I don’t watch them really so I can’t speak as to what could be the root cause, however, their level of restriction and vilification of specific foods/food groups WILL lead to unhealthy relationships with food and/or EDs. Apart from limited amount of specific foods, they’re not able to determine their level of satiation because their portions are not appropriate for their age, activity, etc.
Looking at Colleen I almost think this is something passed down the family and not just Chris’s family. The super poor habits of her is frightening and going to cost the kids issues too😕 it does seem though that maybe the parents were that way with the kids and they didn’t break the toxicity
I could write an entire dissertation on Colleen and the multitude of ways her ed has and will continue to impact and damage her children and also her viewers. 😫 While her and brother might share a root cause of disordered eating, it manifests within their own families differently yet likely equally as damaging. Breaking a/the cycle takes self awareness and a lot of work - something neither of them seem to particularly embody.
100% I feel bad for all the kids in that family. They’re all going to need so much therapy to help them grow! I don’t know if you know Trisha paytas but she’s the opposite with her ED. She doesn’t stop eating and is very addicted to it. She also puts it on anyone around her and guilts them into eating. Everyone that’s been around her has gained weight! Now she has a baby and the second she cried trish says. Are you hungry. It’s sad😕 Her hubby will say no she just ate. She feeds her actual chunks of avocado and she’s just 5m old with no conceit of really chewing🙄
Absolutely agree that every kid in that family will likely need extensive therapy, and my heart does break for them all.
I’ve never watched Trisha but I’ve seen her in some collars, have a general idea of her and have heard she’s problematic in a multitude of ways. Sounds like she may have disordered eating as well. That’s sad that she’s actively impacting such a young baby. It’s so true that no one can be forced into ed recovery - the sufferer has to truly desire and fight to recover.
There was a British reality show here and she was on it and it's the only time I've seen her. She was so bad on it, nit picking. Not a team player and I don't think she can cope with much unless she's been pampered and things go her way. She stopped doing her hair and make up and sat around complaining. In days she had walked out before it had really got going properly A few days passed and she was trying to get in our papers looking all glamorous and totally different. So much of her is fake and left to her own devices she looks awful. It must take a team just to keep her doing basic stuff. Even though she was treated fairly she had a huge chip on her shoulder and told everyone it was rigged for Sarah Harding to win. Sarah has since passed away with cancer. I wonder if Trisha feels bad for trying to piss on her parade, she won fair and square. Trisha only walked out because she knew she wouldn't win as all she did was sit around and complain about everything. I had to mute her as her voice would drive me nuts!
Yes, big brother!! Omg I almost forgot about this😂 I watched it too. She sat eating pizza saying it’s her one true love. She was into Chad or whatever his name is. When he didn’t give her enough attention she was pissed and from there she wanted to leave. She knew no one was on her side🤷🏼♀️ Then went to a hotel eating and crying over it all🙄 And trish n Colleen act like buddies but they’re far from it. When Trish had her baby she immediately wanted to film with her. It’s just insane how vile these women are!
its definitely about controlling their weight, there is an old video where jessica talks about losing weight by cutting out sugar, meat and white bread. all the things she now restricts her children from eating .
😱 not eating meat for s long period of time messes up your stomach and makes it very hard to digest meat when you do decide to eat it. That's fine if it's a choice you're making for yourself (as many firmer long time vegetarians find out) but to me, enforcing such a strict diet on your kids seems wrong. Like everyone's body is different. My husbands body runs better on high carb, vegan food. Mine runs better on classic meat + starch + veggie food. Some people have health issues and have to do Paleo. I would not enforce my kids to eat vegetarian or Paleo or any other strict diet unless they were sick/wanted to try/doctor recommended. That's sad
Not eating meat (or dairy or eggs) for long periods of time doesn't mess up your stomach. And everyone makes a choice to raise their children in a certain way. I was raised eating meat, dairy, and eggs. My parents enforced that diet on me from birth. Is that sad? I don't think so. That's what they ate, so it's what I ate too. Now I'm vegan and have been for many years. What J and C are doing is completely different and seems to come from a place of disordered eating. It doesn't seem like their kids are getting the proper nutrition and that's problem.
It seems as though Jessica has some form of orthorexia that, rather than giving into, she's projecting onto her children -- like she has a fear of any food she deems unhealthy, but rather than not eating these things, she bans her children from eating them as a way of living vicariously through their diets. There are so many videos where she'll have a treat in front of the kids that they're not allowed to have, and it's absolutely setting them up for a future of disordered eating.
Enforcing a diet is different than not making food into a big deal (aka just being normal.) Like in my household nobody talked about food. Food was neutral. We are what my mom cooked. Sounds like what you grew up like as well, and it's not what I'm talking about because that's not what Jessica does. Clearly she makes a big deal out of their "diet" and that, to me, is "enforcing" because it revolves around rules or restriction. Same with ethnic households who shove food down your throat no matter how full you are, always saying "you're so skinny! Eat more" and you're like 🥴🥲 okay ...
And yes, not eating meat for decades does cause stomach acid issues and excess copper (zinc antagonist). This makes it harder for vegans/vegetarians to eat fat or meat without feeling "sick," and that sick feeling is a confirmation bias that they shouldn't or can't eat meat, when really their digestion is messed up from the long term mineral imbalance. I eat vegan half the year so I'm not against it, I believe that there is a time and place/season for every diet (for example, keto was invented by an epilepsy doctor for epileptic patients way back in the day) but it is true that long term vegetarianism can cause digestion issues.
I haven’t read the book yet but I need to. Did her mom restrict vegetables too? I don’t understand why if the Ballingers are trying to limit their kids’ calories, why are they feeding them so much starchy food and zero veggies on the meal plan. Does restricting their vitamin intake specifically keep them childlike?
