The Duggar Family: 18 Kids & Counting

[englishleigh]

What's with the mother's hair? Why does she wear it so long and out of style? The girls have long hair also.

LOL..I just commented above on her hair. I think they wear it long due to religious beliefs...but I wish the mom would grow out that mess in the front of hers and wear hers up in a chignon or twist or something. Maybe that's against their religion, too?

 

[BrendaStar]

I think the idea of them is wonderful, all the kids, all the family love and Christianity.

I don't. I find it narcisstic. There is no reason anyone needs that many kids. It's not like it's in the 1800's and they own a farm and need their own labor.

 

[BrendaStar]

but I wish the mom would grow out that mess in the front of hers and wear hers up in a chignon or twist or something.

I wish she would do something with that awful rat's nest around her face. Maybe they should start their own beauty salon? There is room enough in that barn of a house.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I'm assuming she home schools so she dont have to get all of them up in the morning and ready for school which that is a task in itself...The meals are probably cooked by mom and all the older children daily..drink is probably water. I can't imagine what it would be like to go grocery shopping? I am sure their life is all work and no play...ever!

 

[englishleigh]

I wish she would do something with that awful rat's nest around her face. Maybe they should start their own beauty salon? There is room enough in that barn of a house.

That's what I meant by that mess around her face....she has a serious mullet.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

Ok disregard what I said earlier about the meals being prepared by the mother and all the older children..I just read on the Duggar family website that the 15 year old girl prepares lunch and the 17 year old girl prepares dinner. I'm sorry but that is INSANE!! I have to cook for my family of 5 every night and sometimes I just don't want to!!! How would you even know what to cook for a family of 17? And regardless...these are just children why should they have to do the parents work? I understand helping out but jeeeez even I wouldnt want to cook for 17 people. :silenced:

 

[BrendaStar]

these are just children why should they have to do the parents work?

Aren't there laws against child labor?

 

[deanws]

I don't. I find it narcisstic. There is no reason anyone needs that many kids. It's not like it's in the 1800's and they own a farm and need their own labor.

They DO need the labor. They need someone to take care of all the kids while they are screwing around to make more! The home school is the real thing that pisses me off. Throwing away their future. Home schooling a few children is fine however, there is NO WAY you can home school with 17 kids.
:sick:

 

[deanws]

she has a serious mullet.

LMAO leigh!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

[southcitymom]

Flame me if you must - I have never watched their show or anything - but I think it's creepy, creepy, creepy on multiple levels to have this many kids. Something's not right here.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I think there is! This family seems cult-like to me!

Aren't there laws against child labor?

 

[BrendaStar]

The home school is the real thing that pisses me off. Throwing away their future. Home schooling a few children is fine however, there is NO WAY you can home school with 17 kids.

Specially since the Mrs. only has a high school education. How can she attempt to home school 17 kids? There you go. Narcisstic. Oh wait. Maybe she has the older ones teach the younger ones, like in their "mentoring" program.

 

[gidget641]

I have seen all the the shows on this family.

First, I can't figure out with all those kids WHEN ARE THEY EVER ALONE TO MAKE MORE BABIES? Is she allowed to sleep while he does his thing, cuz let me tell you she has gotta be tired with all them kids!

Second, from the credits that were shown on the special where they move into their new house, you see things like home depot, maytag etc. So I am thinking that they had more than a few donations.

Third, if I were his wife I would only have three words for Jim Bob they would be GET OFF ME!

The whole thing is just creepy, weird and insane.

 

[Marthatex]

Specially since the Mrs. only has a high school education. How can she attempt to home school 17 kids? There you go. Narcisstic. Oh wait. Maybe she has the older ones teach the younger ones, like in their "mentoring" program.

I wonder if they're allowed to have friends over to play, etc? Participate in sports activies, etc. Can you imagine staying home and spending all day long listening to your mother, and all evening too?

I am presently reading Under the Banner of Heaven, about the extreme fundamentalist Mormons, and some of these ideas seem similar. (no TV, sexually stereotyped roles in the family, home schooled); I wonder if any of the kids are "rebellious".

