Parenting Police! ‘Sister Wives’ Stars Have Had Their Fair Share of Mom-Shamers and Parenting Trolls

ROBYN BROWN VS. THE HAIR POLICE

Crazy hair, don’t care? Think again. People clearly care a lot when it comes to Ariella’s (Kody Brown and Robyn Brown’s youngest child’s) hair. In March 2022, Mykelti Padron (daughter of Kody Brown and Christine Brown) posted a sweet pic of some of the clan’s kids with a caption that read, “Miss Avalon hanging out with her Auntie Ariella and her Uncle Solomon making memories while the air mattress deflates.” Most commenters oohed and aahed over how big the kids had grown and how cute they were. “Aww so sweet!!!” wrote one commenter. “Cute kids!” wrote another. It was another story over on Reddit though where fans questioned the neglect of Arielle’s hair.

A Reddit thread a couple years back called out “Sobyn” (short for “Sobyn Robyn” as some like to call her for her frequent bouts of tears) over her hair-cutting skills. The original poster added a screenshot from the show along with a caption reading, “Things Sobyn cannot do 1) breakdance 2) cut poor Ariella’s hair. That’s a baby mullet…maybe that’s what the nanny does?”

Commenters were quick to pile on the critique. “Poor thing looks like she just escaped a Russian orphanage!” one wrote. Another stated, “That is terrible hair. Surely Robin could at least cut it into a bob. I would never let my little girl go around looking like that. Just wait till she is older and realizes her mother put her on national television looking like nobody takes any time with her.”

ROBYN BROWN’S PACIFIER GATE

Pacifier gate, take one. If it’s not her hair, it’s Arielle’s … pacifier. Fans spotted one in the 7-year-old’s mouth in a flashback clip from the show in August 2023 and went wild. A Reddit thread titled, “Ariella pacifier… 5-7? Even if this is 2 years old…” drew a storm of shame fire. The original post was removed for breaking “Rule 3,” which emphasizes not criticizing the kids, but scathing comments remain.

Words like “horrifying” and disturbing were thrown around. One wrote,“She’s now at an age where this is truly unacceptable and ridiculous.” Another chimed in, “Robyn wants all of her kids to act like babies forever so she can maintain total control.”

On X (formerly known as Twitter), the outrage was real. One user wrote, “I’m sorry I still don’t understand why Arielle has that pacifier in her mouth! Everyone is screaming it’s a “self soothing” thing but NO WAY would my 7 year old be doing that! #SisterWives and Kody was telling her she has a pretty dress with it in her mouth!”

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry guidelines do warn of complications that may stem from prolonged pacifier use. There are no known guidelines, however, for getting all worked up about someone else’s parenting choices.

MADDIE BROWN TAKES ON THE PACIFIER PATROL

The pacifier patrol presses on, and this Sister Wives star pushed back. Maddie Brown, daughter of Kody Brown and Janelle Brown, had it with being mom-shamed for letting her 2-year-old son, Axel, use a pacifier in October 2019. She fired off a post on Instagram taking the mom-shamers to task. Along with a photo of Axel with his paci in mouth, her caption began, “Axel’s paci is a hot topic and I receive countless [private messages], comments and all of it. People are just trying to be helpful, I get that. It’s not helpful though, it makes me feel worse because he was weaned at one point. It’s something I set up evaluations for, talk to his teachers about, talk to his doctors about because I get so much flack on here it stresses me out that much.”

She went on to talk about what a struggle it has been. Then ended with a plea to give moms a break. “I KNOW I am not the only mom who receives advice that is only meant to help but it ends up not being helpful at all. We as moms have enough guilt. Chances are, what you are about to say, has already been said to them 10000x by someone else just coming from a loving place as well. Unless the advice is asked for, just be supportive of the decisions being made. Its really that simple I promise. We are all trying out best here!”

MYKELTI PADRON VS. VACATION VULTURES

Can a mom get a break? Mykelti Padron certainly couldn’t when she posted a picture from her European getaway without (gasp!) her children in July 2023. She was trying to get tips on what to do with her breast milk while traveling, but instead got slammed for being away.

