Wife Swap: These Families Need More Than Just a New Wife and Mom for Two Weeks!

As a fan of reality TV, I find that Wife Swap does hold a certain magnetism for me. However, I am truly concerned about the sanity of some of the dysfunctional family members I see on the show. Before I give examples of that, I do want to stress the main point of this article. What attracts me to the show in the first place is seeing people change their lives for the better. That is the whole hook of the show; the viewers feeling "good" about seeing someone learn a lesson, having their eyes opened, and making their lives better, especially for the children involved. I think that is what is being passed off as the point of the show. However, if that were truly the goal, then there are some definite ingredients missing in this stew.

Let's walk through the show and find some flaws. First, note that the families chosen to be on the show are truly dysfunctional in some way. Some are either obsessed with adherence to rules that make their families "perfect" (such as the health and exercise families who insist on their children drinking nasty vitamin goo drinks, taking handfuls of vitamins, strict diet and exercise routines, and no free time allowed) or so far away from the norm that we are shocked at what we see (such as the family who insisted that all children sleep on mattresses on the floor along with the parents and were not allowed to have friends outside of the family). It would make sense that people so (fanatically) sold on their unique ideas of parenting would need to be treated very gently and carefully to be convinced to change.

I do like that the two swapped wives arrive at their "new" homes when no one is there, walking through the house and then reading the manual written by the "real" wife, which describes how she runs her home. That part is actually well-planned, allowing the new wife to become mentally prepared for what lies ahead. Now shouldn't this be a two-way plan? Why aren't the family members briefed on their new mom ahead of time? Wouldn't that be psychologically beneficial? Oh, but that might not make good TV, reducing the number of conflicts. Oops. Forgot how TV worked just for a minute there.

Wife Swap features much yelling!

Credit: free stock photo

Copyright: free stock photo