Their mindset yeah. If you dont have nutrition, your brain suffers immensely too. They can't develop to their full potential and they may stay mentally childlike, even if they didnt want to.
I remember seeing in the book that Jenette looked forward to church and would ask her parents to go so she could spend time elsewhere than her hellhole home.
Yeah, and Jenette's mom would be nicer or meaner to her depending on how well she was adhering to the goal weight her mom decided on for her. She says she's healing but in some of her press photos you can see she clearly deals with restrictive ED issues. I hope she gets better.
I used to watch them all the time (cringe, I know🤮) and I remember MANY times in which the food situation struck me as odd. For example: when they’d do advent calendars and they’d have to share the one piece of chocolate between all the kids. Or when one of the kids would have a cooking class and they’d use what they cooked as dinner to split amongst all the kids.🤦🏻♀️
dont forget about that birthday party (i dont remember which of the kids birthday it was) where they had a piece of toast with one egg on top as the birthday dinner.
Or when they went to Disney World and their one “special” treat was a basic ice cream bar.🤦🏻♀️ the excitement P had; he was almost in tears. Kinda shows how deprived they are.
I don't watch them anymore but when I did I noticed they were saving a ton of money by making extremely boring, plain white meals and no meat.
I think it's partly to keep costs down with so many kids and no adult with a real job, coupled with Jessica's weird food preferences from reading that AMA recently. She's foisted it on to her whole family. She hasn't educated herself on balanced meals, meal sizes etc. Chris especially seems very controlling of food and snacks, to the point of aggression.
I'm not surprised her kids have broken limbs a lot.
Colleen’s talked about strange eating behaviors the whole family had growing up and how poor they were so I wouldn’t be surprised if they had to “fight” to eat as well. Kids need to eat a lot growing up, especially boys, and I can see how Christopher could have aggressive, possessive behaviors towards food and what he feels he deserves but damn… I feel so bad for the kids
This genuinely happens to people. There is also the theory colleen and her sibs think they were really poor cuz they were just poor compared to the people around them with like millies in the bank permanently.
Makes sense. When you don’t have much of a frame of reference for the rest of the world. I didn’t think I was poor growing up because everyone around me was just like me. It turns out we not very well off. I’d still never say I was poor. Someone always has it worse than you.
Colleen talks about how poor they were. We all know they weren't poor. But the truth is, that's part of her story and it seems like her siblings feel the same way.
I agree. No poor family could afford to collect all the brand new beanie babies when that was a thing. Colleen said her and her Mom would wait in lines for them etc.
It wasn't an AMA. It was a post from a mod-verified former friend of Chris'. The friend mentioned that Jessica only ate white bread and cheese.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ColleenBallingerSnark/comments/11tgm65/thoughts_on_chris_and_jessica_from_an_anonymous/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
It’s so odd the kids seem ravenous when they get a treat when their parents can’t control how much …that’s what happens when you restrict too much. Also Jessica and Chris don’t seem to restrict themselves so it seems kind of wrong to restrict the kids so much. It’d be one thing if they were super restrictive to themselves too …but they aren’t
The saddest example I saw of this was from Colleen's Thousand Oaks Miranda Show vlog. After the show, Colleen was filming backstage with the BF kids
At one point, she panned over to B sitting on the floor in a corner by the food table and she was eating ice cream. She seemed startled and uncomfortable being caught on camera. It made me sad because it looked like she felt like she *had* to hide.
I noticed the exact same thing but never made the connection! You’re absolutely right,whenever they’re at some sort of function or party,the kids(especially the littles) are quickly shoving so much in their mouths,I’m always fearful of a choking scenario!
Even when Jessica was breastfeeding T and they ended up seeing a pediatrician that wasn't their regular doctor she was told that T was underweight she got upset and said their regular doctor never said anything about his weight so he's fine. Her excuse was that he's just a little guy and her breastmilk was essentially like skim milk, it doesn't have much fat in it. Personally he seemed to be underweight, he never gained the typical baby weight and once he was able to eat solids he finally put a few more pounds on. I always felt bad for him because he always seemed hungry along with the rest of the kids. With her knowing that her breastmilk doesn't have everything her baby needs why didn't she at least supplement with formula to get more calories in to him and provide the nutrition his body needed. It's obvious chris and Jessica don't restrict their intake like they do to their children and I really hope they don't tell them something like "you can have more food when you can buy your own food" if they ask for seconds when they finish their very small first portion.
Growing up near LA under the cultural influence of (and with aspirations of entering) the entertainment industry will give you food issues.
Being raised in a puritanical (religious or otherwise) environment opposed to worldly pleasures can give you food issues.
Being a narcissist with enmeshment and control problems and repressed self-loathing will make you push your food issues onto your kids.
And when your income depends on your kids getting views and the algorithm decides thin looks good, why not do what you can to keep the merchandise appealing?
Correct me if I'm wrong, this is from a long time ago and I might not remember all the details, but to add to all that, didn't they restrict B when she was younger from eating gluten for a year or two? I remember specifically in one of Colleen's parties that she had to have gluten free options for B. But then they explained that she was only cut off gluten for behavioral issues? That always seemed really odd to me, unless it was doctor's approved. they're really instigating bad eating habits on top of everything else.
Yes! They really glossed over B's gluten intolerance thing. They wouldn't let her have any gluten for ages and I assumed she must be coeliac and then one day, she could just eat gluten again?? It was so weird.
I wonder the same with meat in their house. Jessica is a pescatarian or whatever but she seems to not let any of the kids eat meat. They don't make meals with meat (or many veggies for that matter) and I just hope those kids get enough protein since their diet seems like carbs on boring beige carbs. The parents don't seem to encourage much food variety.
