Welcome To Plathville’s Kim Plath is looking to win full custody of her three minor daughters, Amber Plath, Cassia Plath, and Mercy Plath, butthere are several signs she’s too selfish to find herself winning the battle. ThroughoutWelcome To Plathvilleseason 6, Kim’s strange behavior has struck viewers who have been watching the show for years as an odd cry for help. After the major life changes she’s been through in the last several years, Kim’s behavior isn’t necessarily shocking, but she’s handling things in a manner that’s far out of the ordinary standard.
Kim’s life prior to her time onWelcome To Plathvillewasn’t always easy.As the mother of nine childrenwith her husband, Barry Plath, Kim had responsibilities she wasn’t necessarily ready to take on in her younger years. After the tragic loss of one of their young sons in 2008, Kim and Barry’s lives changed forever.Kim’s grief has followed her through her adult life, and even with the additional children she had in subsequent years, things were never the same. Kim’s struggles have always seemed tied to her loss, though she rarely mentions it publicly.
After years of living a fundamentalist lifestyle, following strict rules about modernities in clothing, technology, and social norms,Kim and Barry made a major changefor their children. Deciding to bring their children out of the seclusion of fundamentalism, Kim and Barry moved into a more modern way of life. Though their beliefs didn’t necessarily change, the former couple were excited to introduce their family to the joys of life as they’d once known it. While it was a tough adjustment for the Plath children,Kim and Barry also struggled in their new lives.
While the majority of the Plath children were in high school or older when the family moved back into a more modern life, there were younger children who had to adjust to more than the luxuries of technology. Integrating into a normal schedule with school, friends, and technology,the younger Plath children had a hard timemoving back into the “normal” world.Kim and Barry did their bestto mitigate the issues their children would have coming out of fundamentalism, but their long-term relationship was changing for the worse in the years after they came back into society.
With Kim and Barry deciding to end their nearly 25-year marriage afterWelcome To Plathvilleseason 4, there were some major adjustments happening within the family. While initially, it seemed that Kim and Barry would be co-parenting their children and sharing custody,Kim recently petitioned for sole physical custody of the younger girls. Though she may feel their daughters should reside with her,Kim’s selfish nature isn’t goodfor her younger daughters without their father present.
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8Kim’s Too Erratic To Care For The Girls On Her Own
Her Behavior Isn’t Dependable
WhileWelcome To Plathvillehasn’t seen the majority of Kim’s life with Barry, the years that have been documented have shown a version of Kim who doesn’t seem very dependable. Kim spent the majority of her adult life with Barry, having children and caring for them outside the confines of modern society. Even so, the fact thatshe’s spent the last few years indulging in self-destructive, at times erratic behaviormakes it clear that she’s not in the right mindset to care for her girls on her own.
Kim has been struggling to start her life away from Barry on her own and has even indulged in relationships with new men,like her boyfriend Ken Palmer, to help her feel secure. While it seems like she wants to provide for her young daughters, Kim also seems to be incapable of doing so on her own or without the help of another person. Rather than petitioning to do things on her own and continuing to display reckless behavior,Kim should invest in resolving her inner turmoil.
7Kim Shouldn’t Deprive The Girls Of A Relationship With Barry
The Girls Should Get To See Their Dad
Kim’s relationship with Barry shouldn’t be the same as her daughter’s relationship with their father, which is likely more common sense than actual reasoning, but is something Kim needs to understand. While Kim and Barry have a long history of working together as parents,their romantic relationship ended poorly. TheWelcome To Plathvillestars have had a hard time since deciding to separate, especially with their communication about their kids. Though they’ve tried to make sound co-parenting decisions, it hasn’t been easy.
Instead of deciding thatshe’s looking for sole custody and likely depriving Barry of a relationship with his younger daughters, Kim should do her best to make decisions that are best for her kids. While it appears she’s trying to figure out what works best for her, Kim and Barry’s younger daughters likely want to have a relationship with their dad.Kim’s selfish nature makes her consider herselfover what’s best for her girls.
6Kim Can’t Be Trusted To Put Her Kids First
She’s Outwardly Self Centered
Kim’s behavior onWelcome To Plathvillehas consistently made it clear that she’s more selfish than most, and can’t be trusted to put her kids first. While Kim has always been a mother first and has spoken openly about all that she’s done for her kids, there’s been a part of Kim that her kids haven’t been able to accessthrough the years. Her selfish nature has prevented her from giving her full self to her children, the way most parents in her position do.
Kim’s selfish nature has made it impossible for her to put her kids first, and while she doesn’t always need to be putting them ahead of her, she doesn’t do it at all most of the time. Kim’s behavior isusually centered around what Kim wants, rather than what the kids need. Generally, she’s a bit too self-centered to be trusted to put her kids first, which would make her want to pursue sole custody and cut Barry outof the picture.
