Mr. and Mrs. Kishi

[aln1982]

Does anyone else think that Mr. and Mrs. Kishi seem really out of touch with what Claudia is doing? They do help her with her homework and stuff like that but don’t seem to know much about what is going on in her life. I guess this may not be completely there fault, though, because they do seem to try to talk to both her and Janine but Claudia refuses to tell them much (like in Middle School Mystery) because she is so convinced they don’t understand her. Maybe she isn’t giving them enough of a chance. I can’t relate at all to this situation as I’m really close to my parents and tell them almost everything and always have. I think that’s why it bothers me sometimes that the BSC doesn’t do the same. I think Mr. and Mrs. Kishi might understand Claudia better – Janine too – if both girls would let them in to their lives more.

[greer]

I think there are some real nice moments about the kishi family, though. Claudia and the Disaster Date, for instance, has some interesting insight into Claud and Mrs. Kishi's relationship.

[fluffy]

Too many of the books (like MSM) showed the Kishis being cartoonish squares. But Claudia and the Terrible Truth, where the BSC sits for a family with an abusive father, shows a nicer relationship between Claudia and her family, especially her mom.

[Deleted]

The Kishis were probably my least favourite parents in the series. They seemed completely uninvolved in their daughters' lives. Take Claudia's Nancy Drew fixation, for example - instead of just banning her from reading them, why didn't they make an effort to find more 'intellectual' mysteries to encourage her to read? The thing that most annoyed me about them was the fact that they seemed to play Claudia and Janine off against each other. Maybe they were hoping that by pointing out how much better Janine was doing in school they'd make Claudia feel so insecure/jealous that she'd push herself harder, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Plus, it's a really bad idea to foster that kind of competitiveness between your children - not just because it's bad for their self-esteem, but because it creates a hell of a lot of resentment.

I wonder if the Kishis dealt with Janine the same way they did with Claudia? Janine seemed to have a serious lack of social skills in the early books - whenever a BSC member turned up for a meeting, she'd talk down to them, and she didn't even seem to realise she was being rude. It doesn't matter if you're a genius - if you can't talk to your sister's friends without correcting their grammar, you're never going to be able to deal with the real world (or hold down a job, for that matter). Do you think the Kishis continually pointed out to Janine that Claudia was better at making friends than she was, or do you think they just ignored the problem? Either way, they were pretty ineffective.

[greer]

i think claud thought she had to hide the books. i don't really think they were outright banned. this is a girl who thought she was ADOPTED and didn't talk to her parents about for like 100 pages for crying out loud.

[aln1982]

^ I think you might be right. Things like that make me wonder if Claudia just assumed her parents didn't care and refused to let them in. I did get the impression in Mean Janine, though, that Janine felt the same way about her parents not knowing her. But maybe it was the same thing for her as for Claudia. Assumptions.....
I really liked Mr. and Mrs. Kishi in Terrible Truth, too.

[fluffy]

Jeez, you'd think one day Mrs. Kishi would be smoothing out Claudia's bedsheets and find a bunch of Nancy Drew books or a box of M&Ms or something underneath. I just wish there were more instances that showed Claudia having an understanding relationship with her parents.

[aln1982]

^ Me too. I think they have to know about the candy and Nancy Drews. Not sure why Claudia doesn't catch on that they do but then again, it's Claudia..... ;D

[lark]

^ I know. I always wondered if Claudia's parents ever went into her room EVER. Because it didn't seem that way. I know if I was hiding books and junk food all over my room at 13 my mother would have found it for sure when she was cleaning. But I guess Mrs. Kishi is too busy for that.

[Deleted]

greer said:

i think claud thought she had to hide the books. i don't really think they were outright banned. this is a girl who thought she was ADOPTED and didn't talk to her parents about for like 100 pages for crying out loud.

Yeah, that might have been the case. Maybe I'm being too harsh on the Kishis

[Penny Lane]

I know if I was hiding books and junk food all over my room at 13 my mother would have found it for sure when she was cleaning.

By the time I was 13, I cleaned my own room. Once a week, the girl who came over to do the "real cleaning" (dusting, scrubbing, etc), would polish/dustmop/wax/vacuum (depending) my floor, if my room was presentable. (It never was). I didn't want anyone in my room, and I don't think anyone really wanted to go in there. I never really thought it was strange that Claudia's parents just didn't know.

I did, however, freak out one day when I was watching Saved By the Bell and Zack's mom was putting away his laundry for him. I think he was a senior in high school in that episode. I had NO idea that people's parents did that. The most my mom would do was throw my stuff in a basket and put the basket on my bed for me to put away.

[aln1982]

^ My mom still puts away my laundry and cleans my room. ;D Guess I'm lucky.
I think Claud's parents probably did know about the junk food and books but she just didn't realize it and they didn't say anything about it because it wasn't as big of a deal to them as she assumed. Claudia isn't always the most perceptive person (World's Cutest Baby comes to mind....) ;D

[booboobrewer]

My mom was always in and out of my room so I always thought it was a little weird that the Kishis never came into Claud's or had anything to say about its messy condition. I kind of envied her for that but at the same time I wouldn't want my room to be a total pigsty anyway. My mom was/is a total neat freak, and if my room wasn't clean, she would clean it for me even if she didn't want to or I didn't want her to because, well...she's obsessive. I didn't know how to do laundry until I went away to college...even now when I go back she'll do my laundry and then be all "hey, wait a minute...you should be doing this on your own, it's about time anyway"

[lyricalangel]

^My mom always found anything I tried to hide in my room.LOL.

[mckay]

aln1982 said:

^ My mom still puts away my laundry and cleans my room. ;D Guess I'm lucky.

My mom still does my laundry. I'm the kind of person who lets it pile up until she's out of clean clothes, and that drives my mother crazy, so she just throws it in with hers.

Besides...our washing machine is really fussy and every time I use it, something goes horribly, horribly wrong ;D I did laundry while they were away for a few weeks and I swear, it took me half an hour to convince it to complete a proper cycle. It's older than I am, and grumpier too. Next time they leave town, I'm going to a laundromat.