For eleven seasons, Trent and Amber Johnston have parented as a unit — one set of rules, one front, one dinner table where everybody answers for themselves. But ask the 7 Little Johnstons fandom to pick a side between the two of them, and the united front cracks wide open. A recent fan discussion has viewers doing exactly that: Trent versus Amber, head to head, no fence-sitting allowed. And the verdict, according to reports, is not kind to one half of the couple.
With Season 18 premiering Tuesday, November 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TLC, the timing could not be better. The new season is practically staging the debate itself: Trent turning 50 with a bucket list of 50 new things to try, Amber navigating a deeply personal new chapter, and eldest son Jonah still living at home while his parents openly worry about his seven-year relationship. So let us settle it the way fans do — Team Trent, Team Amber, and the receipts both sides keep bringing up.
Team Trent: The Goofy Dad Fans Forgive
The case for Trent starts with something no rulebook can teach: vibe. Fans describe him as the goofy, more carefree parent — the dad who throws himself into a jousting challenge at 50, who works a dude ranch on camera, who laughs first and lectures second. One commenter put it bluntly: Trent would be an amazing dad if he were not paired with Amber, because he seems “goofy and often times like he is more carefree than her.”
There is a deeper argument behind the jokes, too. Fans point out that Trent grew up in a family of little people, while Amber grew up as the only little person in her family — and they argue that difference shows up in how each parent relates to their kids. In this telling, Trent gets it in a way Amber cannot, because he lived it surrounded by people like him.
Team Amber: The Rule-Maker Fans Love to Blame
The case against Amber is the one longtime viewers know by heart: she runs the tightest ship on reality TV, and fans say the kids have paid for it. The strictness, the lectures, the house where everybody is expected to fall in line — critics argue it left Jonah coping with anxiety and depression, left Liz hiding her first pregnancy for 21 weeks because she did not feel safe telling her parents, and left Anna feeling like the family scapegoat.
Even Amber’s defenders admit the pattern fans keep citing: the inconsistency. As one discussion put it, the Johnstons go from babying Alex to reading Jonah’s private text messages with his girlfriend — and fans say Anna too often got the short end of the stick when it came to favorites. The harshest version of the argument calls Amber “selfish, strict, and mean.” The softer version says the same thing with a sigh: she means well, but the control is the problem.
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Here is the twist neither camp can escape: the same kids get cited by both sides. Jonah, now an adult still living at home, is Team Trent’s proof that dad is the softer landing — and Team Amber’s proof that mom’s rules never quite launched him. Liz, married to Brice and now a mom of two, is proof the system worked — or proof she succeeded despite it. And Anna, estranged since leaving the show ahead of Season 17 and absent from Season 18, is the argument nobody wins: Team Anna says she was pushed out, Team Parents says her October 10 DUI arrest proved them right, and both sides quote Trent’s own line back at each other — “we’re not going to give up on Anna.”
That is why this debate never dies. It is not really about one argument or one episode. It is about eleven seasons of evidence, and every fan has their own highlight reel.
Season 18 Is Staging the Debate for Real
If the fandom needed a tiebreaker, Season 18 refuses to hand them one. According to TLC’s announcement and the trailer breakdown from The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, Trent spends the season chasing 50 new experiences at 50 — magic tricks, cow chasing, rock rappelling — while Amber opens up about perimenopause and how it is affecting her mood and her marriage, including a “menopause party” where she bakes a cake to thank her uterus for its service. One spouse gets a bucket list. The other gets a body changing the rules on her.
Meanwhile, the Jonah storyline puts the parenting debate on screen: Trent and Amber express concern that Jonah and Ashley have been together for seven years with no progress toward marriage or moving in together. Fans are already split on whether that is caring parenting or the same old control in a new season’s clothes.
So here is the question, and there is no third option: Team Trent or Team Amber? Who is the better Johnston parent — the goofy dad fans forgive, or the rule-maker fans blame? Pick one, and defend your pick in the comments. The fandom has been arguing about this for eleven seasons. One more round will not hurt.
Sources
- TVShowsFinder, “‘7 Little Johnstons’ Why Fans Say Trent Is Better Than Amber” — https://tvshowsfinder.com/tv-shows/7-little-johnstons-why-fans-say-trent-is-better-than-amber/
- The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, “A New Baby, Menopause & More: Get the Details on ‘7 Little Johnstons’ Season 18 & Watch the Trailer” (October 31, 2026) — https://www.theashleysrealityroundup.com/2026/10/31/a-new-baby-menopause-more-get-the-details-on-7-little-johnstons-season-18-watch-the-trailer/
- TLC / Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom, “TLC’s ‘7 Little Johnstons’ Returns for a New Season Tuesday, November 17 at 9PM ET/PT” (October 23, 2026) — https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/tlcs-7-little-johnstons-returns-new-season-tuesday-november-17-9pm-etpt
