the carpet in the mud room!

[picklepizzas]

I'm not a claustrophobic person, but I start to feel that way whenever people discuss the tiny shupe penitentiary. I think I'd rather be a rodriguii when they were crammed into that rv - bc at least they could run around outside during the day and got to travel. I think I might even rather be a maxwell, at least they get daily exercise and can move between each other's houses....*shiver* 

[iweartanktops]

7 minutes ago, picklepizzas said:

I'm not a claustrophobic person, but I start to feel that way whenever people discuss the tiny shupe penitentiary. I think I'd rather be a rodriguii when they were crammed into that rv - bc at least they could run around outside during the day and got to travel. I think I might even rather be a maxwell, at least they get daily exercise and can move between each other's houses....*shiver* 

Damn... I want to agree with you, but these are really bleak options. Yikes! 

Great points though. 

[Jingerbread]

22 hours ago, lawlifelgbt said:

Agree about the game theory thing. If I were an older Shupe, though, I would want to take over the cooking so I could sneak-eat. And, if I wasn't too hungry to think long-term, I would be going for the money instead of the other rewards. Even a small amount of money can buy some food. Not healthy, necessarily, but food with a lot of calories. How close to town are they? Maybe one could cover for the other while they go get something, or if they are in charge of a cart at Costco, they could sneak something into the cart or slip off for a cheap hot dog.

I really don't think the kids could get away long enough.  Didn't she say the boys like shopping with her, but had to go to hardware stores instead?  She'd notice something extra in the cart, and someone sneaking away.  I don't doubt that she keeps track of their money, and finds a way to tax them into giving it back to her.

47 minutes ago, picklepizzas said:

I'm not a claustrophobic person, but I start to feel that way whenever people discuss the tiny shupe penitentiary. I think I'd rather be a rodriguii when they were crammed into that rv - bc at least they could run around outside during the day and got to travel. I think I might even rather be a maxwell, at least they get daily exercise and can move between each other's houses....*shiver* 

 I might be the only person who'd do best as a Shupe (I enjoy a lot of the foods she mentions, and doubt I'd die too fast on their limited portions), but I just couldn't do all the screeching of the Rodkids or the lack of joy where even a soda is evil in the Hell of Max.  Also the chance of escape is probably highest as a Shupe.

[princessmahina]

I would take being a Shupe over being a Rodrigues- the food may be meagre, but it is food and it's somewhat healthy. I would also take being a Shupe over being a Maxwell because the food seems better, there are more options (cosmetology school maybe), the clothes aren't as frumpy, and there are non-fundie relatives they may be able to run to. 

The Shupe circus seems pretty bad, but fundie-wise, it's probably not too bad.

[Honeysuckle]

2 hours ago, picklepizzas said:

I'm not a claustrophobic person, but I start to feel that way whenever people discuss the tiny shupe penitentiary. I think I'd rather be a rodriguii when they were crammed into that rv - bc at least they could run around outside during the day and got to travel. I think I might even rather be a maxwell, at least they get daily exercise and can move between each other's houses....*shiver* 

I just can't even imagine the smell in the RV with all those people and just one RV bathroom. Sure they might use public restrooms much of the time especially while parked, but when they're on the road, yuck. I wouldn't be in love with either option but at least the Shupe house has more ventilation than that RV.

[DaffyDill]

5 hours ago, Honeysuckle said:

I just can't even imagine the smell in the RV with all those people and just one RV bathroom. Sure they might use public restrooms much of the time especially while parked, but when they're on the road, yuck. I wouldn't be in love with either option but at least the Shupe house has more ventilation than that RV.

Not to mention bathrooms and toilets...

[TurtleBelly]

Even though the bathroom is locked during the day and they have to ask mom for the key to use it, I'd prefer the Shupe house over the RV. And at least Shupe bathrooms appear to be kept clean all the time. I cannot imagine the smell and whatever gross buildup from condensation of 12 people's breath and sweat, etc, would be all over the inside of that RV. 

Our public school kids where I live get to take PE classes where they explore team games, "lifetime games" (like tennis, bowling), weightlifting, or programs like Crossfit, P90x, yoga, Pilates,  etc. The hope is they experience multiple ways of staying active and fit so that something will stick later in life. I think there can be a difference between being skinny and being fit. Not to mention the fun of trying to beat your peers at running the mile, or the camaraderie of being on a volleyball team, or whatever.  I hope the kids do exercise more than what we see in the blog or FB, but I'm not sure. 

