Amber Johnston Just Got REAL About How She Feels About 'Little People, Big World'

From Good Housekeeping

It's a full lineup on TLC on Tuesday nights, with two hit shots back-to-back. First comes Little People, Big World, where you get down and dirty at Roloff Farms. Then, it's all about 7 Little Johnstons, which follows a family of seven as they deal with their day-to-day life in Georgia. "Because there are so many shows about little people, people are clearly fascinated with how we live," Amber Johnston, the mom of five, tells GoodHousekeeping.com.

The new season of 7 Little Johnstons, which premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m., shows that there's more to this family than meets the eye. "Being able to show some of our struggles will be relatable to viewers because it’s not just that we're struggling because we’re 4 feet tall; we're struggling to raise teenagers or in our marriage," Amber tells us. "They are things that everybody can relate to, no matter what."

In her opinion, this sense of authenticity is what separates the Johnstons from other little people on TV: "We watch their shows - and not saying that they aren’t great shows - but we want people to relate to us. Not everybody lives on big farm. Not everybody is a doctor," she explains. (FYI: Little People, Big World is set on a farm and Jen from The Little Couple is a doctor.) Amber says the show is about a family who happens to be little rather than little people who make up a 7-person family. Their message is simple: "Everybody’s got a challenge no matter how tall, short, skinny, or fat you are."

Because they're so transparent about their struggles, sometimes viewers are quick to judge their parenting choices or relationship troubles. "We won’t make the right decisions all the time, or the kids aren’t always on their best behavior,"Amber says. "We’re first time parents like everybody else. Just because we’re little people and happen to have little people children doesn’t automatically make us folks that know everything about our kids."

Along with Amber and Trent's growing pains, season 5 will give fans a deeper look into the lives of each of their five children: Jonah, Anna, Elizabeth, Alex, and Emma. Here's what viewers can expect to see, according to Amber.

• "Jonah is in his first year of college, which has been a bit of a struggle for him trying to find himself and the fact that he’s not being as hard of a worker as we’d like. There's frustration because he still lives under our roof since he’s a commuter for college. Yes, you’re 19 and by law they say that you’re an adult, however by your actions and the fact that you depend 110% on us (your parents), you’re not an adult.”

• "Anna is a senior and we’re trying to do all of the graduation prep so she can move on to her next phase of life."

• "Elizabeth’s a junior and I feel like sometimes she’s just skipping on to being a senior. She’s our one that’s dating and all that good stuff."

• "Alex and Emma are now officially teenagers, so there's a lot that comes with that."

Of course, the new season will still be chock-full of fun family moments including our first look at the holidays with the Johnstons. But it's the everyday reality that'll keep viewers coming back for more: "If all we’re doing is vacationing, eating at restaurants, or having parties, that’s not super relatable because I don’t know too many people who actually live like that," she says. "We're comfortable showing and sharing our real life."

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