Kim Plath is known by Welcome to Plathville fans for her unconventional parenting choices, and fans have mom-shamed her several times over the course of three seasons. While she and her husband, Barry Plath, raised their nine kids together, the kids and fans alike think that Kim is the main decision-maker for the family. Though some fans sympathize with Kim and feel she is looking out for her kids, most have called her out for selfish parenting.
On Welcome to Plathville, fans learned that Kim and Barry raised their kids in rural Georgia, and despite each having a normal childhood themselves, they decided to raise the children away from outside influences. All nine kids were homeschooled and kept away from other kids their own age, with the exception of going to church. However, Kim and Barry's strict parenting only caused some of their kids to rebel more.
Over three seasons, the older kids have rebelled from Kim and Barry, as they have set out on their own and are pursuing their passions. They have aired their grievances with their upbringing with fans and their parents, saying they hope the younger kids get a better shot at a normal life than they did. Hopefully, Kim and Barry will listen to their older children.
Homeschooling Fail
While Plathville's Kim boasted about homeschooling each of her kids in traditional subjects, as well as having them each learn to play an instrument, fans shamed her for lacking the ability to teach them well. Moriah revealed that with the homeschooling program, she was not able to graduate and will now have to pursue a GED if she wants to get a higher education. Fans may recall her and Micah tearfully asking Kim and Barry to learn from their mistakes of leaving things out of their schooling to help them succeed. Welcome to Plathville fans have also theorized that Kim only taught them instruments so she could form the Plath Family Band and make money off of them.
Rules For Ethan
Kim's treatment of her oldest child, Ethan Plath, and his wife, Olivia Plath, has received a lot of flack from fans. When Kim decided she no longer approved of Olivia, she took it out on Ethan and got in between his marriage by creating an "us or her" situation. Kim caused Ethan to be estranged from his younger siblings for months because she would not let him see them without her supervision. This led many Welcome to Plathville fans to call Kim manipulative, as it seemed like she let her personal vendetta against Olivia get in the way of good parenting.
Crashing Moriah's Concert
In Welcome to Plathville season 3, a major storyline was Moriah pursuing a music career and planning a show with Olivia and Micah. Many fans felt Olivia was being unfair in asking Moriah not to invite her mom to her first show, but fans also slammed Kim for making the event about herself instead of Moriah. Even watching from a distance, Kim wreaked havoc and left Moriah and Olivia in tears by the end of the show. Though some Welcome to Plathville fans say she was being supportive of Moriah, others felt it was more of a grab for attention and a way to cause drama once again.