TLC's The Little Couple is on its ninth season, and a lot of things have changed since viewers first met the show's stars Jennifer Arnold and Bill Klein. The couple now has two children Will, 6, and Zoey, 5; they've faced a number of health issues; and Dr. Arnold was recently offered a new job.
As the family's dynamics have changed, so have Arnold and Klein's viewpoints about filming their everyday lives.
"When we started the show, our goal was to raise awareness and we've had an opportunity to do that with many different issues that we've experienced personally and professionally," Arnold told E! News. "Once you have kids, you start to really think about what is the impact of having a show that documents your lives and how that might affect them."
Arnold says she and Klein are in "constant conversation" about the show and agree that "as long as it's a positive show, as long as our kids are having fun with it and it's not negatively impacting them, then maybe it's an OK thing to continue on."
Still, finding the right work-life balance can be tricky, especially because Arnold also works as a physician and doesn't just "play one on TV," as she put it.
"Now it's just a matter of, OK, kids comes first, our family comes first, careers come second and then, you know, everything thereafter," Arnold said. "So we're trying to figure out the balance."
Arnold said Will and Zoey "seem to have fun" with the show; however she acknowledged that they might not always feel this way.
"And the moment that changes, that's when we'll have to make that decision," she said.
Klein said he and his wife have been able to create a "good work-life balance—for the most part;" however, he admits that they're not perfect.
"The reality is that we're terrible actors, so what you see is what you get," he said. "We're always trying to improve. So hopefully, if you don't like it, then maybe we're working on those problems."
He also suggested that televising their family life can come with public scrutiny.
"We are certainly fallible we make plenty of mistakes," he said. "We try to do our best with our kids. We try to provide guidance and discipline and all of those things. Sometimes, I think people see a snippet of television and they infer a great deal more insight into how we manage our family."
Watch the video to see the interview.
The Little Couple airs Tuesdays on TLC.