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Post by aln1982 on Apr 9, 2007 23:41:06 GMT -5
I was just thinking about my opinions on the BSC members' parents and wondered what everyone else's general opinions were on them. I know there are specific threads for most but none that really compare. I started thinking that there are a lot of similarities between Jack and Ed. I would really like to like them but... I do think they mean well and love their kids and want the best for them but are just too selfish and big kids themselves. They sometimes have good interaction with the girls but are more like "pals" and fail when it comes to real responsibility to their families. Ironically, I also see lots of similarities between Mrs. McGill and Sharon. Both are my favorite BSC moms and seem genuinely dedicated to their kids (not to say they don't make mistakes). They both seem to have good relationships with the girls - I like that. Watson (think of him as Kristy's dad) and Richard are both my favorite dads - probably because they remind me in lots of ways of my own. They are both pretty serious and straight-laced but willing to have fun and are fairly generous, big-hearted and good to their kids and others. Don't know much about Mr. Pike and Mr. Ramsey but they also seem similar. I like Mrs. Pike and Mrs. Ramsey in some of the books - they seem to be understanding and have good relationships with Mal and Jessi. I think both of them are a bit preoccupied, though. I don't have much of an opinion on Elizabeth in the BSC books but really enjoy her in the LS books and think she's a pretty good mom and a very good step-mom. Sometimes she seems almost strict, though, in the BSC books. Mrs. Stevenson is growing on me but is just not a warm and demonstrative person. I also feel like she puts too much on Anna Abby - though she does seem to come through for them when it counts. I think the Kishis are my least favorites as they seem a little distant and almost uptight and strict. But even they have good moments. Am I missing anyone?
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Post by sugarmonkey on Apr 10, 2007 7:59:54 GMT -5
In general, I think the relationships between the girls and their parents are the same as the relationships between the girls themselves. The closeness is told rather than shown. Only in the case of parental relations we aren't really even told. We are shown from time to time and those instances are all we have to draw from when forming our opinions. I think the readers are suppose to assume that the girls have a good basic relationship with their parents, but that there can be other factors that can complicate things. (I.E. Claudia not being like Janine, Mal and Jessi feeling they are treated like babies, Richard being strict, etc.) These other factors can add some realism much like the number of divorced parents was suppose to add realism. If the BSC all had wonderful home lives they would be really boring and a lot of readers wouldn't be able to identify with them.
How do I feel about that actual parenting? I think the parents were realistic in that they made mistakes and weren't perfect themselves. For the most part I think they are all good parents. Of course, real parenting involves being INVOLVED with your kids, but then we wouldn't have much of a book. The reason the parents didn't get involved so much of the time was so that they wouldn't interfere with the freedom the BSC has without parental interference. In a lot of children's adventure books (mysteries especially) mothers are either non-existent or are rarely mentioned, and fathers are usually too busy with work to really pay attention to their kids, thus giving the protagonists the space to explore. In the BSC books it's harder to come up with excuses for parents not to be involved and I think that is where the whole uninvolved parenting style comes in. Understanding that helps keep me from hating all the parents altogether.
I will say though that the Ramsey family is fast becoming my favorite as far as looking at the family as a whole. I just read Jessi's Horrible Prank and the scene where they are all coming home at the end of the day really shows how close they are IMO. I still think Jessi a flat character but when I read about how she interacts with her family I really like it. I also like Stacey's relationship with her mom. I have noticed that the BSC seem to be closer to their moms versus their dads (with the exception of MA). Even Abby talked more about how wonderful dad was versus how wonderful her mom has been after the accident. I know that when someone dies it's easy for your hindsight to be through rose colored lenses, but with the way women are portrayed in these books, why didn't Mrs. Stevenson get the Elizabeth treatment with praise for how she dealt with an absent husband and raised two kids on her own? I don't think the series needed another Elizabeth, I just don't think Abby/Anna's mom was really a character as much as a necessaty.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Apr 10, 2007 16:44:10 GMT -5
^ If the Ramsey family is your favourite, though, you have to pretend that Baby-sitter's Island Adventure didn't happen, though. Leaving an eleven-year-old alone with an eight-year-old and a baby for an entire weekend is criminal.
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Post by aln1982 on Apr 10, 2007 23:29:48 GMT -5
I know that when someone dies it's easy for your hindsight to be through rose colored lenses, but with the way women are portrayed in these books, why didn't Mrs. Stevenson get the Elizabeth treatment with praise for how she dealt with an absent husband and raised two kids on her own? I don't think the series needed another Elizabeth, I just don't think Abby/Anna's mom was really a character as much as a necessaty. I never thought of this but you're right. Maybe Elizabeth got so much praise for having 4 kids - though I don't think she was actually very responsible with all she put on them and it was her fault in the first place for having 4 kids with a jerk (I won't get started about big families - I'm an only child and very glad to be but know many feel differently about family size). Anyway, I agree about Mrs. S and also realize I forgot to mention Mr. S. He sounded like a great guy (but maybe seen through rose colored glasses like you said) and I wish he wouldn't have died before the books. I liked him in Abby's Book and almost cried when I read the part where he died. I also wish we knew more - or at least just had more consistant info - about MA's mom. I'll have to reread Jessi's Horrible Prank as I don't remember the Ramsey parents much in that one. As for leaving the kids alone, another case of my pretending that the BSC members are older so that I don't get annoyed by some of the totally unrealistic aspects of the book. I think it would actually be considered neglect to leave kids that young alone for a weekend.
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Post by sugarmonkey on Apr 11, 2007 10:06:28 GMT -5
I totally forgot about Island Adventure! Okay, other than that I guess the few times we see them interacting on a daily basis (and, you know, not when there is something important that they should be interacting about don't for fear of making someone "worry") is what makes me think they are a good family.