[Hisey]

What? Erika locks the bathroom every day? 

[hauntedoklahoma]

41 minutes ago, Hisey said:

What? Erika locks the bathroom every day? 

There might be Privacy there.

Or Private Parts.

[princessmahina]

4 hours ago, TurtleBelly said:

Even though the bathroom is locked during the day and they have to ask mom for the key to use it, I'd prefer the Shupe house over the RV. And at least Shupe bathrooms appear to be kept clean all the time. I cannot imagine the smell and whatever gross buildup from condensation of 12 people's breath and sweat, etc, would be all over the inside of that RV. 

Our public school kids where I live get to take PE classes where they explore team games, "lifetime games" (like tennis, bowling), weightlifting, or programs like Crossfit, P90x, yoga, Pilates,  etc. The hope is they experience multiple ways of staying active and fit so that something will stick later in life. I think there can be a difference between being skinny and being fit. Not to mention the fun of trying to beat your peers at running the mile, or the camaraderie of being on a volleyball team, or whatever.  I hope the kids do exercise more than what we see in the blog or FB, but I'm not sure. 

Link for the bathroom lock? This sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't find it on the blog. I also don't see how this would work with the small potty-training kids who may not have full control over their bladder yet. Seems like a recipe for puddles. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

I vaguely remember something about the little kids not being able to control themselves from playing in the bathroom so it had to be locked. Please don't worry about the potty training. Erika potty trains the kids in one day each and they are all set. That being said, they wear pull ups for the next several years, but they are totally potty-trained in that one day. Why aren't they night trained too? Maybe they aren't allowed up at night to use the bathroom until a certain age? Who knows. I guess once you are old enough to do all the pee-soaked laundry, you are old enough to go to the bathroom at night. 

[iweartanktops]

What the hell? Can you imagine growing up in a home where you have to ask for a key to the bathroom? I know small children like to play in there, but surely there are more appropriate options, like, I don't know.... Supervision! 

[JillsFlowerHeadband]

49 minutes ago, iweartanktops6 said:

What the hell? Can you imagine growing up in a home where you have to ask for a key to the bathroom? I know small children like to play in there, but surely there are more appropriate options, like, I don't know.... Supervision! 

That would involve Erika actually paying attention though and ruin her precious schedule *maniacal grin*... orrrrrrrrr giving that responsibility to Karen and Melanie, although as big a control freak as she is I couldn't see that happening either. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

What is so dangerous about these fundie beliefs is that no one will admit how overwhelmed they are while they clearly are if resorting to locking bathrooms. I refuse to believe that anyone in these fundie situations are happy, the parents or the kids. 

[defraudingjezebel]

@princessmahina @iweartanktops6 @Eternalbluepearl

Quote from the "Occupying 3 Year Old Boys" Post:

Quote

One more thing had to implement was locking the bathroom door door knob upstairs when I was making dinner and all of the young ones were having free time, supervised by the older children.  Somehow the youngest 4 children were often getting in there and playing in the toilet when older siblings were not paying attention.  We had an exterior door knob lock on the knob itself, but the 3-year-old could technically get past those when he really wanted to and he would then let in the other 3 young children and they would ALL play!  So the door knob gets locked on that door from 4:30-6:00 pm; if the older children need to use that bathroom they have to get the key from me (same key as the laundry room door knob).

So apparently the door wasn't locked all day, only for 1.5 hours during which the kids would apparently "play" in the toilets. Still, how draconian. I have had stomach issues in the past and it would be awful to have to fetch the key from my mother before I could run to the bathroom. 

[docmom]

You don't have to lock the whole bathroom.  Get a toilet lock- doesn't require a key!  And note how it was all the older kids fault ("not paying attention").  Erika, if you choose to have eleventy kids, they are YOUR responsibility.  Not their siblings.

[iweartanktops]

22 minutes ago, docmom said:

You don't have to lock the whole bathroom.  Get a toilet lock- doesn't require a key!  And note how it was all the older kids fault ("not paying attention").  Erika, if you choose to have eleventy kids, they are YOUR responsibility.  Not their siblings.

First of all, thank you for clarifying @defraudingjezebel

And, yes, to all of the above! A toilet lock is perfect! And she totally blamed the older kids for "not paying attention." Of course, when I called her out on Facebook, for basically forcing her daughters to become teen mothers, she deleted my post. Alas, another example of this! 

