Annoying or not, that was the prevailing "wisdom" in the field at the time, and it's quite probable all three of them sincerely believed it. That said... Exploiting her child on national TV for Munchausan attention is ALL on Jeanette. No argument here.
Jeanette worked in television before having kids. I don't know if she "pitched other shows," but she was not unaware of the ripe potential in her particular situation and latched onto it.
At that point, it became all about Martyred Mom (I agree that Jeanette enjoyed the "twin attention" and missed it) and the fame and money and not about Jaron and his best interest. There was no way The Face of Childhood Trangenderism could back out, and heaven help him if he ever tried. Add cuck dad who went along to get along, and his fate was sealed; he was doomed.