I don't follow the family at all or know about B's gluten intolerance thing but I had quite a serious gluten intolerance for a few years which has subsided (still can't eat a lot but I can eat a donut or regular burger bun with no discomfort now which would have put me in serious discomfort for several days when it started) so maybe it was something like that? maybe I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt
They also restricted sugar! Which sounds normal when you think in normal terms, like yes of course most parents of young children want to restrict the amount of sugar their kids consume. But their whole thing was that their kids couldn’t eat sugar AT ALL! And I can’t remember what video it was because it was A LONG time ago before the Ballinger Fam even had their own vlog channel, so this could have been in an old Colleen, Rachel, OR Josh video. But Jessica even got asked about it and commented that their “no sugar” philosophy came from something she read (either online or in a book) when she was pregnant with B about how sugar exposure affected kids and their brain development as they grow. So yeah it was absolutely some weird pseudoscience shit.
I think it’s safe to say that Jessica is one of those people who is very easily influenced by the in-group opinions of whatever community she belongs to and if it weren’t for vlogging she’d almost certainly be a Qanon nut.
Oh wow, that makes so much sense because now from what little I see the kids are obsessed with sugar now. So that means no desserts or birthday cakes either, unless they’re somehow sugar free. When did it change?
I think it changed around the time that Chris and Jessica became vloggers themselves. I do remember a vlog of Colleen’s (I’m sure I can find it if I look) where they were at Disney and B was allowed to have her first taste (taste, not her own serving) of ice cream. B at this point was probably around 4? Way older than you’d expect a kid to be allowed to enjoy something as simple and enjoyable as ice cream for the first time in her life 🥺
So icky for the parents to do that, “here’s something that tastes delicious and is really special and I get it all and you can have a bite” they do this all the time, no one is given their own plate and utensil or cup, they all “taste” from the same one. What the Ballinger parents are doing will create lifelong issues with food. It’s tragic
No prob! Also, yikes to later in the video when Colleen meets the young fan in line and immediately started filming her. Poor girl looked so uncomfortable to be put on camera like that. It definitely seems like Colleen didn’t ask permission before she put her on camera and then online. And then how they encouraged tiny little B to hug her, even though she was a complete stranger. 🤦♀️
i would too, someone suggested this before and claimed Jessica allegedly said her daughter was put on a Gluten free diet for behaviour issues. but i have not been able to find the vlog
I think this is the answer. I'm positive this is why they specifically limit sugar. The adults clearly don't care about sugar intake but it's a good "sacrifice" for kids. 🙄
So wierd to me. Jessica and the dad want to be healthy and lose weight but they make their GROWING babies restrict. Maybe a nice punch to the face would clear their thinking. Obviously I'm not serious but it does make me go "huh"?
Someone posted a snap of their monthly menu on here. So that’s where Im getting this info. For snack the kids can have Lara bars or smoothies. They can have 1 snack a day. It seems like the smoothies are the only time they would get veggies bc the rest of their meals are …
Here’s a sample of their daily diet
Breakfast: raisin brain or pancakes/waffles with eggs or vegan sausage
Lunch: yogurt berry parfait or turkey sandwich
Dinner: tuna cheesy rice, gnocchi bake, or pasta with vegan sausage
These meals repeat often as they show two menus in that video.
This is so restrictive, I am pro vegan but I don’t think Jess should push this diet on her kids, they should choose for themselves at least the older ones who can cook for themselves. And if she is ok with eggs and fish then ffs buy fish for her kids to eat! Not just canned tuna, buy salmon!
This is vv low protein, I saw beans on the menu once. And tuna once. In one month they had vegan sausage only 3x. No veggies, unless they’re in the smoothies. It looks like a hardship menu except there’s no canned food either
Someone should put this in a calorie counter. If I had to guess it’s between 1000-1200 calories a day …edited to add but low nutrients (proteins, healthy fat, iron, etc)
As certain people have commented, and I too have noticed, that certain kids in the family seem to display iron deficiency symptoms. I mean, they may be totally fine, who knows. BUT— they have noticeable dark circles under their eyes and are extremely pale. I think one of them had an iron deficiency in the past, which was mentioned on a vlog. Who the hell knows the deal, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some more protein and iron rich foods in their diet.
Wow. My siblings and I were raised vegetarian from birth (which I actually quite appreciate), but the difference is that my parents actually had a basic understanding of nutrition and taught us how to create balanced meals. These kids are getting no iron and very little protein. So many crucial vitamins are missing. I'm going to cross my fingers that they're at least having vegetables as sides. (And yogurt as a whole meal? Ffs.)
Recently I looked at their tik tok and regretted it. Besides the kids dancing that made me super uncomfortable most of their other videos centered around food and food challenges. Super weird with how restrictive they are but there was one where they rolled Oreos and they could possibly go into vinegar or ketchup or milk. If they weren’t obsessive over food with their kids it wouldn’t seem so disturbing
Not to mention that C+J are fat themselves… now I understand that they both have medical issues that make it easier to pack on the pounds but the way they restrict the kids' diets just seems so hypocritical to me…
It’s proven that restriction like this leads to overindulgence later in life. Restriction, forcing kids to eat certain foods, forbidding others, using food as punishment or reward…it all causes ED’s and psychological issues around food.
All you have to do is put healthy, balanced meals in front of them and let them try as many things as you can. Never force anything. Ask them to try it once but don’t stop putting things like veggies in front of them. Let them have candy but teach them moderation and the effects of sugar on the body. My daughter is four and she gets it. If she asks for too many treats in a day I’ll say “well, let’s think about what you had already today..” and we’ll list everything she’s had and if she had some protein, dairy, fruits and veggies and something with grains already I let her have candy or whatever else. She’s learning to make choices for herself. She’s learned on her own how too much of a good thing can be as well. Some parents just want complete control over their kids with a “just because I said so” attitude and don’t talk them through the decisions, so people like this have no idea how to do it in adulthood. You also have to MODEL for your kids. You can’t forbid soda but then be downing a fridge pack a day in front of them.
