I think it's hilarious. I just now heard about it for the first time in your comment (I unfortunately do not pay much attention to the news). I don't know the details of the story; I don't know how much or how little the kids were doing around the house in way of chores. But I do think they should know how to do things on their own, like cook, clean, do laundry, wash dishes, etc., and they should help out sometimes, you know, keep a healthy balance.
I do think that the parents are smart in moving out to the lawn, because it attracts a LOT of attention, even bringing in the press and making it a national issue, and as we all know, us kids hate it when our parents do something embarrassing that attracts attention. This is probably a good wake up call for the kids. If they're like most anyone else, they'll think twice, offer to help around the house, and beg their parents to come back inside.
