As of Tuesday, Sept. 1, filming for Nadya Suleman’s reality television show kicked off. If the name Nadya Suleman doesn’t sound familiar, the nickname given to her by the media probably does: “”Octomom.”” Octomom, as most of us probably already know, is the single mom from California who gave birth to octuplets in January, thanks to in vitro fertilization. With her six other children, her octuplets brought her litter to 14.     

Suleman, in a CNN interview, said that she feels “”… as though I’ve been under the microscope because I’ve chosen this unconventional kind of life. I didn’t intend on it being unconventional. It just turned out to be. All I wanted … was to be a mom. That’s all I ever wanted in my life.””

Looking at similar famous households with many children — John and Kate Plus 8, Sixteen and Counting (or whatever number they are on now) — the extremes in positive and negative press they all have generated leaves questions about our own fascination with multiple children. Are we as octo-crazy too?

I’d like to hear from you on this one, because I, for one, can’t turn my head away.

— Arianna Carter is a junior majoring in creative writing. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.