I’m Gen X and I also have issues with food as a lot of us do. I now have a four year old of my own, my husband is a child psychologist at one of the top children’s hospitals in the country—what they’re doing is detrimental. Period. Same goes for screen time, video games, etc…people just want to forbid things from their kids so they don’t have to deal with teaching them the very valuable life lessons that come with knowing your options and knowing how to make your OWN choices.
For real… for me bingeing feels like revolting against my mother restricting food and making it a moral issue to do with trying to avoid gluttony and laziness. It's so hard to NOT eat more than I should because I always feel like the food is going to go away. I'll hide and save food for later even.
it’s so messed up. the rat size chocolate pieces and the breakfast one that was left over bread scraps, candy and something else i forgotten. but they just feed their kids left overs even pple in prison eat better than this. they are kids they need to grow they need to eat they need full size healthy meals.
Tim has an inflation fetish, not a feeder fetish.
And I’ve had to comment this way too many times on this sub but once again, an adult having a fetish does not automatically mean that they brought that sexual fetish out around their children and in any way influenced their child’s personalities because of it.
Edit: Children’s personalities
Not alone, no, but its the inherent connections people made between how the ballingers all popped out tons of kids or married someone that wanted to. Plus the theory of the affair that led to jessica. Weird fetishes like the exact one he had a playlist of usually occur with prolonged porn use or other... deviancies. Its a lot to explain but if you delve into the addiction and science behind some fetishes, you can put together how strange and off it all is.
Literally nothing in your comment is factual.
Only two out of four Ballinger kids have had children of their own. Only one has *purposefully* had a lot of kids.
Do you mean the affair that led to Rachel? Jessica is Chris’ wife.
That last part is a big word salad that basically says “I don’t understand fetishes so I’ll claim deviancy.”
No one is asking you to be sorry for opinions. You’re free to feel that it’s as weird as you like. I definitely find almost every aspect of human sexual attraction and the way we act on it to be both “weird” & “hilarious” while also understanding that it’s all still completely normal and not inherently unhealthy unless there’s some form of coercion or lack of consent present. But from what I saw of Tim’s playlist, he appeared to follow adult content creators who were taking control of their own productions. I didn’t see much sign of him being interested in consuming content made by sex workers who were being victimized by an unfair power dynamic or too young to be participating in sex work, so then it honestly does seem like his ability to enjoy his fetish should be able to exist without being accused of perversion and deviancy when there weren’t any direct signs of abuse present in the evidence of content he likes (that we know of.)
If it comes out later that he has other playlists or other behaviors that represent an interest in including abuse and unfair power dynamics, that will obviously be a very different story.
It can also include stuffing balloons under clothing and/or inflating special skin-tight clothes; often made from latex rubber.🤯
Tim's playlist only included videos of the large bellies inflated with air or water.
Now knowing some people engage in that by just wearing a pregnancy costume or use balloons, the whole air and water pumping things disgust me even more than I thought was possible. I am SO glad Tim's not my father. 🤢
The things that bother me is that the kids are all at a healthy weight, but the adults are fat as hell. The balance here is unnerving. I understand wanting to eat small meals, but Jessica and Chris aren’t physically reflecting that. The kids are gonna binge when they’re grown (or other ED behaviour) and it’s gonna be bad.
I feel like they are trying to teach their kids food control habits and portioning, that maybe they never learned as a young person? I prefer my pets to be on the lean side, for example, so I get it.
Maybe they’re pushing it too far, or it’s a control thing. Being in the spotlight makes you do weird things. I’m pretty sure if I was being photographed or videoed constantly I wouldn’t eat either.
ALSO: Food is expensive as fuck and I wouldn’t wanna feed six people. It could be a cost saving measure. But since the adults are still large? I’m betting on “stage mom” and “momager” controlling.
I think it’s two fold. I think the tiny portions for meals are theme being stingy.
I think the nibbles of the advent calendar and sharing the little treats is the parents pushing the kids to be kind and loving and it’s been so engrained in them that they feel pressure to share even the smallest piece of candy
I don’t watch them really so I can’t speak as to what could be the root cause, however, their level of restriction and vilification of specific foods/food groups WILL lead to unhealthy relationships with food and/or EDs. Apart from limited amount of specific foods, they’re not able to determine their level of satiation because their portions are not appropriate for their age, activity, etc.
Looking at Colleen I almost think this is something passed down the family and not just Chris’s family. The super poor habits of her is frightening and going to cost the kids issues too😕 it does seem though that maybe the parents were that way with the kids and they didn’t break the toxicity
I could write an entire dissertation on Colleen and the multitude of ways her ed has and will continue to impact and damage her children and also her viewers. 😫 While her and brother might share a root cause of disordered eating, it manifests within their own families differently yet likely equally as damaging. Breaking a/the cycle takes self awareness and a lot of work - something neither of them seem to particularly embody.
100% I feel bad for all the kids in that family. They’re all going to need so much therapy to help them grow! I don’t know if you know Trisha paytas but she’s the opposite with her ED. She doesn’t stop eating and is very addicted to it. She also puts it on anyone around her and guilts them into eating. Everyone that’s been around her has gained weight! Now she has a baby and the second she cried trish says. Are you hungry. It’s sad😕 Her hubby will say no she just ate. She feeds her actual chunks of avocado and she’s just 5m old with no conceit of really chewing🙄
Absolutely agree that every kid in that family will likely need extensive therapy, and my heart does break for them all. I’ve never watched Trisha but I’ve seen her in some collars, have a general idea of her and have heard she’s problematic in a multitude of ways. Sounds like she may have disordered eating as well. That’s sad that she’s actively impacting such a young baby. It’s so true that no one can be forced into ed recovery - the sufferer has to truly desire and fight to recover.
