18 Is SO Last Year

2 posted on September 2, 2009

POSTED IN: Blog Posts

When the Duggar family became the stars of their own TV show on TLC called 18 Kids And Counting, everyone just assumed that the “and counting” part just made for a catchier title. Turns out they weren’t kidding. Didn’t you hear? 19 is the new 18.

Michelle Duggar (who is 42 years old) announced yesterday that baby Duggar number 19 is on the way in March. Meanwhile, her oldest child, Joshua, and his wife are also expecting. Both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are pregnant at the same time.

“I took a pregnancy test and lo and behold, I was just pleasantly surprised that it was positive. I was jumping up and down going, ‘Thank you, Lord. Here I am thinking my baby days are over and you’ve blessed us with another.” - Michelle Duggar

I posted this news on Twitter and Facebook yesterday and was surprised by some of the responses I got. I kind of expected the obvious “What the heck are they thinking?” replies, but it was the comments from kids of larger families sticking up for them that surprised me. Granted, their idea of “large” are still in the single digits.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on large families. I was raised in a family of four (Dad + Mom + 2 kids). Sure I would have loved another brother or sister or two growing up, but to be one of 19?!? Kinda seems like it would be easy to get lost in the shuffle. I prefer to raise kids in a family, not an organization.

What do you think? What’s your idea of a “large” family and do you think it’s healthy?

* As always, let’s keep the conversation civil and respect other’s right to disagree *

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 9:12 am and is filed under Blog Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

15 Comments

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September 2, 2009

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1 Bajanpoet said:

WOW! Love it! Don’t know if I could handle it … but yeah! May your quiver be full – the Bible teaches that, right? My 2 boys leave me exhausted … but hey… I wouldn’t mind trying for another…… (wistful stare…) lol
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September 2, 2009

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2 Molly said:

entirely to much for me.

however, the duggers seem to have their lives incredibly organized and even though they are on TV haven’t totally flipped out like other TLC families.

As long as they can sustain the number, have at it
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September 2, 2009

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3 Aaron Guilmette said:

I think there’s a balance between “quiver full of kids” and “quiver full of kids that will end up being supported by the taxpayer.” I haven’t really seen higher education promoted to much on the show, so I don’t know how much employment the family business can sustain.

Where do you find time to spend time with all the kids? Can you really devote meaningful time to all of them? Even if you wanted to spen 30 minutes a day, you’ve got 9 dedicated hours without cooking meals, feeding the baby, or doing other necessary household tasks. And to top it off, you really end up with kids raising kids because the parents depend on the oldest siblings to manage younger ones.

Your childhood is supposed to be just that–childhood. It shouldn’t be spent raising your parent’s offspring.
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September 2, 2009

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4 Sarah said:

I’m not really so sure that the Duggars can “handle it”. The reason I say that, is because the few times I have seen the show, I notice that the older siblings are really more like second parents. I’m not so sure that is healthy. It is the parents’ choice to have the children, a choice that the older children didn’t make, but still are responsible for. But, at the same time, their needs are all taken care of, and they all seem to really love each other.

My concern with having that many, is I’m not sure I would have enough to give to each of those kids. Enough love, attention, etc. I grew up in a family with 6 kids, and sometimes I’m not sure my parents were always able to be there for each of us when we needed it. However, I am very loved, and don’t think I suffered. And a big family can be really fun at holiday time!

I think a good parent is one who can be the best parent with the kids they choose to have. If you’re the best parent you can be with 19 kids – great. Or with 1 – that’s good too.
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September 2, 2009

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5 patty said:

I think having siblings period would be great. I’m an only child.

With that said though, I don’t know about that big of a family. I’ve seen lot’s of friends that end up parenting the younger siblings, and I think that robs the younger siblings of their relationship with their own parents.

I love to see parents taking time to go on daddy/daughter dates, or mommy/son dates for that one on one time and with 19 I don’t know how they juggle that.

