The Busby family gained a national platform after giving birth to America's first all-female
quintuplets.
TLC came knocking, and their show, OutDaughtered, came next.
And after that?
Shade and judgement about their parenting decisions from home viewers.
Let's rehash the drama.
There's no denying Riley Busby is one smart cookie.
When taking a placement test, for instance, she scored an 84 when the average mark is
40.
"If we can get her to scoring about an 84 on test three, I want us to really look at
putting her in the advanced placement class."
As it turns out, Riley did really well on her tests and was encouraged to skip preschool
for kindergarten.
"I don't know if I can handle a smart kid!"
And although the decision was tough on the Busbys, since they didn't want to separate
Riley from her sisters, they felt it was best for their mini-genius to bypass a grade.
Proud dad Adam posted on Instagram,
"First day of kindergarten in the books and she CRUSHED it!
So incredibly proud of this little kid."
Despite Riley's success, some people questioned the move, which prompted Adam to reply,
"So many people that don't actually know my child think that they know better than us,
the parents...there have been 6 parents in world history that know what it's like to
raise all-girl quints with all of the complexities that we deal with on the daily.
We are making the best decisions that we can; knowing what we know."
Most of the time, Danielle and Adam Busby's controversial decisions revolve around seemingly
small issues.
Case in point: In June 2019, a fan on Twitter slammed the couple for choosing not to remove
the locks on the quints' bedroom doors, writing,
"Geez, every parent should know you do not have bedroom doors with locks especially on
toddler doors.
Bad move there."
The logic behind this probably revolves around potential safety concerns, as Dr. Lynelle
Schneeberg, a licensed clinical psychologist highlighted to Fatherly, writing,
"It's not OK to lock kids in their rooms.
Besides the fact that, with a well-thought-out gentle behavioral plan, it is not necessary,
there is also the vital reason of safety.
If there is a fire or some sort of dangerous occurrence in the home, it is possible that
the child would not be able to get out of the room or the home."
Adam responded to the fan's criticism with some snark, writing,
"Hey we have a perfect parent joining us tonight!
Welcome to the party!
Thanks for all the great criticism...I mean advice..."
Yep, Adam is clearly not here for the drama.
Adam Busby made the brave decision in July 2017 to speak about his struggle with postpartum
depression, a move many fans applauded him for, as mental health can still be a taboo
topic.
Adam told ABC News about his mental state after the quints were born in April 2015.
"It totally got worse and worse, but it crept in.
The babies, providing for my family and the kids and stuff, I felt like it was just constantly
on my mind to where it's really hard to focus on anything else.
I started withdrawing from friends that I've talked to on a daily basis.
I didn't feel like engaging with people...just because of the weight and constantly thinking
about all this stuff that I have to prepare for."
"It feels like I'm, you know, juggling, like, 10 million balls."
Sadly, some commenters slammed Adam's choice to open up, with some questioning whether
a man can experience postpartum depression.
One person wrote,
"Adam Busby is such a whiner.
He needs to grow up, man up and get real.
He doesn't have postpartum depression."
For the record, numerous studies have shown that men can go through postpartum depression.
And the more dads who open up about this condition, the better.
The decision to let a child wear makeup is a very personal one, with some parents thinking
it's okay in small quantities.
Adam Busby seems to fall in this camp, as he let his eldest daughter, Blayke, wear a
little red lipstick to a father-daughter dance.
One fan commented on Adam's Instagram pic of the moment,
"Take that lipstick off Little Blayke, your only little once, stay that way, beautiful!!!"
Another person critical of Adam's parenting wrote,
"Gosh she is tooooooo young for hooker red lipstick!
Why do parents do this to their young kids?"
Adam replied to one comment,
"This was a night just for her and to get dressed up.
she wanted to do her nails and wear red lipstick, so I allowed it.
It made the night that much special for her.
I don't need your approval."
In a not-so-surprising twist, some people have accused Danielle and Adam Busby of making
the decision to play favorites among their children.
This has sparked ongoing backlash, with many viewers taking to their social media accounts
to slam them for being uneven with their love.
Heck, there's even an entire Reddit thread dedicated to this exact issue.
One person wrote,
"Is it just me that noticed or does [it] seem that Danielle and Adam favor Hazel over the
rest of the quints while Danielle favors Blayke over any of the quints...Anytime Adam comes
home from work all you can hear is 'hazel basil' As the girls are older now, my guess
is they'd begin to notice this."
Another fan questioned Danielle, writing:
"Danielle's always with the twins, I never really see her that much with the other 3...I
love Adam the most bc he's always with ALL the girls."
Unfortunately, Danielle had to come out publicly and explain that she doesn't consciously play
favorites.
Danielle told In Touch Weekly,
"I 100-percent know my heart and my love for all my kids are equal.
I may not get around to posting 'enough' of something...but since when is love based off
of how much we post on social media?"
When you're on reality TV, you have to get used to the haters and prepare yourself for
ongoing backlash.
No one knows this better the Busbys, who are clearly making informed and careful decisions
about their kids.
Maybe fans should consider dialing back some of the criticism.
It's obvious they're doing a great job.
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