I don't like to think about Aunt C. To me she's just the Aunt Gertrude of the Ramsey family. In Jessi's Horrible Prank Mr. Ramsey's joking reaction to Aunt C's disgust at getting himself dirty while rolling on the lawn with the kids ("I guess Aunt Ceclia's going to have some work to do") made me think that the way he reacted to Aunt C's attitude may have served as a model for the kids. Maybe that's why Jessi started to deal with C better after she initially arrived. Okay, off topic.
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Post by sotypical42483 on Apr 11, 2007 12:14:36 GMT -5
I love the Ramseys. They're my favorite and seem pretty realistic. They also have some really cute scenes in Jessi's Gold Medal when they are playing in the sprinklers and talking about the pool and stuff. Also in Babysitters Remember, they seem really close I love scenes with Jessi and her family, Jessi seems kind of uptight sometimes (I suppose it could be the nerves her and Mal constantly feel being surrounded by *gasp* 13 year olds) and with her family she seems happy and relaxed. Not a fan of Sharon... my reasons are listed in her thread I love Richard and Watson, I hate when people think Richard is creepy, he seems like a really good guy to me and he tries hard with his kids (even with jeff, remember when he was trying to impress that little jerk and Jeff just made fun of him?!) and you can tell how much he adores Mary Anne.
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Post by aln1982 on Apr 11, 2007 15:45:49 GMT -5
Totally agree about Richard. I don't get the creepiness. I think Ed or Jack might be more apt to have an affair with one of their daughter's friends. (Hmmm.... possibilities for a fanfic of Jack having an affair with Stacey are forming in my twisted mind - sick!
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Post by hitzpink on Apr 11, 2007 20:40:04 GMT -5
I always kind of wished that Elizabeth and Watson wouldn't have gotten married so soon in the series so we could have seen Elizabeth be a single parent to her 4 kids for longer. She is one of my favorite BSC parents because it seemed like even when she had to juggle financially supporting them all by herself, she still spent a decent amount of time with them and created a nice family dynamic. I like the relationships between the Thomas kids, they seem very realistic (close, but not BFFs and still argue at times), and to me that reflects positively on Elizabeth's parenting.
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Post by booboobrewer on Apr 11, 2007 23:28:34 GMT -5
Yeah, I loved those scenes between Elizabeth and her kids before she got re-married. She seemed so genuine, with a good sense of humor.
I also really like the Ramseys, especially Mr. Ramsey. I never found Jessi and her family interesting to read about when I was a kid but I am really liking them more now.
I remember in the TWoP thread people used to rag on Richard frequently, it made me sad! I think he's endearing, uptightness and all. Mr. Stevenson was also another dad I liked that I've mentioned before, he was so fun-loving.
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Post by aln1982 on Apr 12, 2007 7:42:17 GMT -5
I love it when Richard tries to loosen up. The recent book that had me laughing was Dawn's Big Move with the underwear race. I think he bends over backwards for Jeff, especially, and really faces obstacles with forming a relationship with Sharon's kids because they are so close with Jack. This is something that Watson doesn't have with Elizabeth's kids as I think they pretty much see their dad as the jerk he is. The differences give both sets of relationships many interesting points. I really like reading about them. I also like reading about MA and Sharon - especially books where they are close. I really wish that MA would have come to see Sharon more as a "mom."
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2007 12:35:35 GMT -5
Some of my favorite Richard moments are in Dawn and the School Spirit War. I love how he kept teasing Sharon.
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lyricalangel
Sitting For The Newtons
Logan's love-bunny
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Post by lyricalangel on Apr 13, 2007 17:07:31 GMT -5
Yeah, I loved those scenes between Elizabeth and her kids before she got re-married. She seemed so genuine, with a good sense of humor. I also really like the Ramseys, especially Mr. Ramsey. I never found Jessi and her family interesting to read about when I was a kid but I am really liking them more now. I remember in the TWoP thread people used to rag on Richard frequently, it made me sad! I think he's endearing, uptightness and all. Mr. Stevenson was also another dad I liked that I've mentioned before, he was so fun-loving. I agree. I liked how they said that Elizabeth came around to each of her kids' rooms every night to have one on one time with them. A lot of parents do not do that. I also like Richard. Aside from the strictness, he tried so hard to be a good father/stepfather.
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inge
Junior Sitter
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Post by inge on Apr 15, 2007 15:34:19 GMT -5
My mom used to come to me and my brothers rooms when we were younger, so I liked to read about Elisabeth doing that. She seemed like a good mom
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Post by aln1982 on Apr 27, 2007 7:55:26 GMT -5
I just reread Dawn and the School Spirit War and (even though I thought the parents blew things out of proportion and were a little ridiculous) liked it when the BSC parents defended their kids. I like Mrs. Pike and Sharon, anyway, and enjoyed seeing them support their kids despite the fact that the other BSC parents - Watson and Elizabeth and the Ramseys - were sitting on the other side of the issue in support of their own kids' position. I wasn't reading very carefully and missed if reference to the Kishis was made. I can't see them getting involved in an issue like this. They just seem so indifferent but yet strict. I think they're by far my least favorite BSC parents (after the deadbeat dads, of course )
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Lauren
Sitting For The Newtons
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Post by Lauren on Jun 13, 2007 21:45:44 GMT -5
I think Richard went a little overboard with some of his rules in the beginning of the series, but he was a good parent. Not my personal favorite though.
Mr. and Mrs. Pike were my favorites out of the parents, though I think they can be a little too liberal with their kids.
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