Amber Johnston: Complex Motherhood Under Scrutiny

Many fans of 7 Little Johnstons criticize Amber Johnston online. However, one TLC fan recently defended her. Noting that while she can be “manipulative” and critical, she’s had a “hard life” and tries to be a good mom to her five kids. Actually, she seems to have a complex approach to motherhood.

Being A Little Person Mom

Unlike average-sized moms, little people who raise kids with dwarfism face a host of issues. For example, as Trent often said, living in a little person’s world is a challenge and they face problems all the time. Children with dwarfism, therefore, need to learn to stand on their own feet early. So, the parents can’t be soft on their kids. 

In the case of Amber Johnston, 7 Little Johnsons fans are well aware that she copes with her family’s medical requirements because of their skeletal structure that differs from average-sized folks. So, she tries to teach them all fortitude with a liberal dose of discipline thrown in.

Defending Trent’s Wife

Recently on Reddit, u/InitialGrand7108 said:

I spent hours and hours of my time watching Amber weaponize her love against her children. She is, imo, manipulative, overbearing, over critical to the point of cruelty. I’ve judged her and Trent ruthlessly, and believe they have created a large amount of trauma for their kids…but sometimes I really just see Amber as someone trying so hard to do the right thing and be the right person…

Points raised in favor of the TLC star’s motherhood efforts included:

• she has taken on this role of motherhood the very best way she can while also being a LP.
• There wasn’t anyone like her on a reality TV show when was growing up, so understanding LP wasn’t a thing.
• she’s an LP INSIDE of a conservative, southern community. AND THEN she’s the only LP in her family INSIDE of a conservative, southern community. 

More Motherhood Challenges 

The TLC fan also talked about the “isolation and weight” of Amber Johnston’s own childhood. So, they felt that there was no way she wouldn’t have carried that over “into her adulthood and pass them onto her kids.”

In conclusion, the OP opined that Amber “warped her love into a weapon and lets her insecurities often guide her decisions…but Amber’s…just trying to get through the day to the next.”

Fans Comment In The Discussion

Not everyone felt that Amber deserved a hall pass on her parenting. Many of them despise the way she treated her estranged daughter Anna. One of them wrote, “That all just sounds like a bunch of excuses. No matter how you’re raised, you can learn, educate yourself, and do better.”

Here’s another comment that nay-says any sympathy for Amber Johnston: “There are far more people who endure struggles throughout life than not. We decide if we want to do better. To not inflict unto others as we had to us.”

Conversely, a 7 Little Johnstons fan opined, “I find Amber insufferable but sometimes I feel bad being so down on her. IMO you can see the struggle in her face and just how tense she is.”

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your 7 Little Johnstons cast news and updates.