Jon and Kate’s family concerned about kids
Kate Gosslin’s brother Kevin Kreider and her sister-in-law Jodie Kreider are concerned the children are being overexposed on the reality show “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ on TLC
In a interview with Harry Smith on “The Early Show,” the Kreiders explain their feelings toward the show.
The transcript is posted below courtesy of CBS.
HARRY SMITH: You were here in May as the show was ready to go back on the air, and there were all these rumors. And what were your biggest concerns then when we first talked?
JODIE KREIDER (KATE GOSSELIN’S SISTER-IN-LAW: That this would all be played out very publicly and that the children will have damage being done to them and into the future.
SMITH: Right. And so, now we’ve seen their relationship devolve before our eyes. Their lives are literally being played out in the tabloids day after day after day as we just looked at Michelle Gielan’s story. What is your greatest concern about your sister and about her family right now?
KEVIN KREIDER, KATE GOSSELIN’S BROTHER: What we’re seeing now is a family that’s in crisis. And we feel like TLC needs to be held responsible for what they’re choosing to air.
J. KREIDER: Absolutely.
K. KREIDER: We feel like it’s a — it’s value they’re setting aside for the monetary gain. And it’s a ratings thing, but they’re playing with these kids’ lives, and they’re our nieces and nephews. And that’s really heartbreaking. And we feel like there’s alternatives like they can limit the amount of episodes. We were talking about, what, 100 episodes in two years. I mean, that’s overexposure, and these children don’t have their childhood. They don’t have that privacy that they need.
SMITH: Right. What happened? What do you think happened? Because you all were in several episodes. You participated in this. As you were participating a couple of years back, did it seem innocent enough to you?
J. KREIDER: At the time, yes, it was a documentary. And I think, you know, TLC snatched this family out of their little lives and placed them into this fishbowl and provided contracts and freebies that they could not pass up. And therefore, now all of this is being played out, and the children are not the priority. And that is why we are here. We want to call out for change. We want a politician that has a heart for kids, that sees this crisis, that wants to be involved in positive change, to partner with us to get protection for these children.
SMITH: You’ve tried to have these conversations with your sister, with your brother-in-law to what avail?
K. KREIDER: Well, it’s hurtful because like you mentioned a while back when we were involved, we had that interaction daily, and it was easy to say, like, hey, Kate, maybe they shouldn’t be, you know, going in that direction. Now, I feel like the network has tried to cut us off, and…
J. KREIDER: Has control.
K. KREIDER: Yes, and they have control. And they’re being surrounded by these people that have — you know, they’re paid positions, and they’re kind of like looking more for the money rather than the welfare of the children.
SMITH: Do you feel like you’ve lost your sister to fame?
J. KREIDER: Yes.
K. KREIDER: If you want to put it like that, yes. Sure.
SMITH: When you see this all play out now, these are people you love, people you care about, what does it make you think? What does it make you feel?
J. KREIDER: It’s tragic, and that is why we are continuing to speak out for the children. They need to be looked at as the first priority. Damage has already been done, and we want to see…
SMITH: How do you mean? What do you think?
J. KREIDER: There needs to be limited amount of hours being filmed, days being filmed to give the children their childhood. There needs to be trust funds set up for each child for the money that is being made from each episode to protect their financial…
SMITH: Futures.
J. KREIDER: … security, yes. And then also there needs to be guidelines, ethical guidelines for filming children, because they’re filming private moments such as bathroom time. And these things need to be addressed not only for our nieces and nephews but for all children.
SMITH: Because that stuff will live on the Internet always…
K. KREIDER: Right.
SMITH: … and by the time these kids get to be teenagers or whatever…
J. KREIDER: And this is the damage.
SMITH; … then it’s — then there’s really — it gets to be really kind of curious and odd. Have you — in the last couple of weeks or even month or so, have you tried to reach back out to your family?
K. KREIDER: Oh, yes, we’ve definitely tried. And we’ve been successful to a point. But I think the more this goes on and the more we do want to speak out for our nieces and nephews, the harder it is to connect with Kate and Jon. But we love them very much. We want to make that very clear. But our voice is going to continue to be for our nieces and nephews. We feel like this is our obligation as being the aunt and uncle that we need to speak out.
J. KREIDER: Absolutely. We love them too much to turn our back and not to address the issues that we see that we have been somewhat involved in. There needs to be change.
SMITH: Thank you both for taking the time to come and visit with us this morning, and we hope somehow a bridge is built back between you and your sister.
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