Her caption read, “ I’m on Holiday without my babies. I’m pumping to keep up my supply, I can’t donate it in the country I’m staying. So what are my alternative options…..?” Plenty of fans jumped in with helpful hints and support. But, of course, there were some quick to jump on her perceived audacity to vacation without her kids.

Responses included one incredulous commenter who wrote, “Did you leave your babies?” Another wrote, “You left Tony with all 3 babies” followed by a face palm emoji. Yet another hater chimed in, “Unpopular opinion, you shouldn’t be taking a vacation while breastfeeding. You have a fraction of your life to breastfeed your children and the ENTIRE REST of your life to vacation. Have some perspective.”Perspective, you say?

VIEWERS GO NUCLEAR OVER ROBYN BROWN’S NANNY

When fans found out Robyn Brown hired a nanny (who turned out to be her step-niece, Mindy Jessop) during Season 16 of Sister Wives, they were outraged. The big question everyone had — what the heck does the nanny do? Roybn doesn’t have a job and several of her kids are old enough to babysit, so they just couldn’t wrap their heads around the hired help, especially given the pandemic. In a December 2021 Reddit post titled, “Why does Robyn need a nanny,” the comments were swift and harsh.

“My theory is: she is lazy. In the episode the family had the campfire she didn’t want to take the kids because she would have to watch over them,” one fan wrote. “She has 2 kids and 3 adults/teens in her household (without counting her and Kody). Seriously, why is it so hard to watch over 2 kids?”

Some defended the decision with a backhanded slam. “She’s not very well educated or very smart so maybe the nanny is helping with online schooling?” one commenter wrote. “ It’s tough for everyone but maybe it’s beyond Robyn’s abilities?” Most were just not having it though.

On a Reddit thread with a GIF of Christine asking the pressing question, “What does the nanny do?” “Robyn should really be ashamed of herself. I mean, I don’t begrudge any other mom for wanting help but she’s living in a damn mansion, two parents who don’t work, three teenage kids and 2 school aged kids. Come the f–k ON. Also, you won’t let your sister wife who has been quarantined around your kids but you’ll let a NANNY into your house? GTFOH.”

THE CLEAN POLICE COME FOR CHRISTINE BROWN

When Christine Brown shared a photo of her mudroom on Instagram back in May 2020, she admitted it needed organizing and even posted a photo of some tools she’s picked up to help her do it. Many related to her struggle and praised her for keeping it real, but some just couldn’t resist shaming her for her messy mom ways.

“Your whole house is a mess,” one Instagram user wrote. “Clean it once in awhile.” Another wrote, “How about cleaning and organizing?” But it was the plastic water bottles that really sent people into a tizzy. “Start by getting rid of water bottles. One word. Environment,” one wrote. “Buy yourself and family members a water filter and a heap of reusable water bottles – that should make lots of room for getting rid of all those plastic water bottles!!!! ” chided another.

From yet another, “Way to fill up the landfills in your NEW state. Pay attention, please girl. It’s about the environment and NOT Kody. lol.” They have a point, but you know the saying about people in glass … mudrooms?

ROBYN BROWN POUNDED FOR HER PANDEMIC PRACTICES

Scary mommy? While COVID-19 put us all on edge, fans felt Robyn Brown pushed things over the edge, needlessly scaring her kids and not allowing them to socialize for fear of getting sick. They also wondered if she didn’t use the pandemic to secure one-on-one time with Kody.

She and Kody have also been criticized for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 despite their strict protocols at home. On a Reddit thread titled “I think Kody accidentally admitted COVID-19 rules are for Robyn,” commenters let loose. “Of course the rules were for robyn because they were far more than the CDC rules and robyn the helicopter mom, blew other medical things out of proportion. I had the idea that she was paranoid before the covid thing.”

Another wrote, “I think she is a lazy parent who wants everyone else to protect her children. After sol had all that dental work for bottle rotted teeth, he walks around with suckers in his mouth. She is always about shutting the kids up or passing them off to the nanny.”