At least they seem to be able to care for them, but it seems even a Real Estate Agent can't afford to send that many to college.

 

[PSUfan]

I have watched their show on TV once or twice (I only think there were a couple of episodes where they built their house) and I agree with you TxVicki- something is up.

The mother, (who is the only one whose name doesn't begin with a J) admitted that she was "unorganized" with the first 4 kids.She had to make a plan to be organized, but seriously unless you're running a military school, how 'On top of things' can you be with 17 kids? And they're not stopping??

I hate to admit it (please forgive me) but I can't help but think they are SO corny. From their clothes and the way they speak to how the mother just keeps cooing and saying she wants more kids.... *gag* Ever see their website? I'm sorry, but the bathing suits gotta go!

I guess if it brings better people into this world, then more power to ya...
MG

They don't look corny at all to me, but then I was raised around families like that. I don't "get" the hostility towards this family. I have watched the show.

The kids are not lacking in their education, being homeschooled. I would bet that they will be as well, or better prepared to deal with the real world than many of the graduates of the public school system. The older ones were all involved in the house building. They have schooling in the arts, play musical instruments, and I think I remember watching that they have a tutor teaching them a foriegn language. (I might be confusing that with another show) Just because they dress like Mennonites, and refuse to conform to societys fashion standards does not mean that they are weird, odd, whatever.

The parents do not believe in birth control. That does not mean they are sex maniacs, humping at every opportunity. It means they have a loving, healthy relationship, and do not use b/c. Good for them! At least their kids are not latchkey children, like many families today... off doing who knows what, on the streets with no supervision.

I am so surprised at how folks want to judge this family. The kids are learning responsibility, just like any children on any working farm, etc. (the family IS a work in progress.. a working family) would learn. This is not child labor. This is good for them. Just because they are different than our families does not make it wrong.

If that is the case, then many of my own relatives, including my mothers family is wrong. Weird. Etc. It just is not so. A large family like that can function beautifully and produce responsible adults who are productive members of society.

I tried to get to the Duggar website, because I am sure they answer many of the questions you all have about them. But... the website must be overloaded with the latest interest in them, because I was not able to get to it.

 

[FlowerChild]

I have been doing a little research...
I am not FOR or AGAINST this Lifestyle - I am trying to present just factual info here
Everyone can form their OWN opinions

For everyone who has questions Google QuiverFull or Quiver Full or QuiverFull Nation There is a growing movement - soldiers for Christ kinda thing. Mary Pride and Rick and Jan Hess (and others) have written "manuals" containing Biblical based arguments for the lifestyle and the belief that only God can open and close the womb - the "high holy temple" of marriage.

The Duggar's embrace de-facto Quiverfull "leader" Bill Gothard who has no children and has never been married. His organization is where the Duggars get their home-schooling materials and there are even college degrees available. They call it "Training" their children.Home Schooling is encouraged with Quiverfull families - as is social isolation from those who do not embrace their beliefs. Family "compounds" are popular with male children building homes near their parents.The Duggars have 20 acres for that reason.

Women are encouraged to be "modest" in their dress, make-up is allowed so long as it's tasteful and women are to grow their hair long as the Bible teaches. The Mother/Wife rules the home (and "trains the children") and the Husband /Father brings in money and rules the family - often they are self employed (as the Jim Bob Duggar is). Many are "Contractors", "Missionaries" and involved in Real Estate or Politics. Women are allowed to be midwives - a vocation at least two of the Duggar daughters are professing to strive for. They do attend their Mother in births as those attending the birth are supposed to only say POSITIVE things about the womb, birth etc. Quiverfulls believe that the attitude of the parents and those of the family, friends, Drs and attendants before birth and at the birth MUST embrace only the positive.