I definitely did a lot of babysitting my younger brothers, however, it wasn't daily. I remember also being blamed for shit they did, but my dad was abusive, so.... 

[Eternalbluepearl]

30 minutes ago, docmom said:

You don't have to lock the whole bathroom.  Get a toilet lock- doesn't require a key!  And note how it was all the older kids fault ("not paying attention").  Erika, if you choose to have eleventy kids, they are YOUR responsibility.  Not their siblings.

I would have agreed with you, before I learned that parents are the "managers" of their homes, NOT the "do-ers." 

[Honeysuckle]

4 hours ago, Hisey said:

What? Erika locks the bathroom every day? 

Imagine if she didn't! The kids might start to think that their bodies were their own business, and just go to the bathroom willy-nilly! The outcome of that is unthinkable! Chaos! Disorder! Dogs and cats sleeping together! Kids who pee in their own home without express permission is a slippery slope leading to kids who want to pick their own flavor of jelly bean.

[Hisey]

3 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

I vaguely remember something about the little kids not being able to control themselves from playing in the bathroom so it had to be locked. Please don't worry about the potty training. Erika potty trains the kids in one day each and they are all set. That being said, they wear pull ups for the next several years, but they are totally potty-trained in that one day. Why aren't they night trained too? Maybe they aren't allowed up at night to use the bathroom until a certain age? Who knows. I guess once you are old enough to do all the pee-soaked laundry, you are old enough to go to the bathroom at night. 

She *says* she potty trains them in one day, but she also mentioned some of the kids having numerous accidents after the potty training. There's also the mention of the kids lacking self-control and needing diapers or pullups even after the potty training.

Her potty training is so weird too. Evicting everyone else from the house, keeping the small child in the bathroom with her all morning, touching the child's underpants and giving them a snack for "keeping dry." I don't get it, and it doesn't sound like it really works.

How about this, Erika. Watch your child, get a sense of when he is ready, and begin potty training then. Be willing for him to have a few accidents outside the bathroom. Put him in underpants, explain what he needs to do, and offer lots of encouragement and help. This should work, but if it doesn't, go back to diapers and try again in a few months. No salty snacks, bathroom isolation or water deprivation are needed.

[Honeysuckle]

9 minutes ago, Hisey said:

 

Her potty training is so weird too. Evicting everyone else from the house, keeping the small child in the bathroom with her all morning, touching the child's underpants and giving them a snack for "keeping dry." I don't get it, and it doesn't sound like it really works.

This sounds like a slightly modified version of Toilet Training In Less Than A Day, which is a book that's been around for a while. I remember reading it in the 80s (as a child I was obsessed with reading parenting books) and there's a lot of stuff about practicing running to the potty, practicing pulling pants up and down, and definitely a bit about touching the underwear to check dryness. It seems like an odd and stressful method to me, but I also don't schedule my day in 15 minute increments that could be disrupted by taking more than four hours to toilet train a child.

[mango_fandango]

16 minutes ago, Honeysuckle said:

This sounds like a slightly modified version of Toilet Training In Less Than A Day, which is a book that's been around for a while. I remember reading it in the 80s (as a child I was obsessed with reading parenting books) and there's a lot of stuff about practicing running to the potty, practicing pulling pants up and down, and definitely a bit about touching the underwear to check dryness. It seems like an odd and stressful method to me, but I also don't schedule my day in 15 minute increments that could be disrupted by taking more than four hours to toilet train a child.

I don't get it either. Those photos of Tyler aren't very appropriate either- sure his penis is covered, but it's still not a good idea to post photos like that on the internet. 

[Jingerbread]

5 hours ago, defraudingjezebel said:

@princessmahina @iweartanktops6 @Eternalbluepearl

Quote from the "Occupying 3 Year Old Boys" Post:

So apparently the door wasn't locked all day, only for 1.5 hours during which the kids would apparently "play" in the toilets. Still, how draconian. I have had stomach issues in the past and it would be awful to have to fetch the key from my mother before I could run to the bathroom. 

We have kids at our place pretty often, and sometimes my nephew or one of the other kids would try to get into the bathroom to play, usually with my makeup.  We put a lock on the door, but here's the smart part!  The key is on a peg to the right of the door high enough that the littler kids can't get it, but not too high for adults and bigger kids to reach it!  No one has to ask to use the toilet, and no worry about a little one getting on there by slipping out of our sight.