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With their heavy reliance on ingredients such as "liquid smoke" and "Velveeta", I predict they're all going to starve once oil runs out and there are no more petrochemicals.
have seen this documentry am in two mind s grew up in childrens homes and love the buzz of a big family but then 18 is like wow !!! I have four and my family have said they will disown us if we have anymore!! (MMMMM now thats a thought ) each to their own
Jenevieve is nice for a girl and Jacob for a boy .
Completely agree re the Mizens- quite the most dignified people I have seen on television for a very long time. Feel utterly heartbroken for them and for the loss of their wonderful-looking lad.
i tell you who i find incredibly inspiring while we are talking of large families: the Mizens, bless them. a horrible tragedy has befallen them and they are the most dignified people i have ever seen. i cried when i saw the mum on tv last night saying she is praying for the family of her son's killer...
The thing is we have no idea what living in their family is like. All we have are very select views from a second rate tv station. I don't see that they are any more fundamental than other very religious families of other faiths.
if you can get through the initial setting up home years without debt it can be easy-ish to avoid is my experience (after paying off gazillins and being debt free now)
I have to say, I would never call a home-schooled child raised in a fundamentalist household "well rounded". Doubt they're ever going to cheer the floats at the Gay Mardi Gras or have many Buddhist friends.
I didn't say the fact that they had no debt was an indication of their parenting skills, I was just impressed that they managed a household of that size without relying on credit. I'm sure they got paid a lot for being in the documentaries, but they had no debt before the documentaries were filmed.
I'm not saying either that it's what I would want for my children, but on the evidence I've seen they are all happy, well-adjusted and well rounded children who seemed very happy. There Dad seems to around a lot and they all seem to really care for each other. I'm fully prepared to accept that the documentary is skewed, but equally there's been no negative press about them afterwards saying that it's all lies! Give them a break, the Duggars are cool!
Actually on that video someone linked to what struck me was how YOUNG they both look. I'd have expected someone with so many dc to look sort of worn out but she looks really fresh and young
i had a babysitter when i was about 10 who was one of 16. 3 or 4 more had died in infancy. her mum died when she was 10 years old. the stories she told were of incredible poverty, ignorance and loneliness- she never had any toys and her dad was working 20 hours a day just to keep them fed. she basically brought herself up and was a miserable affection starved woman.
i also know two families where they have 8 and 7 children respectively and despite the differnt era and social class the children are still quite "tough" in a sometimes scary way- used from a very early age to fend for themselves.
now i am sure that these duggars are well off so the material side of things will not be as grim; and they look vaguely educated too. but please don't tell me that bringing 18 children in the world is a responsible thing to do. there is simply no way you can give a child enough attention and focus when you have so many. that's not what i would want for my children anyway.
i am sure they look great on a documentary (whcih is scripted, edited, etc) but the reality cannot be that great. and sorry LauraT, the fact that they have no debt is in no way an indication of their parenting skills.
I love the Duggars! I watched the documentaries about them over Christmas, and was fully prepared to think they were insane, but apart from the J thing (which is weird, but I suppose if you did it with 2 children and kept thinking oh well if there's one more we can't leave them out) they seem to be a well adjusted family who care about each other, work hard, have good values and NO DEBT! The eldest boy is very articulate and seemed very sensible too.
I'm sure fees from Discovery for a succession of documentaries helps to maintain their debt-free status.
I do feel very about it but, as far as I can see (and I've watched a couple of the docs) they (Jim-Bob and Michelle) made the choice freely and continue to do so. So far, at least, the children seem happy though I wouldn't want to bet on all of them carrying on with a similar lifestyle.
wot, no section on 'over-consumption by irresponsible reproduction' or 'see how many disposable nappies and polystyrene cups one family can throw out' or 'the duggar diet: does your child refuse to eat anything green'?
or how about 'the quiverful movement: how to groom your daughters to be nothing but baby factories subservient to men'
they also sell a 'financial freedom' packet.
their tips must include how use religion to tax dodge.