Quiverfull families are Patriarchal (husband ruled) and conservative. Men, and ONLY men, are considered the proper "rulers" of the earth/world. They are LITERAL interpreters of the Bible and believe in both the old and new testaments as fact - obviously they embrace creationism. They believe in courtship - a sort of arranged marriage between the parents of the two young people - and there is no physical intimacy before marriage - the 1st kiss is to be on their Wedding day. No dating, no kissing, no intimacy - period. Both are to abstain from EVERY form of intimacy with the opposite sex and any time alone together comes ONLY after marriage. Ultra-Virgins - pure in every way. And BTW, they believe your children can be affected by what your ANCESTORS did and believed. They do NOT believe in divorce and after a divorce you cannot re-marry.There is NEVER any birth control and sex is indeed encouraged as a covenant of marriage - always "fruitful" sex, of course.

You have to dig a bit to find this but they do not adopt because they believe that heredity can affect the child - the sins of the father (and mother) literally are laid upon the child. If the mother and father did not want the child then the child will "be cursed" with that - may not be "trainable", may be barren, may have other issues. It comes up a lot - if they want so many kids why not adopt? You'll note Quiverfull families are always born - never adopted. They only have the children God gives them - be it 1 or 20.

Very interesting reading, to say the least.

Some Links To Get You Started
http://www.quiverfull.com/index.php
http://www.therevealer.org/archives/timeless_002709.php
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000069.asp

 

[deanws]

Specially since the Mrs. only has a high school education. How can she attempt to home school 17 kids? There you go. Narcisstic. Oh wait. Maybe she has the older ones teach the younger ones, like in their "mentoring" program.

Yes...that is EXACTLY what she does. Read their web site and she states that the older children help the younger ones with their studies. I am beginning to wonder what she does besides screw!

 

[Mira]

having been raised in this kind of family, even though most of the kids were cousins, it isnt creepy, or even weird, to me. we always had at least 10 to feed 3 times a day, in summers it was more like 20.

it never occured to me that housework, farm work, or cooking were something that only the adults should do. therefore 'child labor' never came into it. if you made a mess, clean it up. if you took a bath/shower, hang up the towel or put it in the wash basket.

getting up for school was easy, somebody would holler, and the floors would vibrate with younguns coming to breakfast. its not much harder to cook for a crowd than to cook for 3 or 4. (i still struggle to cook for 3 instead of 12 LOL) making 4 or 5 dozen biscuits just takes a bigger bowl and sometimes 2 ovens.

we werent home schooled, but all of us benefited from auntie's love and wisdom. her hair was never 'styled' it just was. nobody seemed to care, we just wanted to be the first to tell her our news, or get to sit by her.

we all milked cows, hauled hay, disced the garden and hoed it, fed the chickens and hogs, calves and goats and rabbits, and never felt like slaves. if anyone did, they could dang well go home! i dont remember anyone preferring to go home, sometimes their parents would call and see how they were, but not often. mostly for church or something. we had no set religion, auntie was wiccan, but never passed it on to any of us.

we all had friends, we played on the swing, or cowboys and indians, or softball, we always had at least a team for anything we wanted to do. sleepovers on weekends lasted from friday afternoon till monday morning. we would go in the woods for days at a time, we called it 'survivaling' and we hated to come out. (we could have hollered and those at the house would have heard us, but we felt cut off from civilization)

i miss those days.

 

[PSUfan]

its not much harder to cook for a crowd than to cook for 3 or 4. (i still struggle to cook for 3 instead of 12 LOL) making 4 or 5 dozen biscuits just takes a bigger bowl and sometimes 2 ovens.

Great post!

My mother was the second of 16 children, and she wouldnt trade her childhood for anything! But yeah, she said the same thing. When she married, it was a HUGE struggle to cook for 2. And she missed the noise and activity of a big family.

 

[southcitymom]

Specially since the Mrs. only has a high school education. How can she attempt to home school 17 kids? There you go. Narcisstic. Oh wait. Maybe she has the older ones teach the younger ones, like in their "mentoring" program.

Most states only require a high school education to homeschool a child. I don't have a problem with the children being homeschooled. I don't really have a problem with their choice of this sized family - certainly that's their right - it's just that I personally find it creepy.