19 Kids and Counting.....

Kimber - posted on 06/08/2011

I think that it is totaly CRAZZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To have that many kids!!!! They will never,ever get the att. that they need!!!! I say NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elizabeth - posted on 05/17/2011

oh really thats sad i used to do that too with my daughter til one day she was gone for a whole weekend and realized how much i depend on her so i decided to take the burden off of her cause sounded like i wasnt being fair

Veronique - posted on 05/03/2011

I agree with you! Not because your fertile for so many years doesn't mean you should be procreating so often. The oldest of that family are always raising the youngest will mommy gets pregnant. I don't think it's fare......All these girls will be doing all there life is raising there siblings and then making babies of there own and raising them. Also they are always cleaning, i mean really i'm all for kids doing chores but i would like to see the mom do something other the making babies!

Danielle - posted on 05/03/2011

ooo boy - I think lots!
I too watch the show though I dont know why
1-The older kids while I do understand they should contribute to the household are not in fact that smaller childrens mom's and should not be held to do the majority of the work - that's unfair to them
2-I think they are all a lot brainwashed!
3- jimboband michelle have broken the worlds baby law as far as I am concerned- the math works out to be the people get married and are to ideally procreate a family of 3- not 20 for crying out loud!
4- these people barely watch tv? then how the heck did the end up getting a show on tlc- have they even actually watched on episode of their own show?
5- their life is excessive my all means and and it is just plain silly so far as my opinion goes

Saria - posted on 09/10/2010

Well i've watched the show a few times myself. I really think that the older kids take care of the little kids alot. They are making money on TLC so i think that is why they keep having more and more kids.

Krista - posted on 09/05/2010

I have no issue with people having as many kids as they want, but I do think that they need to stop now. This last child was quite premature with a host of health issues. To me, that's her body sending her a very, very clear message -- it's time to tie a knot in something, already.

Kerry - posted on 09/02/2010

I watch this show all the time and their kids are really well behaved children. I don't think they would be if they were really neglected. They teach their kids good values and while yes I do think they should be done at least their kids will be contributing members of society. They live debt free which I can't do with one kid and just seem like genuinely nice people.

Lacie - posted on 09/01/2010

i totally agree. i mean you cant possibly be able to show that many kids the individual love, care, and attention they all need. now they aresaying they are ready to have another one and they just got the baby out of the hospital after she was sick for so long. you would think they would realize maybe we need to just leave it at 19 and not try anymore, because if they try for another one and the pregnancy does take they are risking that baby's life.

Summer - posted on 08/09/2010

true, they want to obviously have a big family. I just find it annoying that they cash out for it like a freak show carni attraction. But I guess to each its own. I bet a lot of people would do the same if they had that many kids (gotta make money somehow).

Serena - posted on 07/31/2010

I haven't watched the show much because it always outrages me on the life these people live. He really does have his own little cult over there I think...the girls can't even wear pants and they wear their hair long because Jim likes it that way. I do think it is totally unfair that the older children are more of parents than their own parents are. If you watch closely there is one of the older girls, don't remember her name but she is withdrawn from the others and doesn't smile half as much as her sisters.
But at least they aren't Octomom...

Monet - posted on 07/21/2010

I completely agree. How are these kids get their individual attention?

Amanda - posted on 07/21/2010

I saw that too! When I think of a big family I think 2 parents and 4 or 5 children maybe through in a couple of dogs and cats. There last baby was premature and I think she has been pregnant for 15 to 20 years now - that I could not imagine! I do believe it is part of their religion, but I do not know!

Jennifer - posted on 07/11/2010

that's just crazy 2 have that many kids i think they need a new hobby

Anastasia - posted on 07/07/2010

i love this show. but i do feel she should stop haveing kids and stop at 19. I feel she is getting older in life and she should stop at 19. i mean when u look at the last baby they had she was born premature and had problems i think maybe some of that had do with the fact that she is getting older in life and her body can't handle haveing more kids because as u get older the chances of problems go up more. but i do love the show and her family.

Jessica - posted on 07/07/2010

I agree! they seem like a nice family but something is off, the kids are way too good lol and it's not fair for the older ones to be doing all the work!