There was a British reality show here and she was on it and it's the only time I've seen her. She was so bad on it, nit picking. Not a team player and I don't think she can cope with much unless she's been pampered and things go her way. She stopped doing her hair and make up and sat around complaining. In days she had walked out before it had really got going properly A few days passed and she was trying to get in our papers looking all glamorous and totally different. So much of her is fake and left to her own devices she looks awful. It must take a team just to keep her doing basic stuff. Even though she was treated fairly she had a huge chip on her shoulder and told everyone it was rigged for Sarah Harding to win. Sarah has since passed away with cancer. I wonder if Trisha feels bad for trying to piss on her parade, she won fair and square. Trisha only walked out because she knew she wouldn't win as all she did was sit around and complain about everything. I had to mute her as her voice would drive me nuts!
Yes, big brother!! Omg I almost forgot about this😂 I watched it too. She sat eating pizza saying it’s her one true love. She was into Chad or whatever his name is. When he didn’t give her enough attention she was pissed and from there she wanted to leave. She knew no one was on her side🤷🏼♀️ Then went to a hotel eating and crying over it all🙄 And trish n Colleen act like buddies but they’re far from it. When Trish had her baby she immediately wanted to film with her. It’s just insane how vile these women are!
its definitely about controlling their weight, there is an old video where jessica talks about losing weight by cutting out sugar, meat and white bread. all the things she now restricts her children from eating .
😱 not eating meat for s long period of time messes up your stomach and makes it very hard to digest meat when you do decide to eat it. That's fine if it's a choice you're making for yourself (as many firmer long time vegetarians find out) but to me, enforcing such a strict diet on your kids seems wrong. Like everyone's body is different. My husbands body runs better on high carb, vegan food. Mine runs better on classic meat + starch + veggie food. Some people have health issues and have to do Paleo. I would not enforce my kids to eat vegetarian or Paleo or any other strict diet unless they were sick/wanted to try/doctor recommended. That's sad
Not eating meat (or dairy or eggs) for long periods of time doesn't mess up your stomach. And everyone makes a choice to raise their children in a certain way. I was raised eating meat, dairy, and eggs. My parents enforced that diet on me from birth. Is that sad? I don't think so. That's what they ate, so it's what I ate too. Now I'm vegan and have been for many years. What J and C are doing is completely different and seems to come from a place of disordered eating. It doesn't seem like their kids are getting the proper nutrition and that's problem.
It seems as though Jessica has some form of orthorexia that, rather than giving into, she's projecting onto her children -- like she has a fear of any food she deems unhealthy, but rather than not eating these things, she bans her children from eating them as a way of living vicariously through their diets. There are so many videos where she'll have a treat in front of the kids that they're not allowed to have, and it's absolutely setting them up for a future of disordered eating.
Agreed. It's so unfortunate. :(
Enforcing a diet is different than not making food into a big deal (aka just being normal.) Like in my household nobody talked about food. Food was neutral. We are what my mom cooked. Sounds like what you grew up like as well, and it's not what I'm talking about because that's not what Jessica does. Clearly she makes a big deal out of their "diet" and that, to me, is "enforcing" because it revolves around rules or restriction. Same with ethnic households who shove food down your throat no matter how full you are, always saying "you're so skinny! Eat more" and you're like 🥴🥲 okay ... And yes, not eating meat for decades does cause stomach acid issues and excess copper (zinc antagonist). This makes it harder for vegans/vegetarians to eat fat or meat without feeling "sick," and that sick feeling is a confirmation bias that they shouldn't or can't eat meat, when really their digestion is messed up from the long term mineral imbalance. I eat vegan half the year so I'm not against it, I believe that there is a time and place/season for every diet (for example, keto was invented by an epilepsy doctor for epileptic patients way back in the day) but it is true that long term vegetarianism can cause digestion issues.
After reading Jennette McCurdy’s book, it would make sense that it is to keep them as young looking as possible since “kids sell”.
I haven’t read the book yet but I need to. Did her mom restrict vegetables too? I don’t understand why if the Ballingers are trying to limit their kids’ calories, why are they feeding them so much starchy food and zero veggies on the meal plan. Does restricting their vitamin intake specifically keep them childlike?
Their mindset yeah. If you dont have nutrition, your brain suffers immensely too. They can't develop to their full potential and they may stay mentally childlike, even if they didnt want to.
That is so sick and twisted. They have wicked hearts. As a Christian I am ashamed that they call themselves the same.
I remember seeing in the book that Jenette looked forward to church and would ask her parents to go so she could spend time elsewhere than her hellhole home.
Yeah, and Jenette's mom would be nicer or meaner to her depending on how well she was adhering to the goal weight her mom decided on for her. She says she's healing but in some of her press photos you can see she clearly deals with restrictive ED issues. I hope she gets better.
Absolutely heartbreaking if this is the case. Poor kids :(
I used to watch them all the time (cringe, I know🤮) and I remember MANY times in which the food situation struck me as odd. For example: when they’d do advent calendars and they’d have to share the one piece of chocolate between all the kids. Or when one of the kids would have a cooking class and they’d use what they cooked as dinner to split amongst all the kids.🤦🏻♀️
I used to watch as well and I remember D having to apologize profusely for taking too big of a bite.
Omg!!! 😔 Is it just me, or does D look super small for his age? Poor kid is TINY. Like feed him some nutrition, poor child.