When I was 18, I had a friend, she was the youngest in a family of 18 children. There would have been 20 children, but two had died. In her case, the oldest had moved out when she was born, her oldest sister was 47 (when she was 18) she had never experienced being with all her sisters and brothers at the same time, like for family occasions. They had given up on Christmas and Birthday presents for each other early on, and celebrated as best they could without. She had a plethora of nieces and nephews, and did not remember the names of all of them! Her parents of course knew all the grandchildren. She said they were a happy and well adjusted family, her parents were not particularly religious, they were not very rich, neither did they get any benefits. All her siblings had left home now, they had jobs, were independent, some were studying at university, like her.
I dont know why a story like this is even interesting. Each to their own, and all that, and if the children are happy why not? Not my business what another woman does to her health, in the same way as I am not coming down heavy handed on smokers. None of my business.
I am assuming (I may be wrong though) that since the Duggars live in the US, and not in the UK, at least the husband works and supports his family, rather than getting benefits to support his brood. The article doesnt say.
I went to the site about them and watyched the photo slideshow. (Hmm, I'm busy!) On the wall of the playroom there are loads of words painted, like "Virtue" and "Devotion".
fundamentalism is also a tool to brainwash, indoctrinate and ultimately exercise extreme control over people - who are brought to believe it is their free will, especially when that indoctrination begins with children.
'the hand the rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world.'
oh, yes, kitty, and entirely my business if i think they're both irresponsible freaks.
they're an example of EVERYTHING that is wrong with American culture, and i speak as an American myself.
i despise fundamentalism in all its forms because it uses 'God's will' to justify whatever hte hell it is a person wants to do, rightly or wrongly. be it blowing up a building to procreating irresponsibly with zero respect for hte planet.
Hellish, they aren't standing in groups, they are standing from the eldest to the youngest... I saw an e mail attacment(or many)about this family and they use so much throw away stuff like polystyrene cups...really good for the environment
i feel faint. 18 kids- why? why? why???????????????????
it must be either like a circus in there or else they run one of those scary disciplinarian verging on despotic households.
and that's even before you start thinking about the fact that all the kids have names beginning with J *so they won't stand out*! WTF????? do everything you can to erase their individuality before they can even think?
Aside from the many issues that arise from bringing 18 children into the world, giving them all with the same initial is just bloody stupid and rather unfair. Imagine all the post addressed to "J Duggar" that will need to be opened to find out who it might be for, meaning that they won't even manage a degree of privacy with written correspondence. I find that quite sad.
I wonder how long we will have to wait before the first misery-lit allegedly autobiographical work from one of the kids complaining about what hell it was to grow up in such a big family...
wow. I think my uterus will fall out if I keep going past 4! But tbh, that website makes me want to have lots and lots - I haven't seen the TV show, but they look like sweet kids and a really happy family.
Have seen a documentary on them before. They are home ED, they built most of the house themselves and did it as an exercise on costing etc as part of their home ED.
When they go on "vacation" the parents get them all to wear similar colours so she can easily spot them.
They believe that every child they have is a gift from God. So everytime she gets pg then it is meant to be. I am amazed that her body, particularly her womb has held out. Good luck to them. I dread to think how much it costs
I admire them actually - watched them on tv and they were all very happy, mucking in - they are like the waltons! They seem to be comfortable that they are a little 'different' - respect.
I saw a documentary on this family, i have to say they did seem very happy, the older kids help younger ones etc, all help mum with housework etc, dad works as somethign like a constuction manager, and he designed the house they live in (the one in the pic)
good luck to them if they can cope with that many kids, 2 is more than enough for me personally!!
i do think it is different for them though. living in that massive house, with all that ground around, the small kids can play outside with out fear of getting run over or taken. the older kids are taught at home and are well taught to help out with the smaller ones. i have seen the earlier documentry about them and their routine and behavior puts my house to shame
each to their own 
and respect. 