Charlena - posted on 07/06/2010

i think people should have as many kids as they want too , it looks like a lot but they seem to do fine , im pretty sure if some of the older didnt want to help they would speak up , but then again that isnt how the duggers ( i think thats their last name ) raise their children .

Soleil - posted on 06/28/2010

I love the show and I love the family. It's not for me personally, but I don't think that the kids are upset about their situation so I don't think anyone else should. I think that family is the perfect example of ignorance is bliss..... they know nothing different, and they love what they have. The only thing I don't agree with is how they keep putting the mothers life in danger. Her last pregnancy almost killed her, and they still don't know how that baby is going to come out... and to still not prevent other pregnancies is just so irresponsible. I mean, she is the mother to all those kids, and to risk leaving them motherless is just stupid and selfish to me!

Sara - posted on 06/27/2010

I have nothing against being a devote Christian, but Jim Bob Duggar is CREEPY, and Michelle has a lobotomy gaze. This guy bred his OWN cult. Saw an article that says his property was declared a church and therefore doesn't pay taxes. There are creepy rumors that surround that family. Google Josh Duggar, the oldest Duggar kid. See what immediately pops up.
Also my mother is from a huge family, 9 kids, and my partner is one of 13 kids. The older kids ALWAYS end up raising the younger ones, whether the parents intend it or not. What Michelle Duggar is forcing the older girls to do is criminal. All my mother's sisters left and married by 18 to get out and to escape raising babies.

Katrina - posted on 06/27/2010

sorry, I do not agree with most of the post here. I watch the show all the time and even though having 19 kids it's not for everyone, it works for them. They are just doing what they think God wants them to do, multiply. As long as they don't collect medicaid and other government aide programs and keep having kids, what's the problem? It doesn't effect any of us. It's not like their bad parents, raising children who will be a drain on society, these children have strong values, and by helping in the raising of the younger children and with housework they are learning to work hard and learning things they will need to know in the future when they start families of their own. Too many kids now a days are lazy and never learn the importance of hard work. I admire their dedication to ensuring their children grow up to be responsible, hard working, well rounded adults.

Amanda - posted on 06/09/2010

I think she should have stoped opening her legs after kid 2!! 19 kids come on thats crazy I think people that do things like that are just out to get attention. I really think its messed up how she had so many kids and just kept making the older ones take care of the younger ones.. what kind of mother really does that?

Miranda - posted on 05/12/2010

You're right. Just because she CAN have that many kids doesn't mean she SHOULD. Most of the episodes I've seen (and I've seen a lot) the older girls are always feeding the younger kids, making sure they are dressed etc. They are taking on the responsibility of their mom and its not fair. They didn't have the sex to get those babies, so they shouldn't have to act as a stand-in mom just because Michelle doesn't no how to keep her legs closed. If they don't wanna use birth control then fine, but there is other ways to keep from getting pregnant and its callled not having sex.

Lindsey - posted on 05/09/2010

i guess in my world it seems weird and odd but i guess its the only thing they know,its how they were raised and taught.

Samantha - posted on 05/08/2010

When you hit 45 you have a 1 in 12 chance of having a child with Downs Syndrome. Michelle and Jim Bob are fortunate (and lucky!) to have 19 HEALTHY kids. I'm sorry the numbers speak for themselves, the risks are way too high for comfort.

Jocelyn - posted on 05/08/2010

no amount of money could ever replace one on one time with ur children, and with 19 it seems impossible to give ur undivided attention to each of them..........could the parents really tell if each of there children r ok r not with the fact that there lives r limited to take care of there parents responsibilities

Lyndsay - posted on 05/08/2010

Totally agree. I hate that family and think they should be sterilized. Their most recent baby, Josie, was hospitalized for weeks and they were warned not to have any more kids, and yet they are still considering it. They are like an assembly line. Every nine months another baby comes along, the parents care for it for awhile and then the mom gets pregnant again. So that baby then gets passed along to his or her older siblings, and the cycle begins again.