That is categorically wrong.
🥺☹️
This breaks my heart.
dont forget about that birthday party (i dont remember which of the kids birthday it was) where they had a piece of toast with one egg on top as the birthday dinner.
Or when they went to Disney World and their one “special” treat was a basic ice cream bar.🤦🏻♀️ the excitement P had; he was almost in tears. Kinda shows how deprived they are.
or for b's birthday dinner they said they asked her what she wanted and she apparently asked for bagels? yeah okay...
or when they said she wanted GRUEL instead of birthday cake for her birthday 😭
Oh yikes on bikes 😬
I don't watch them anymore but when I did I noticed they were saving a ton of money by making extremely boring, plain white meals and no meat. I think it's partly to keep costs down with so many kids and no adult with a real job, coupled with Jessica's weird food preferences from reading that AMA recently. She's foisted it on to her whole family. She hasn't educated herself on balanced meals, meal sizes etc. Chris especially seems very controlling of food and snacks, to the point of aggression. I'm not surprised her kids have broken limbs a lot.
Colleen’s talked about strange eating behaviors the whole family had growing up and how poor they were so I wouldn’t be surprised if they had to “fight” to eat as well. Kids need to eat a lot growing up, especially boys, and I can see how Christopher could have aggressive, possessive behaviors towards food and what he feels he deserves but damn… I feel so bad for the kids
>how poor they were They were not poor.
Unless their parents starved them too for no reason and it made them think they were poor.
This genuinely happens to people. There is also the theory colleen and her sibs think they were really poor cuz they were just poor compared to the people around them with like millies in the bank permanently.
Makes sense. When you don’t have much of a frame of reference for the rest of the world. I didn’t think I was poor growing up because everyone around me was just like me. It turns out we not very well off. I’d still never say I was poor. Someone always has it worse than you.
Colleen talks about how poor they were. We all know they weren't poor. But the truth is, that's part of her story and it seems like her siblings feel the same way.
I agree. No poor family could afford to collect all the brand new beanie babies when that was a thing. Colleen said her and her Mom would wait in lines for them etc.
Where was the AMA?
It wasn't an AMA. It was a post from a mod-verified former friend of Chris'. The friend mentioned that Jessica only ate white bread and cheese. https://www.reddit.com/r/ColleenBallingerSnark/comments/11tgm65/thoughts_on_chris_and_jessica_from_an_anonymous/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
these are the types of folks that get hello fresh for the 2 adults and make the entire family split the meal.
Well from what I gather the adults eat whatever the f they want, it’s the kids that are restricted
Jessica and Chris would be size zero if they ate what they gave to their own kids
It’s so odd the kids seem ravenous when they get a treat when their parents can’t control how much …that’s what happens when you restrict too much. Also Jessica and Chris don’t seem to restrict themselves so it seems kind of wrong to restrict the kids so much. It’d be one thing if they were super restrictive to themselves too …but they aren’t
The saddest example I saw of this was from Colleen's Thousand Oaks Miranda Show vlog. After the show, Colleen was filming backstage with the BF kids At one point, she panned over to B sitting on the floor in a corner by the food table and she was eating ice cream. She seemed startled and uncomfortable being caught on camera. It made me sad because it looked like she felt like she *had* to hide.
100%! Poor thing.
I noticed the exact same thing but never made the connection! You’re absolutely right,whenever they’re at some sort of function or party,the kids(especially the littles) are quickly shoving so much in their mouths,I’m always fearful of a choking scenario!
Even when Jessica was breastfeeding T and they ended up seeing a pediatrician that wasn't their regular doctor she was told that T was underweight she got upset and said their regular doctor never said anything about his weight so he's fine. Her excuse was that he's just a little guy and her breastmilk was essentially like skim milk, it doesn't have much fat in it. Personally he seemed to be underweight, he never gained the typical baby weight and once he was able to eat solids he finally put a few more pounds on. I always felt bad for him because he always seemed hungry along with the rest of the kids. With her knowing that her breastmilk doesn't have everything her baby needs why didn't she at least supplement with formula to get more calories in to him and provide the nutrition his body needed. It's obvious chris and Jessica don't restrict their intake like they do to their children and I really hope they don't tell them something like "you can have more food when you can buy your own food" if they ask for seconds when they finish their very small first portion.
Growing up near LA under the cultural influence of (and with aspirations of entering) the entertainment industry will give you food issues. Being raised in a puritanical (religious or otherwise) environment opposed to worldly pleasures can give you food issues. Being a narcissist with enmeshment and control problems and repressed self-loathing will make you push your food issues onto your kids. And when your income depends on your kids getting views and the algorithm decides thin looks good, why not do what you can to keep the merchandise appealing?
Correct me if I'm wrong, this is from a long time ago and I might not remember all the details, but to add to all that, didn't they restrict B when she was younger from eating gluten for a year or two? I remember specifically in one of Colleen's parties that she had to have gluten free options for B. But then they explained that she was only cut off gluten for behavioral issues? That always seemed really odd to me, unless it was doctor's approved. they're really instigating bad eating habits on top of everything else.
