It’s difficult to stay on top of father duties with 18 children, but fans have called out Kody Brown for Ariella’s “ridiculous” habit on Sister Wives.
Kody Brown has put his family in the spotlight for nearly 13 years, so he is no stranger to criticism. From parenting techniques to the treatment of his children, fans have been outspoken about his behavior, and recently, Kody’s approach to Ariella has come under attack.
Youngest child Ari Mae is the princess of the Brown household, but TLC viewers aren’t allowing it to be an excuse for her bad habits, namely, her bizarre sleeping schedule.
Ariella Brown’s flexible sleeping schedule astounds Sister Wives fans
Sister Wives cameras captured her first day at kindergarten, but that wasn’t her only big milestone. According to Kody and Robyn, that was the six-year-old’s first time waking up early, instead of her usual 10:30am onwards.
“She’s always been a night owl from the time she was a baby,” Robyn Brown explained. “She always could stay up really really late and then she likes to sleep in.”
Ari has even slept in until 12pm and would “stay up all night if you’ll let her.”
The new 7am routine has meant that Kody and Robyn are able to sleep earlier and parent together since one of them is always occupied with attending to night owl Ari.
With kindergarten being a priority, Robyn admitted that the new sleeping adjustment is scary. “What she would do is if we woke her up early, she’d try to take a nap at 6pm.”
The issue has sparked lengthy conversations on Reddit and Facebook, with the majority are surprised that Ari is able to “call the shots”.
“They should have been preparing her for school and getting her sleep cycle established a long time ago,” one fan wrote.
A second noted future concerns for Ari: “Many children who have sleep problems as infants and toddlers continue to sleep poorly even once they start school. The sooner they fix Ari’s poor sleep habits, including starting a good bedtime routine, the better.”
Some have defended the pair, particularly since the pandemic forced families to stay indoors.
“Part of that has been covid. Not being around others,” another argued. “But also not socializing with other kids her age. I would imagine the schools are seeing a lot of this.”
A fourth Reddit parent empathized with the Sister Wives couple since everyone also assumed they permitted the bad habit. “I felt like everyone judged me and just assumed I ‘allowed’ this. I didn’t,” they recalled. “We still followed the bedtime routine even when she wouldn’t go to sleep. It’s not always poor parenting.”
Now that Ari is seven years old, hopefully, she has adjusted well.
Christine Brown announces notice amid wedding prep
While Kody is busy with his youngsters, his third ex-wife, Christine, has found her happily ever after. The 51-year-old officially split from Kody in 2021 after 27 years of marriage, but she’s already found a soulmate in David Woolley.
The couple announced their engagement on Friday (April 14) and she’s wasting no time in wedding planning. The mom of six posted a call-out welcoming local Utah businesses to plan her big day.
If we’re lucky, we’ll see her on another TLC show: Say Yes To The Dress!