5Kim’s Been A Danger To Herself And Others
She’s Been Arrested In Recent Years
While Kim’s nature has always been selfish, in the last few years it has turned self-destructive as well. After her split from Barry,Kim found herself at the center of a major scandalwhen she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Kim made herself a danger to the community at large, and while she didn’t hurt anyone in the incident, it wasn’t a stretch to believe she could’ve.
Kim’s DUI arrest was a major turning pointfor theWelcome To Plathvillestar, but not for the reasons one may think. Rather than turning a corner and realizing that she’d been a danger to herself, her family, and the community as a whole,Kim doubled down on her selfish behavior. Wanting to do the things she wanted to do when she wanted to do them, Kim made it clear she didn’t care about the scandal and continued to be destructive in her life and relationships.
4Kim’s Selfish Behavior Has Destroyed Relationships
She’s Still Rebuilding With Ethan
While some of Kim’s relationships with her kids have been salvageable through the years, she’s done some major damage to her children and has had to work hard to regain their trust. In some circumstances, like inher relationship with her son Ethan Plath,Kim has had a hard time rebuilding trust and lovedespite knowing that she’s ruined things entirely. Kim’s behavior has been destructive in many ways, but her disregard for her kids has been surprising toWelcome To Plathvilleviewers.
Kim’s inability to make her relationships with her kids work long-termhas a lot behind it, and the fact that she’s been struggling to keep her older kids interested in maintaining a relationship with her is telling. While Ethan has come back to see if he can make things work with his mother afterthe failure of his marriage to Olivia Plath, he still seems wary of his mom. Kim’s relationships with her younger daughters would never be her main priority.
3Kim’s Irresponsible With Her Finances
She’s Not Good With Money
Although Kim appears to have the moneyto do frivolous things like buy a boatfor her kids to live on,her finances are an unsurprising disaster and don’t make much sensefor someone who has kids to raise. Through the years, it’s been revealed that Kim’s financial situation is far more dire than many would think. Even though she’s on the successfulWelcome To Plathville,Kim’s money has come from a string of scams and her life with Barry, which doesn’t bode well for her wanting sole custody of the girls.
Kim’s financial situation has also been explored in other situations, like in her relationship with Ethan through the years. After some controversy, it was explained thatKim had been using credit cardsin Ethan’s name for years before Olivia and Ethan worked to put a stop to it. With issues of her own financially, it’s clearKim can’t be trusted to keep herself cared for on her own, let alone her children.
2Kim’s Older Kids Don’t Trust Her On Her Own
The Older Plath Kids Don’t Want To Leave Her Alone
While Kim has decent relationships with her older children or at least some of them,her kids don’t necessarily trust her to take care of the younger Plath childrenon her own. Kim’s daughters Lydia Plath and Moriah Plath have taken a hand in helping out with the younger girls as much as possible, and her sons Micah Plath andIsaac Plath have pitched in as well. While the older Plath children have their own lives to live, they’re concerned about their siblings with Kim.
With the older Plath children struggling to allow their mother to take care of the younger siblings on her own,it would be a struggle for Kim to get full custody of the girls. While the older Plaths likely spend time with the girls no matter which parent they’re with, if they were with Kim full-time, it would probably be even more difficult to take care of them entirely. Kim’s kids refusing to trust their mother is a difficult thing to see, but makes sense given the circumstances.
1Kim’s Motivations For Wanting Sole Custody Are Selfish
She’s Looking For Sympathy
Although Kim likely believes she has selfless reasons for seeking sole custody of the girls, her behavior is generally erratic and her reasoning probably follows suit. Kim’s main motivator in life is looking for someone to be sympathetic to her issues. Though Kim has been able to find sympathy fromtheWelcome To Plathvilleaudienceand people in her day-to-day life about many things, people haven’t been kind about her custody arrangement.
Kim’smotivations for wanting sole custody likely stem from the idea that she would be able to get sympathyfor taking care of her girls on her own, away from Barry. Despite the fact thatWelcome To Plathville’s Barry doesn’t want to give up custody of the girls, Kim is likely looking at the situation from a victim’s perspective to make herself feel better. Rather than theWelcome To Plathvilestar keeping things fair, she’s hopeful she can come out of this situation with some sympathy on her side.
Welcome To Plathville
Cast
Welcome to Plathville is a reality television series that follows the lives of the Plath family, a strongly conservative family with nine children that, while sharing some of their values, have begun to yearn for and seize their own independence. As the family tries to hold onto their old-world values, primarily separated from the rest of the country, they will reckon with their children’s newfound beliefs and clash with new family members from their spouses.
