Father's Dream Job

Those kids were old enough (except for the last two) to understand how important the parents' career was. It wasn't about the parents being selfish. The kids were the selfish ones because they never tried to adjust properly.

**Michael.JACKSON**

blynnpatton, I highly disagree with you. In fact, your assessment comes off as very one sided. Tom was totally think about what was best for his family when he took the job. Bigger house for all of them to fit in, larger income to make sure they are taken care of, and most of all, this dream job allowed Kate to go on her book tour albeit for a brief time. You say there are things more important to family than money, well take in consideration that its a family of 12 kids. Money is crucial in order for them to have clothes on their back, food on the table, and a roof over their head, so don't be naive. With Kate, the book deal meant a good opportunity for not only herself, but to make sure the family stays afloat. And you have to look at it this way, Tom and Kate busted their asses their whole lives taking care of their large family while balancing work. With a family that large with each kid with their own quirks, that is a huge undertaking. Tom's hard work rewarded him his dream job, and Kate's dedication to her family gave her the experience to write a book to spread her knowledge and wisdom to other large families. Tom and Kate deserved to move on up. Their kids, with the exception of Lorraine and Mark, were being absolute *beep* The younger kids couldn't stop acting like total asses, and Charlie was too busy being a mopey bitch instead of being a man and helping out with the family. You can accuse Tom and Kate stroking their egos, but the bottom line was that they took those opportunities to provide for their family and live their goals, hitting two birds with one stone.

Yes, the oldest one is old enough to understand, but he was also old enough to be selfish. The parents were being selfish, and they were definitely being most selfish towards the oldest kids (especially the son). Wasn't he a senior? That actually would suck a lot to have to move your senior year. He had to leave his girlfriend, his lifelong friends, everything he knew behind. I can totally understand why he was being so selfish. Who wants to move that close to graduation? Also, yes the dad did it in part for the kids well-being, but mostly for himself (he was bragging about being on Fox news the day they were moving into the new house!). Plus, Charlie didn't even want to go to college (even if he most likely would have been forced to go, he was clearly not excited about the prospect)! I mean, I understand why the parents chose to move and for him to take the job. Ultimately it would benefit them all, but the parents didn't try to help the kids adjust very well and that's why they continued to be unhappy and miss their old home. That said, Charlie was kind of a jerk to the parents before they even decided to move.

Also, watching it right now, and when Charlie goes to sign up for football the two coaches ask if he's offense or defense and he replies quarterback and they practically laugh at him. Then they told him not to wear his hat to try-outs. So Charlie totally had the worst end of the stick in this film! Lorraine does not seem to complain nearly as much and probably because she's older, but not so old that she's practically out the door. Lorraine was actually happy when the mom's book was getting published. Plus when someone made a remark about her and Charlie, she quipped back! So I think Lorraine was not being defiant and seemed to be accepting the move. Seriously, I do feel bad for Charlie though. He had a right to hate it there and want to move back. Annnnd (sorry it's on right now) the younger kids didn't seem that opposed to the move until they got there and their parents did nothing to help them adjust and just got wrapped up in their careers. There was just a scene where they talked about how the "happier" life their parents talked about was not happening and then talked about how both parents were constantly talking about their jobs now. So the kids pretty much get left feeling neglected and that's why they didn't like the move. Charlie just didn't like it cause he was so close to graduating and then no one in the new place even accepted him.

And yep! Lorraine is def. the only one remotely adjusting. It just showed a scene with her talking to the dad and she said she's been accepting the move so far and been mellow about it and Sara has the drama queen role down. She also mentions how she's benefited by them having more money. But then she tells dad their mom needs to come home because things are getting out of hand, as in the kids are going crazy! Then when the dad said he can't ask the mom to come home Lorraine says something like well then why don't you stay home more and he says I can't and talks about having a job that he loves. Sooooo yeah the kids were brats, but the parents weren't exactly doing their job either.

No, the kids were acting like brats. Extreme brats.

It's easy for people who never had to move to call the idea of moving hard, especially if the kids don't want it. I was a military brat as a child. Military brats are the children of active duty military and, in case people weren't aware of this, military families move around every 2-4 years. 4 years is for the lucky ones. I've known girls who have moved to a place only to move again six months later. And guess what, it's for the securement of their parents' job. These parents could retire early one, live on retirement and let the other spouse go to work, but they don't.

And there are loads of children like this. And they don't whine about it like the Baker children did.

All parents force their children to sacrifice so that they can pursue a career. The Baker children were extreme brats. Instead of trying to see the bright side of what the move would mean: happier parents, more money, more security, space for them all to roam; they couldn't get over the fact that they had to move. They wallowed and self pitied and they didn't help themselves at all.

And seriously, you can try and say that they were upset, but these children weren't just upset that they were moving, they were beyond bratty. These kids repelled off the roof, threw darts at each other, put buckets on their heads, constantly told each other to shut up, got into fights with people at school.

No, their parents weren't always there to help the kids get used to the new town, but still, these kids were horrible. I could understand a certain amount of rebellion and talking-back, but not that horrible of behavior.

Half-blood #7
"That's immortality my darlings."