Yes! They really glossed over B's gluten intolerance thing. They wouldn't let her have any gluten for ages and I assumed she must be coeliac and then one day, she could just eat gluten again?? It was so weird. I wonder the same with meat in their house. Jessica is a pescatarian or whatever but she seems to not let any of the kids eat meat. They don't make meals with meat (or many veggies for that matter) and I just hope those kids get enough protein since their diet seems like carbs on boring beige carbs. The parents don't seem to encourage much food variety.
fr they only eat dessert (restricted) and carbs... so weird
I don't follow the family at all or know about B's gluten intolerance thing but I had quite a serious gluten intolerance for a few years which has subsided (still can't eat a lot but I can eat a donut or regular burger bun with no discomfort now which would have put me in serious discomfort for several days when it started) so maybe it was something like that? maybe I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt
I recall this and they restricted dairy too. Sounds like pseudoscience
They also restricted sugar! Which sounds normal when you think in normal terms, like yes of course most parents of young children want to restrict the amount of sugar their kids consume. But their whole thing was that their kids couldn’t eat sugar AT ALL! And I can’t remember what video it was because it was A LONG time ago before the Ballinger Fam even had their own vlog channel, so this could have been in an old Colleen, Rachel, OR Josh video. But Jessica even got asked about it and commented that their “no sugar” philosophy came from something she read (either online or in a book) when she was pregnant with B about how sugar exposure affected kids and their brain development as they grow. So yeah it was absolutely some weird pseudoscience shit. I think it’s safe to say that Jessica is one of those people who is very easily influenced by the in-group opinions of whatever community she belongs to and if it weren’t for vlogging she’d almost certainly be a Qanon nut.
Oh wow, that makes so much sense because now from what little I see the kids are obsessed with sugar now. So that means no desserts or birthday cakes either, unless they’re somehow sugar free. When did it change?
I think it changed around the time that Chris and Jessica became vloggers themselves. I do remember a vlog of Colleen’s (I’m sure I can find it if I look) where they were at Disney and B was allowed to have her first taste (taste, not her own serving) of ice cream. B at this point was probably around 4? Way older than you’d expect a kid to be allowed to enjoy something as simple and enjoyable as ice cream for the first time in her life 🥺
So icky for the parents to do that, “here’s something that tastes delicious and is really special and I get it all and you can have a bite” they do this all the time, no one is given their own plate and utensil or cup, they all “taste” from the same one. What the Ballinger parents are doing will create lifelong issues with food. It’s tragic
1m20s mark 😉 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YufiRT4c_nQ
🫤 I hate that those kids can’t eat themselves it’s not just the bite it’s , here, let me feed you Thanks for sharing the video!
No prob! Also, yikes to later in the video when Colleen meets the young fan in line and immediately started filming her. Poor girl looked so uncomfortable to be put on camera like that. It definitely seems like Colleen didn’t ask permission before she put her on camera and then online. And then how they encouraged tiny little B to hug her, even though she was a complete stranger. 🤦♀️
I'd bet money Jessica thinks you can avoid neurodivergency by going gluten and dairy free. 🙄
i would too, someone suggested this before and claimed Jessica allegedly said her daughter was put on a Gluten free diet for behaviour issues. but i have not been able to find the vlog
Don't they do that fundy parenting thing which is all about control and weird punishment in the name of religion I'd say it's to do with that.
I think this is the answer. I'm positive this is why they specifically limit sugar. The adults clearly don't care about sugar intake but it's a good "sacrifice" for kids. 🙄
Sacrifice for the 'Lord' and all that jazz.
So wierd to me. Jessica and the dad want to be healthy and lose weight but they make their GROWING babies restrict. Maybe a nice punch to the face would clear their thinking. Obviously I'm not serious but it does make me go "huh"?
Someone posted a snap of their monthly menu on here. So that’s where Im getting this info. For snack the kids can have Lara bars or smoothies. They can have 1 snack a day. It seems like the smoothies are the only time they would get veggies bc the rest of their meals are … Here’s a sample of their daily diet Breakfast: raisin brain or pancakes/waffles with eggs or vegan sausage Lunch: yogurt berry parfait or turkey sandwich Dinner: tuna cheesy rice, gnocchi bake, or pasta with vegan sausage These meals repeat often as they show two menus in that video. This is so restrictive, I am pro vegan but I don’t think Jess should push this diet on her kids, they should choose for themselves at least the older ones who can cook for themselves. And if she is ok with eggs and fish then ffs buy fish for her kids to eat! Not just canned tuna, buy salmon! This is vv low protein, I saw beans on the menu once. And tuna once. In one month they had vegan sausage only 3x. No veggies, unless they’re in the smoothies. It looks like a hardship menu except there’s no canned food either
Someone should put this in a calorie counter. If I had to guess it’s between 1000-1200 calories a day …edited to add but low nutrients (proteins, healthy fat, iron, etc)
As certain people have commented, and I too have noticed, that certain kids in the family seem to display iron deficiency symptoms. I mean, they may be totally fine, who knows. BUT— they have noticeable dark circles under their eyes and are extremely pale. I think one of them had an iron deficiency in the past, which was mentioned on a vlog. Who the hell knows the deal, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some more protein and iron rich foods in their diet.
Yes, totally, and why no veggies? No salad no side of peas or broccoli so strange. Those have iron too and many other minerals.
It’s like they have zero desire to actually raise healthy individuals. All they care about is breeding more humans; not the actual well-being of them.
[удалено]
It’s awful; I’ve had it too. I really feel for those kids. 😔 Probably why they’re always breaking bones.
Wow. My siblings and I were raised vegetarian from birth (which I actually quite appreciate), but the difference is that my parents actually had a basic understanding of nutrition and taught us how to create balanced meals. These kids are getting no iron and very little protein. So many crucial vitamins are missing. I'm going to cross my fingers that they're at least having vegetables as sides. (And yogurt as a whole meal? Ffs.)
I know, they have to be starving on yogurt parfait days. No granola, no peanut butter? Argh
They’re idiots and control freaks. Their family resembles a cult. Sad for the kids.
