Lifetime’s “Little Women: LA” is finishing up its seventh season. These ladies aren’t just “real housewives”. The reality television series follows the lives of a group of little women as they deal with the highs and lows of friendship and lets us into the lives of their families. The popular show spawned other shows taking place in different parts of the country including New York, Atlanta and Dallas. As these women navigate friendship, family, parenthood, health, everyday conflicts and challenges we all learn valuable lessons along the way. Realty television captures our attention with its drama, but there are some valuable life lessons to learn.
Here are 10 life lessons that “Little Women: LA” teaches us.
1. Don’t let one person hold you back
“Little Women: LA” is no stranger to drama. Back in Season 1, Terra was making a music video. Christy was not supportive of her friend, maybe because she was jealous. Christy texted the other ladies telling them not to participate in Terra’s music video. Terra was obviously hurt and upset. This video was exciting and challenging for her. Why would her friend let her down? Tonya said it right. She told Terra “You can’t let one monkey stop the show”. Terra faced the same situation when she competed on “Dancing With the Stars”. It was a big deal for her to be a part of the show and disappointing to be eliminated. Elena judged her for joining the competition.
2. Support your friends in the most difficult times
Last year Terra had a breast cancer scare. The disease runs in her family, and as she waited for the test results, she obviously had some anxiety. She kept busy with her kids and tried to put on a happy face, but when you’re a star of a realty show, you can’t hide away. During this difficult time, Terra bonded with Tonya who was going through Bell’s Palsy. Terra said that while this is not the circumstance you wish to bond over with a friend, it was helpful to have someone to make it through the anxiety with who understood.
3. Support your friends in the good times
Back in Season 1 the drama was tense among the new friends on “Little Women: LA”. As Traci was planning her wedding, Christy was still waiting for a proposal from her boyfriend. Tensions were high as both girls felt the other was stealing her limelight. This happens all the time among friends. The lesson learned from “Little Women: LA” is to support your friends in their happiness. Every bride has her day to shine. In the meantime, be a good friend.
4. Mom bond
While any pregnancy can have complications, when dwarfism runs in the genes, there are particular risks. “Little Women: LA” stars Briana, Terra and Elana all had pregnancies and healthy births around the same time. Each of the friends had concerns with their pregnancies from dwarfism to preeclampsia. Christy also went through IVF treatments where she needed the support of friends. The ladies had each other to confide their fears in and all agreed that a healthy baby was all that mattered. It’s always good to have a friend who is pregnant when you are. You go through the phases together. You face the changes and the fears together. Then you get to go through the crazy newborn phases together like the lack of sleep, the endless crying and baby’s first smile.
5. Get out of your comfort zone
Back in Season 1, the ladies decided to help Brianna get past her failed marriage. Tonya and Terra enrolled the ladies in a sexy dance class. Earlier in Season 7 when Tonya was ready to move past her break up with Kerwin Johnson, the ladies took a dominatrix class. Although it’s wasn’t easy for all of the ladies to let go of her inhibitions, the adventures proved to be fun. You have to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while and do something you normally wouldn’t do. It’s freeing.
6. Be kind
Bulling has always been a concern to parents and “Little Women: LA” explores this. In Season 2 Briana was concerned for her daughter who also has dwarfism and is being bullied. It’s not always the kids that bully each other. In the same season Tonya found out that Briana and Trevore were talking behind her back. While its natural for kids to act this way because of their lack of maturity, adults shouldn’t be acting this way. Always be kind and show your children by your example.
7. Be there for your friends
Several episodes of “Little Women: LA” features story lines where one of the girls needs support from her friends. In Season 4 Briana was planning her wedding and her family wasn’t happy about the man she was marrying and the decisions she was making. She was withdrawing from her friends, so Jasmine threw her a Bachelorette party. When Jazmine was pregnant with her second child, Terra brought her a ton of diapers and bonded with Jazmine’s older child. When your friends need your support, rally around them with the thing they need most. Briana needed friends to support her upcoming marriage. As any mother of two or more knows, the thing you really need for the new baby is simple, lots of diapers. No matter how big or small the gesture is, be there for your friends.
8. Watch out for social media
The ladies of “Little Women: LA” were thrown into celebrity. Whether or not you’re a celebrity, social media can cause a lot of problems. The women dealt with this a lot through the series. In Season 4 thlere was a “sexting scandal” and other times there were posts on social media that caused problems for the ladies’ reputations. It’s important to remember what you text and what you post. It could come back to bite you.
9. Learn from mistakes
We all make mistakes in life, and on “Little Women: LA” we see the ladies make some serious mistakes that jeopardize their relationships with their family and with their friends. It’s important to know that if we admit our mistakes and learn from them, we can move forward, mend fences and not make the same mistake again. In Season 5 of “Little Women: LA” Christy reached out to Jasmine to help her make amends to the other ladies.
10. Listen
Thrust into the limelight of a realty television show, the ladies of “Little Women: LA” were all competing for the spotlight. This caused many conflicts through the series. As each lady wants to be heard, some have had a difficult time listening. One of the biggest life lessons “Little Women: LA” teaches us is to listen to others’ opinions. Something you hear just might help you manage your life a little better.
