Is everything okay with Parker Busby?
OutDaughtered fans couldn't help but express their worry after Danielle Busby posted a
picture of herself with her daughters in which Parker looked visibly distraught.
The picture, which was posted on October 12th, 2019 on Instagram, shows her sisters smiling,
but Parker seems upset.
One person in the comments of the photo wrote, "Parker always looks so sad," while another
noted that she looked "a bit sulky."
Some fans think Parker is just shy, but others are worried that Parker is suffering from
severe anxiety.
Parker Busby's anxiety has been addressed on OutDaughtered before.
In July, Parker was assessed by an occupational therapist on the show.
Parker's daddy, Adam, who has experienced mental health issues himself, said he's happy
they made the appointment.
"I am glad that we're taking this step.
And I'm hoping that we just come away with it with a better understanding of how we can
help her."
The TLC couple explained that Parker seems to get stressed out easily and shuts down
in stressful situations.
"Parker hates new things and being in the spotlight."
At the session, the occupational therapist noted that Parker is, indeed, shy, especially
in new situations, and offered up some ideas on how she can cope, including more trips
to the park, and yoga to help calm her down.
"So, things that I think you can do is to just work on expanding those opportunities
to play with other kids."
A lot of fans were upset that the Busbys decided to have Parker's anxiety test televised.
One fan wrote,
"I think maybe the fact that the child suffers from anxiety should show the parents that
they shouldn't be subjecting her to cameras and things like that."
Another commented,
"This kid has anxiety.
Why are they shoving cameras in her face while she gets her diagnosis."
And another OutDaughtered viewer added,
"I don't really see where that helped.
They also shouldn't be talking about this in front of her.
Maybe the cameras are just too much on your children and it's affecting their childhood."
OutDaughtered fans have seen Parker struggle more than once.
A clip from October 2018 shows Parker panicking during a dental exam.
Another clip from July shows the quint crying onstage as she and her sisters perform "Jingle
Bells" during a school recital.
Danielle has also revealed that Parker sometimes has trouble letting her parents out of her
sight.
An Instagram photo from January 2019 shows Parker refusing to let go of her mom.
The caption reads,
"Tried to sneak out the house for a date night... always gotta have someone pulling on me to
stay home.
And how funny... this time it's PK.
How dare Mommy go on a date with her Daddy."
When season 6 of OutDaughtered premiered, viewers got to see the quints being tested
to see if they were ready to be moved up to the next grade level.
Fans have known for months, now, that in the fall of 2019 most of the quints started pre-K
while Riley was promoted ahead to kindergarten, but what they didn't know until the season
premiered was that Parker almost wasn't promoted with her siblings.
Before the test, Danielle expressed her concern that Parker's anxiety would affect her performance,
and it turned out she was correct.
Riley, as we know, did extremely well on the test, but Parker seemed to struggle with hers,
making her teacher hesitant about promoting her.
The Busbys were concerned that the quints would move up to the next grade level without
Parker and had to make the decision about whether or not Parker should join them.
We now know, of course, that Parker did indeed go on to pre-K, but it's clear that her anxiety
is leading to some tough decision making for the Busbys.
The occupational therapist who saw Parker suggested that if Danielle and Adam Busby
don't see an improvement in their daughter's anxiety levels they should bring her to a
psychologist.
The Busbys haven't announced yet whether or not they will meet with a psychologist and
have Parker go to therapy.
For now, at least, it seems like they are implementing the strategies the occupational
therapist suggested and are trying to get Parker's anxiety levels under control on their
own.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about your favorite reality TV families are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.