The Darkest Kids TV Show Ever Made

Brief Summary

This video explores the disturbing history of "Life With Grandpa," a children's show created by the cult "The Family" (also known as Children of God) led by David Berg. The show, disguised as a religious program, was used to indoctrinate children into the cult's perverse beliefs, including normalizing prostitution and child abuse. The video also discusses the tragic story of Ricky Rodriguez, who was featured on the show as Davidito, and his struggle to escape the cult and the lasting impact of the cult's abuse on its members.

• "Life With Grandpa" was a children's show created by the cult "The Family" to indoctrinate children into their beliefs.
• David Berg, the leader of the cult, used the show to normalize his perverse beliefs, including prostitution and child abuse.
• Ricky Rodriguez, who played Davidito on the show, was a victim of the cult's abuse and struggled to escape its influence.

Intro

In the winter of 1985, families received VHS tapes containing a seemingly harmless puppet show called "Life With Grandpa." Unbeknownst to the children who enjoyed the show, it was a product of a disturbing cult and would later be recognized as one of the darkest rabbit holes in children's media history.

Life With Grandpa

"Life With Grandpa" was a straight-to-VHS show created in the mid-1980s, featuring humanoid puppets teaching children lessons loosely based on Christianity. The show was episodic, with segments recounting the family's past experiences and occasional musical numbers. Grandpa was the main character and host, teaching the episode's central messages. Other characters included Mother Maria, Davida, and davidito, with davidito being a central figure who often had his own segments. The show appeared normal, similar to other low-budget religious shows, highlighting themes like obedience, sharing, and love. However, it also featured unusual moments, such as licking a wound clean and a disdain for doctors.

Life Of Grandpa

Before the puppet show, there was a little-known illustrated book series called "Life of Grandpa," which the show mirrored. The books, like the show, were religious guides for children, teaching morality and proper living. However, the books had a dark side, with erotic material being shown constantly, which raises the question of why the show and books were so perverted.

David Berg

David Berg, born in 1919, was the author of the "Life of Grandpa" books and the reason for the show's existence. In 1968, at age 50, he started his own group, which went by various names, including the Children of God and The Family International. Berg attracted young hippies and those struggling with addiction and mental health issues by claiming the world was ending and they needed to join his family to save their souls. The group amassed 10,000 members at its peak. Berg began issuing illustrated messages called "Mo Letters," which his followers were to take as seriously as the Bible. In 1972, Berg claimed God would destroy the United States and ordered his followers to spread across the globe, establishing communal homes. This mass migration left the group outside of the United States' jurisdiction, allowing Berg to tighten his control.

The Law of Love

Berg preached the "law of love," stating that the family should show love through sex. He told his followers to open up their relationships, calling it "sharing," to entice new members. He mandated that the women of the group participate in "flirty fishing" (FF), where they would go to bars to pick up lonely men and charge for their services. Berg called these women "God's Horrors" and "Christ's hookers." He knew this practice could put the women in danger but said that if they were hurt or killed, it was God's will. Berg used "Life with Grandpa" to normalize his sex cult's beliefs for the children watching, grooming them for a life of prostitution.

Trust and Obey

Berg preached that children should be involved in these affairs, believing age should not matter. He declared "Open Season on Phelia" and much like flirty fishing, it was mandatory. The abuse that followed is unimaginable at a scale far too large to fully know to this day. The parents of the children not only allowed but often participated in with one of the more notorious large scale accounts coming from something that the group called The Love Video.

Grandpa

The entire show was about David Berg, who was portrayed as a wise, unquestioned religious figure. The characters alongside Berg were also members of his real-life family. Mother Maria was Karen Zerby, David's wife, who helped him run the cult. Aunt Sarah was based on Sarah Kelly, who ran the prison camp for children who questioned the family's beliefs. David B's polygamy was showcased as he was married to many people in the real world and two characters on the show itself Mother Maria and Davida his then 5-year-old stepdaughter.

The Story of Davidito

Davidito's real name was Ricky Rodriguez. He was taken in as Berg's son after Maria conceived him with a man after a night of flirty fishing. Berg viewed davidito as a messiah, telling his followers that he would save them from the apocalypse. David and Karen documented how he was raised, publishing it as "The Story of Davidito," which they believed was the ultimate guide for parenting. However, it showed how badly davidito was being abused, with descriptions of him laying next to nude nannies, witnessing orgies, and being touched sexually. The book leaked to the press, becoming a news story and shining a light on the family's twisted beliefs. Despite the news coverage, nothing was done to stop them.

Peter Puppet

Peter Puppet was a celebrity within the group, responsible for numerous puppet shows, including one called the laet, which was more popular than "Life with Grandpa." The love ETS were credited as the producers of "Life with Grandpa," so Peter Puppet was at least one of the contributing creators of the show. Berg forbade any medicine or surgeries, instead preaching that miracles from God were the only way to heal. Peter Puppet noticed a lump in his neck, and it was an aggressive tumor. Surgeries were against the family's beliefs, so he turned it down, instead opting to pray the tumor away. The mass began to grow at an even faster rate, and Peter began to beg the family to take him to get the surgery, but the family forbade it. Peter puppet supposedly his own life shortly after this Photograph was taken.

epilogue

Ricky Rodriguez's death was devastating for the community of survivors of the family and it caused shock waves all throughout the Family itself as his final video was plastered all over the news. Ricky's life and death undoubtedly contributed to the decline of the family and helped diminish the cycle of abuse within the group.