Another thing... I can't imagine how sex can possibly be enjoyable for the husband after the wife delivering 19 babies. I picture it like a balloon. You blow the balloon up once or twice and it goes back to its former shape. You blow the balloon up 19 times and its going to be all stretched and saggy and loose.... ew.

Cindy - posted on 05/07/2010

I agree and disagree with comments above. I have watched the show and I do feel 19/20 kids are just too many for one family to handle. However, The kids seem happy and healthy. The older kids don't seem to mind helping out the younger kids. The family as a whole functions really well. I wish I had half the patience that Mrs. Dugger has (and I only have 4).

Katie - posted on 05/05/2010

Even smaller families have the older kids look after the little kids.
I am one of only four, and after my littlest brother was about 1y/o, I could see that he was getting to be a handful for my mum after school and around bath time and dinner time, so I just took it on myself to be his second mother. There are only 7 years between us.We have a really special bond because of this. So I dont see why some people think it's such a big deal with the buddy system that the Duggar's utilise. To me it seems normal.

I do think that 19 is a really a lot of kids. It is too many.
And that's coming from a girl who has a grandparent on each side with 9 or so kids in the family.

And that even if they think that it's up to God to decide how many children they should have, I think that with the scare of having a three month premature baby would hopefully lead them to a decision of getting father Jim-Bob to the doctor to have the snip!

I wonder if the Mum's health fails and she doesn't live as long as the average woman. It would be her own downfall. And then she wouldn't be able to see all her kids with their own families, and she'll miss out on all the grandkids.

I just went to their family website to see if there was any new news, as I am from Australia, and haven't seen the show... and there is a new book out, called, 20 and counting.... when will they learn?

Kristy - posted on 05/03/2010

The Duggards, right? Yea, I have watched the show a few times. I wondered how to afford these kids? I mean, I couldn't afford toliet paper for all those kids, let alone food, clothes, shelter, etc? How can you have a close, personal relationship with each individual child when you have THAT many children?

Brittany - posted on 05/03/2010

What I don't really care for about the show is that they live in this homeschooled one way of thinking factory-assembly-line-style life. Everything has to be wattered down or bought second hand in order to keep them living in that huge warehouse-home thing that they have built. In ANY family where there is a large range of children's ages there are those unspoken rules that you have to be careful in your clothes cuz they will get passed down. You have to make sure that all the millions of chores that come with having that large a family are taken care of before play or recreation. You have to raise your siblings, and you have to like it because majority rules. I think that is becomes a real issue also when your mother has been warned about her health and well-being should she continue on into her late 40's having children with an already very tired body, knowing she is supposed to take care of the million and half kids she already has! I also get the sense that there is no individual identities being established amongst the kids. They have the same hair cuts and clothing and are known simply as "The Duggers" then the parents friends come over and they have 17 or 18 of there own kids so it becomes even harder to have those crucial moments of solitude and contemplation that children and teenagers (let's face it adults too!) so desperately need.

Jessica - posted on 04/29/2010

I read an article recently regarding what number of children is 'too many'. Speaking strictly medically, I think it was any number after 4 starts to get more and more dangerous (for mom and baby), and becomes more high risk. (I personally don't think 5 is too many...again, this was just medically speaking.)

I think when there is a need to have the older children start caring for the younger, than that is probably too many! I think its important for parents to be the caretakers. I mean, siblings helping out is one thing, but I don't think they should be the primary caregivers.

Mary - posted on 04/28/2010

I like to watch the show too, but they do have too many responsibilities and such a limited world. They do seem happy, though. I hope that they stay happy and don't have giant families themselves I think that it's way too many children even if people can afford it.

Summers - posted on 04/27/2010

I think that has a lot to do with the family being uber religious. They like to keep their children in a "small world" so to speak with old school values. Certainly not for everyone but it seems to be working for them. They could have it a lot worse.

Kerry - posted on 04/27/2010

I've watched this show a few times too and noticed that. The older kids definitally take on alot of responsibility. Too much I think. It is sad. And I couldn't imagine feeding all those kids. I have trouble keeping food in the house w/my 3 boys who eat constantly! lol