Because it's Totally REAL GUIZE!
They know that if anything terrible happens to the children that affects the parents(ie. Death duh, anything that requires forever hands on assistance), THEN people will have no choice but to escalate things. They were testing to see how far they could push things, now I guess they are ready to push it over the edge
Yes, they definitely care more about power & appearances than their kids. They see this as a win win. They were first for getting their kid the shot they can rub it in peoples faces acting like they are holier than thou. If the kid gets ill or dies, they can soak up the attention from that
>Senior Executive Service