[OneProudMum]

For those of you who have not watched the show this is a brief run down.
You swap lives with another wife for a week. For the first half you have to live by their rules. For the second half you get to set rules that must be followed by the entire family.

1. What is your idea of the worst nightmare family to walk into?

2. What type of family do you believe would be an enlightening and beneficial experience for you?

3. What rules do you think you would set (values that are important to you)?

4. What are the flaws or difficulties in your family that you are aware of that are likely to be an issue for the other wife?

5. What are the positive "things" that the other wife is likely to acknowledge about your family?

Have fun

This post has been edited by OneProudMum: 29/12/2012, 10:58 PM

[baddmammajamma]

As you keep expanding the questions, I keep editing!

1) Nightmare would be learning that I am swapping with Margaret Abbott or Ann Romney -- and that I am left with an uber-conservative (temporary) spouse who holds a lot of views that offend me to my core. I really don't think I could rise to the challenge.

2) I think it would be enlightening for me to do a swap with a rurally-based family, particularly with a family who "works the land." I have only lived in major cities/suburbs of major cities, and all of my jobs as an adult have been desk-based/professional services. (ETA: Cezanne's answer is very intriguing)

3) My ground rules would be (1) "All family members should be treated with respect." I wouldn't be able to deal with a temporary partner who disrespected me or the kids, nor could I handle kids who have zero respect for adults and (2) "Let's have some fun." Regardless of family situation, I'd want to smile and laugh at least a portion of each day.

4) I don't consider these to be "flaws" with my family, but these are things that might make a swap with our family difficult for some women: (1) I could imagine that some would find it tough to (temporarily) parent a child with special needs (2) any woman who needs a lot of positive reinforcement/verbal praise from a partner in order to feel validated/appreciated would be up Shit Creek without a paddle because my husband just doesn't dish it out (though he is a lovely guy).

5) So many pluses! We are a very laid back, down-to-earth family, and our house is a place where people like to gather. All of us have very good senses of humor, and we are genuinely good, honest people who care about others. My husband and I have a very equal partnership, and he would treat any temporary spouse with respect. Oh yeah, and we have every cable channel under the sun, great food & a well stocked wine closet.

This post has been edited by baddmammajamma: 29/12/2012, 11:00 PM

[cezanne]

1. What is your idea of the worst nightmare family to walk into?
A family that is intolerant of diversity - can't stand views that are insular/ill-informed/prejudiced etc etc

2. What type of family do you believe would be an enlightening and beneficial experience for you?
I guess I have always found it difficult to relate to families that place high expectation on appearance, possessions and the outward facade. I'm sure i could learn more about why people have such values IF they aren't interested in the values of others. Not saying I would necessarily share their views, but I'm sure I would learn something!

3. What rules do you think you would set (values that are important to you)?
Acceptance, love, respect... for everyone in the family group.

I always wonder about those shows - it just illustrates how different we all are!

This post has been edited by cezanne: 29/12/2012, 10:32 PM

[OneProudMum]

Sorry guys I just didn't want to offend anyone and start an all in brawl!

Will reinstate my post in the morning.

[Azadel]

Sorry guys I just didn't want to offend anyone and start an all in brawl!

Will reinstate my post in the morning.

I would really like to reply

[OneProudMum]

Done! Fire away! I added another 2 questions for good measure!

This post has been edited by OneProudMum: 29/12/2012, 10:47 PM

[TiredbutHappy]

1. Worst nightmare would be with a family who loved to hunt and killed their own meat (I'm a vegetarian).

2. Most enlightening would be a large family who were really good at making do with what they have (I'm a dreadful spendthrift)

3. I couldn't handle a family that was racist or violent, so acceptance of others would be a priority.

[OneProudMum]

Thanks to the replies thus far! It is the exact sort of discussion I wanted to encourage.

This post has been edited by OneProudMum: 29/12/2012, 10:55 PM

[Azadel]

1. What is your idea of the worst nightmare family to walk into?

A family with strict ideas of gender roles. (Can I be brutally honest here) A family with a lot of teenagers - not that is my issue with prejudice, I bet they'd be lovely and I hope we would both learn from this. A family heavily into shooting or motor racing, I bet we'd be their nightmare.


2. What type of family do you believe would be an enlightening and beneficial experience for you?

A family with a lot of teenagers. It would scare me at first but I hope I would bring grace. (Edit - I mean grace in how I dealt with things, not that I would give it to them)

3. What rules do you think you would set (values that are important to you)?

It would depend on the originating family's rules! Respect for all people. Work first, play later - the work doesn't get more fun so best get it out of the way.

4. Without elaborating too much, what are the flaws in your family that you are aware of that are likely to be an issue for the other wife?

I'm not sure if it's a "flaw", but we don't have a car. I'm not sure how someone from the outer suburbs would go riding my bike everywhere...

This post has been edited by Azadel: 30/12/2012, 07:21 AM

[Jellyblush]

Oh, this is good!

1. What is your idea of the worst nightmare family to walk into?

As with others, a racist or intolerant family.

2. What type of family do you believe would be an enlightening and beneficial experience for you?

A large, loud, chaotic family. I would find it really challenging but I think it would do me good.

3. What rules do you think you would set (values that are important to you)?

Respect first and foremost. Value on education as a pathway to future choices about the future.

4. What are the flaws or difficulties in your family that you are aware of that are likely to be an issue for the other wife?

Not sure as from watching the show it is mainly the husband/partner that the 'new wife' has issues with, not the kids....and I don't have one! (hope that doesn't disqualify me from the thread)

5. What are the positive "things" that the other wife is likely to acknowledge about your family?

Strong work ethic, respect for others, lots of love