None of us are privy to each other’s private lives. If this family can juggle that many kids, maintain a great relationship with all of them, well then, fabulous and best wishes to them!!
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September 2, 2009

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6 Cherith said:

We have to remember that the Duggars are not the only ones out there having kids till her ovaries fail! LOL

I admire her. To homeschool ALL of them. Raise them with good moralsand respect. With a christian background and still have some sanity! I couldn’t do it. I could teach a class of 20 kids, but not raise them. And when it comes to raising them, you can’t tell me that parents with more then 2 kids don’t put their older kids in charge of watching them, feeding them, changing them?? Help is available to them, so why not use it? I honestly think the older girls of the family don’t mind. It’s life to them. Something their use too.

I think TLC saw a great opportunity with a family living frugally, with their own business, raising all these kids and still married! Who sees that any more? I mean, look at Jon and Kate! Their marriage was screwed from the beginning and they have 8 kids! Michelle and Jim Bob have such a great marriage and wonderful kids. And not only that, a great family business that they never up hold and keep to themselves. They bless so many people! Lots of people can learn from them. Whether or not you have that many kids. Like, making your own laundry detergent!! I really need to know how to do that!

The ONLY thing that I don’t agree with is all the sheltering. Having a home church with just your family. Homeschooling them from birth. Being homeschooled myself, I remember the importance of having fellowship outside of my home. That is something I feel strongly about because it’s so important for your kids to understand the world outside of your home and family.

But, other then that… I say, more power to them. I really enjoy watching their show! (as I step off my soap box..)
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September 2, 2009

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7 Nick said:

I watched the show yesterday and part of me wants to not like them because I assume we would disagree on just about everything (theology, politics, etc), but then I can’t find ANYTHING really wrong with them. Granted, it is TV, but they seem to be great parents who love their kids and want God’s best for them.

I barely have enough wisdom to figure out how to raise my own 2 boys, I am in no position to criticize them.
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September 2, 2009

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8 abelara said:

i’ve got 6 daughters; ages 8, 7, 5, almost 3, and twin 17mo.

honestly, there’s sometimes my wife and i look at each other and wonder, “where’d all these people come from?” (skip the jokes, we know where they come from and we like sex)

and then there’s times where we’re all sitting together and we have to count them again because we didn’t think they were all here because the family looked small to us.

that said, i have taken precautions to ensure that we don’t have anymore kids. but we aren’t opposed to possibly adopting in the future.

life’s an adventure, and we love having more people to share it with!
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September 2, 2009

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9 abelara said:

here’s the aforementioned family.

how would you NOT want to have as much fun as us?
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September 2, 2009

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10 abelara said:

hmmm … didn’t show up. here’s a link on flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abelara/3481815801/sizes/m/
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September 2, 2009

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11 Evan said:

Didn’t these people ever hear the phrase “it’s about quality, not quantity”? I have a hard time believing anybody can raise 19 children who will all grow up to be successful adults and parents themselves.

I’ve known large families (think 5 or more kids) over the years and what typically happens is that the older kids turn out great. It’s the younger ones don’t get the attention they need and end up basically turning into punks.

It’s a real eye opener when you see someone you knew as a kid jumping in front of rush hour traffic (wearing scant clothing) for entertainment.

I’m not kidding, I’ve really seen this happen.
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September 2, 2009

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12 Brad Ruggles said:

@abelara – Holy Smokes! SIX girls?? Wow!! Do you already have a stock of baseball bats ready to beat off the guys when they get older?

Seriously though, you have a beautiful family.
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September 2, 2009

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13 Scratching My Head said:

You know… lots of folks criticize moms on welfare. And lots of folks applaud this family. But if you watch their show, you’ll see that their home was constructed with donations and volunteer labor. It just doesn’t seem responsible or right, somehow.
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14 April said:

when you’re on tv like that, it’s hard not to think that they’re doing it just for attention…. but maybe their hearts are right.

I’m thinking if I were in their shoes I’d be quite ready to be done with that baby stage of life…
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15 Kristi said:

Definitely too many for me and I think it’s crazy, but they are living their convictions and living them well. Michelle and Jim Bob wrote a book that came out recently (maybe last year?) explaining a little more about their life. They are in absolutely no debt. Not even a mortgage or a car loan. They pay cash for everything and only buy what they can afford. So, with that being said, taxpayers aren’t supporting their kids. They’ve trusted God with their finances and their family and they’ve been abundantly blessed.