Dad-of-18 explains why he doesn't 'babysit' his children

Ever since Netflix released Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey earlier this year, the term ‘sister wives’ probably makes you shudder.

But in TLC’s Sister Wives – the channel’s long-running show about people living polygamist lifestyles – mormonism is shown in a very different light, and the show’s star Kody Brown is a fan favourite.

But Kody’s comments about parenthood in a recent episode are sure to have raised a few eyebrows, with the father-of-18 attempting to explain why he doesn’t ‘babysit’ his kids. 

Watch Kody have a pop at babysitting his many kids back in 2011 below:

Kody, who shares his 18 kids with four women, was explaining how he splits his time between families when he admitted he ‘almost never’ watches his kids.

“I’m good at watching my kids, but I almost never do it. It’s easier for me to pay somebody $20 an hour than to lose $200 an hour with the business that I have at hand,” he confessed.

Kody’s first wife is called Meri Brown, and the pair have one child together. He and Janelle Brown – his second wife – have six kids, and Kody has another six children with Christine Brown, his third wife.

Kody and his fourth wife Robyn Brown have five kids together, and Kody also adopted Robyn’s three children from a previous marriage. 

In TLC’s recent episode, Christine claimed Kody is ‘never there’ for her and her children, saying in a solo interview that when Kody does see their kids, he always brings along the children he shares with Robyn.

TLC

Kody then insisted it ‘isn’t normal’ for him to babysit, saying: “It’s not normal for me to babysit my kids. I’ve been working all my life. I was raised on a ranch. We were always busy. The idea of going kayaking or hiking and stuff like that is not something I really do a lot of with anybody.”

Kody’s other wives also shared their thoughts on his hectic schedule, with Janelle calling him ‘scattered’.

However, Meri said she’d ‘made peace’ with Kody’s ways, explaining that she used to wish Kody was ‘more focused and centred’, but now ‘realises this is just who he is’.

In a solo interview, Robyn added of Kody: "Kody is somebody who keeps himself very, very busy.”

In an episode of the Sister Wives shot in 2011, Kody did try his hand at babysitting, and it quickly descended into chaos, with him telling one of his kids: “Shall you and I go and have a cry in the corner? Cause I could use one.”

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