Little People Big World

My colleague lilsugar has been talking to one of the "stars" — the mom! — of TLC's 17 Kids and Counting: The Duggar Family and while I find it fascinating that anyone has had that many kids, I still don't often tune in to watch this show.

Periodically, however, I do find myself glued to some of TLC's other programming like Little People Big World. I'm always inspired by this family composed of both little and average-sized people. They're funny and real and they generally have great attitudes, which sometimes makes me think, "If they have a good attitude about life, then so can I!"

Basically, I watch them because they give me the warm-fuzzies. The Duggars, not as much. Which of the TLC shows do you find inspiring?

Photos courtesy of the Discovery Network, TLC

TLC claims the Roloffs, the family at the center of reality series "Little People, Big World," are "America's favorite family," and I'm likely to agree with them. Matt and Amy Roloff are dwarves who have four children — three of whom are average-sized while one is also a dwarf. Watching the group do their normal day-to-day thing is eye-opening, as we find out what life is like for a little person while simultaneously seeing that we're not so different at all.

With the four kids ranging in age from 8-15, there's a lot of angsty quibbling that every family of teens and preteens endures, but the basis of love and support beneath it all is truly heartwarming. Matt is a particularly great person to watch; the optimism and energy he puts toward everything he does is truly inspiring. If you haven't been hooked by this show yet, watch tonight's episodes, starting at 8:00 PM on TLC.

The first episode ("Room for Improvement") features Matt bringing the kids a dumpster to encourage them to clean their rooms, and in the second one ("Jake Turns Ten"), Jake's birthday approaches and Matt suggests remodeling the kids' rooms.