Let’s Hear The Facts Before Jumping Onto The ‘Kate Gosselin Beats Her Kids’ Bandwagon

kate gosselinListen, we’re not huge fans of the controversial reality mom Kate Gosselin around these corners. We don’t agree with everything she does. But that doesn’t mean that we’ll be hopping on the “Kate Gosselin beats her children” bandwagon anytime soon. Call us crazy, but child abuse isn’t really a joking matter to us. And it’s not the type of thing that you accept as fact when it’s reported by a source like Radar Online.

So, a close friend of Kate’s bitter ex Jon Gosselin and supposed journalist, Robert Hoffman, has written a tell-all book about the reality mom of eight. It’s titled, “Kate Gosselin: How She Fooled The World,” because obviously Hoffman has a thing for subtlety. The man claims to have mysteriously gained access to two journals Kate used to organize her thoughts  and recall events when she was writing her own books, Multiple Bles8ings and EightLittle Faces.

In these journals, Hoffman says that the mom writes about using a wooden spoon to beat her children, as well as pulling them up by their hair. One example of this behavior supposedly occurred when three of Kate’s children got sneaky and took M&Ms that they weren’t allowed to have. Hoffman says that Kate wrote about the incident saying, ”I really, really lost it! I pulled Collin up by the hair, and I spanked them so hard!”

If Kate Gosselin was really using extreme physical discipline on her children, then maybe we would have something to talk about. But we have no idea that she’s actually doing so. Forgive me, but the word of someone who is friends with her ex and who sold his story to Radar simply is not a reliable source to me. The fact that the tabloid website is pushing this story so hard, like by interviewing child abuse advocacy groups and tricking them into making noncommittal and general statements then applying it to Kate, only makes me doubt the veracity of the claims more.

The fact that Gosselin uses some spanking as discipline actually isn’t new. She was seen by paparazzi spanking one of her children and told a reporter, “I love my children and when they misbehave, I discipline them as I deem appropriate for the situation.” Now, I’m not a fan of physical discipline at all, but I think we can all agree that there’s a difference between a spanking and beating your children because you’re a cruel and horrible person. The second story is obviously the one that Hoffman is trying to sell.

Interestingly enough, Gosselin wouldn’t be the only reality TV mom with controversial discipline practices. Michelle Duggar has supported blanket training, a type of discipline for young children that involves spanking or scaring them anytime they move off of their blanket. . They promoted Michael and Debi Pearl‘s book “To Train Up A Child,” which certainly advocates for extreme physical discipline.

If we want to have a discussion about spanking, I’m all for that. I think parents should talk about physical discipline more and why it’s not always the best answer. But that’s not what is going on here. People are clutching on to a completely biased and likely fabricated “tell-all” to vilify a woman who has always had trouble in the press. This is sad and unfair, no matter who it is happening to. So let’s all take a step back and give Gosselin a little respect. I don’t know her, but I do know better than to believe the bestie of a disgruntled ex with magical access to a woman’s diary.

(Photo: Josiah True/ WENN.com)

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