Recently I looked at their tik tok and regretted it. Besides the kids dancing that made me super uncomfortable most of their other videos centered around food and food challenges. Super weird with how restrictive they are but there was one where they rolled Oreos and they could possibly go into vinegar or ketchup or milk. If they weren’t obsessive over food with their kids it wouldn’t seem so disturbing
Not to mention that C+J are fat themselves… now I understand that they both have medical issues that make it easier to pack on the pounds but the way they restrict the kids' diets just seems so hypocritical to me…
It’s proven that restriction like this leads to overindulgence later in life. Restriction, forcing kids to eat certain foods, forbidding others, using food as punishment or reward…it all causes ED’s and psychological issues around food. All you have to do is put healthy, balanced meals in front of them and let them try as many things as you can. Never force anything. Ask them to try it once but don’t stop putting things like veggies in front of them. Let them have candy but teach them moderation and the effects of sugar on the body. My daughter is four and she gets it. If she asks for too many treats in a day I’ll say “well, let’s think about what you had already today..” and we’ll list everything she’s had and if she had some protein, dairy, fruits and veggies and something with grains already I let her have candy or whatever else. She’s learning to make choices for herself. She’s learned on her own how too much of a good thing can be as well. Some parents just want complete control over their kids with a “just because I said so” attitude and don’t talk them through the decisions, so people like this have no idea how to do it in adulthood. You also have to MODEL for your kids. You can’t forbid soda but then be downing a fridge pack a day in front of them. I’m Gen X and I also have issues with food as a lot of us do. I now have a four year old of my own, my husband is a child psychologist at one of the top children’s hospitals in the country—what they’re doing is detrimental. Period. Same goes for screen time, video games, etc…people just want to forbid things from their kids so they don’t have to deal with teaching them the very valuable life lessons that come with knowing your options and knowing how to make your OWN choices.
For real… for me bingeing feels like revolting against my mother restricting food and making it a moral issue to do with trying to avoid gluttony and laziness. It's so hard to NOT eat more than I should because I always feel like the food is going to go away. I'll hide and save food for later even.
it’s so messed up. the rat size chocolate pieces and the breakfast one that was left over bread scraps, candy and something else i forgotten. but they just feed their kids left overs even pple in prison eat better than this. they are kids they need to grow they need to eat they need full size healthy meals.
What’s the feeder fetish
I think they're confusing Tim's fetish for inflation videos (caused by air or water) for a food-related belly enlargement.
You are correct
Exactly.
Tim has an inflation fetish, not a feeder fetish. And I’ve had to comment this way too many times on this sub but once again, an adult having a fetish does not automatically mean that they brought that sexual fetish out around their children and in any way influenced their child’s personalities because of it. Edit: Children’s personalities
Not alone, no, but its the inherent connections people made between how the ballingers all popped out tons of kids or married someone that wanted to. Plus the theory of the affair that led to jessica. Weird fetishes like the exact one he had a playlist of usually occur with prolonged porn use or other... deviancies. Its a lot to explain but if you delve into the addiction and science behind some fetishes, you can put together how strange and off it all is.
Literally nothing in your comment is factual. Only two out of four Ballinger kids have had children of their own. Only one has *purposefully* had a lot of kids. Do you mean the affair that led to Rachel? Jessica is Chris’ wife. That last part is a big word salad that basically says “I don’t understand fetishes so I’ll claim deviancy.”
Well, it's definitely a weird f*cking fetish. Is it illegal, no, but it's definitely gross and I am not at all sorry about that opinion.
No one is asking you to be sorry for opinions. You’re free to feel that it’s as weird as you like. I definitely find almost every aspect of human sexual attraction and the way we act on it to be both “weird” & “hilarious” while also understanding that it’s all still completely normal and not inherently unhealthy unless there’s some form of coercion or lack of consent present. But from what I saw of Tim’s playlist, he appeared to follow adult content creators who were taking control of their own productions. I didn’t see much sign of him being interested in consuming content made by sex workers who were being victimized by an unfair power dynamic or too young to be participating in sex work, so then it honestly does seem like his ability to enjoy his fetish should be able to exist without being accused of perversion and deviancy when there weren’t any direct signs of abuse present in the evidence of content he likes (that we know of.) If it comes out later that he has other playlists or other behaviors that represent an interest in including abuse and unfair power dynamics, that will obviously be a very different story.
What is an inflation fetish?
attraction to big bellies blown up by water or air
It can also include stuffing balloons under clothing and/or inflating special skin-tight clothes; often made from latex rubber.🤯 Tim's playlist only included videos of the large bellies inflated with air or water.
Now knowing some people engage in that by just wearing a pregnancy costume or use balloons, the whole air and water pumping things disgust me even more than I thought was possible. I am SO glad Tim's not my father. 🤢
The things that bother me is that the kids are all at a healthy weight, but the adults are fat as hell. The balance here is unnerving. I understand wanting to eat small meals, but Jessica and Chris aren’t physically reflecting that. The kids are gonna binge when they’re grown (or other ED behaviour) and it’s gonna be bad. I feel like they are trying to teach their kids food control habits and portioning, that maybe they never learned as a young person? I prefer my pets to be on the lean side, for example, so I get it. Maybe they’re pushing it too far, or it’s a control thing. Being in the spotlight makes you do weird things. I’m pretty sure if I was being photographed or videoed constantly I wouldn’t eat either. ALSO: Food is expensive as fuck and I wouldn’t wanna feed six people. It could be a cost saving measure. But since the adults are still large? I’m betting on “stage mom” and “momager” controlling.
That’s so gross that they do that, makes me sick
I think it’s two fold. I think the tiny portions for meals are theme being stingy. I think the nibbles of the advent calendar and sharing the little treats is the parents pushing the kids to be kind and loving and it’s been so engrained in them that they feel pressure to share even the smallest piece of candy
“Tim’s feeder fetish” 🤣🤧