I rarely post about stuff like this, but it just bothers me. I read an article on Yahoo about a 41-year-old woman who's pregnant with her 18th child. Their family is getting lots of publicity (and even more so now because of mother's day). But all the attention they're getting are encouraging attention, and through their faith in their religion, the couple are open to having more children if it happens. What's your take on this? I know it might be controversial, but it just bothers me. Of course I'm happy for the woman and her family, but at the same time it just boggles the mind. I won't post my rant, lol, but of course America is already populated enough, and with the economy, environment, etc you'd think enough is enough. :confused:

Anywho, here's the link to the article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080509/ap_on_re_us/18_kids

Ah the Duggers! I remember watching their special on TV. Personally, I think if they are able to take care of all those children (financially and emotionally) I don't really care. I remember reading the family lives much more frugally than most Americans and make their money from commercial real estate plus the children seem happy and well cared for. They are probably have a lesser impact on the environment than small wasteful wealthy families.

I think overpopulation is more of a issue in countries that are less well off and not able to care for their people or provide easy access to birth control. Then again, one can argue that Americans are harder on the planet than most (I read a article recently that even the American homeless have a pretty big 'carbon footprint' on the earth)

I have a bigger problem with people who carelessly reproduce before they are ready to raise children, thus producing maladjusted children who are just drains of society.

In the U.S people are now limiting their family size more than in previous times, which is good so I don't think big families are really even a problem. I can relate to your concern though, a family that size boggles the mind!

ITA w/ what was said, if they are financially able to care for their kids, then let them have at it. however, as a taxpayer I do not want to pay for their overpopulating America by providing them w/ welfare, Medicaid, and WIC. I work w/ a girl who knew she wasn't financially able to care for a child & also has a very unstable home life, yet she went ahead & got pregnant. Now she's receiving WIC & is on Medicaid & battles w/ the father everyday about money, bills, daycare, etc. I have NO patience for this!

I've seen a couple TLC specials on them and I got pretty outraged.

They care for them very well financially - they never go without roof, food, clothes. They even have a dog. They're debt-free and built their own huge new house.

My qualm is how they're being raised emotionally. The girls can't get haircuts. They must wear jumpers all the time. They're homeschooled. No TV, no internet, no radio. The children claim they are all different and think from themselves but the show shows otherwise. That's what I see as so sad. I also despise when daughters are used as free labor (baby-sitting) which is definitely going on here as well. The kids don't have outside friends that they're allowed to go hang out with.

Also, on the website it asks the children to name what they want to be when they grow up. I realize some of them are young but only TWO name jobs requiring formal schooling. College isn't right for everyone, but that further shows what they're being taught at home about life roles.

On the episode I watched, the mom and dad discussed why they started having so many kids. She started using birth control after she got married. Then they learned if she inadvertantly got pregnant, the b/c could theoretically terminate the pregnancy. They decided this was abortion, and thus sacrelige, and the rest is history.

Sorry for such a rant, but this family gets me heated!

My 'only' problem with the Duggers are the reasons ScottyBabe just spoke of. Probably the reason only 2 of the kids listed professions that require college is because the girls will not be allowed to pursue higher education, according to interviews I've read. I know they're making it on their own without any type of assistance (other than what Discovery pays them, ha), so in that respect more power to them. But any family, whether there are 2 kids or 20, that raises their children like that bothers me. Their world is so insulated, I feel bad that the older children (girls) end up being used as free childcare, and I can't imagine they're getting the individual attention they need from their parents.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with it. I don't want 18 kids, but hey, if they can handle all aspects of it, it's not an issue for me. My only real thought is how taxing that must be on a woman's body to have 18 kids. If you look at the kids and how old they are, she literally had them back to back to back. That article said she had spent more than 11 years being pregnant. OMG... 11 years? Ahhh, I can't even imagine it.

I have the same problems as Scottybabe does with them. I personally don't care how many children someone has as long as they're taking care of them but something about this family (and the majority of the families on the TLC show Kids by the Dozen) sometimes comes off as creepy. I also strongly disagree (again I know this was mentioned) with pawning your young children off on your older kids. If you want to have kids YOU should take care of them not your older kids who should be allowed to be kids. I find it really creepy that when she was pregnant with her 17th she mentioned how she can't imagine not being pregnant. Not sure what it was but just something seemed off. And I agree with Erica on how hard it must be on that woman's body.

I saw a TLC special about this family, and they honestly give me the creeps. If I were on of their kids, I'd seriously consider running away from home! As others have said, they're so insulated that it's disturbing.

I really don't care. I've watched their show a few times. At least they're able to provide for their kids and raise them in a loving environment.

Yeah I read that,
I can't even imagine!

I want lots of kids, but not that many.

At least the kiddos are well cared for though. I might not agree with all their methods but I was quite impressed at how little they spend to feed such a huge family.

My mom and I were discussing this last night. I'm sure the older children help with the younger ones. I bet they have great sibling bonds and watch out for each other. But, I can't imagine the parents giving equal amounts of loving attention to every child. I have 4 rabbits and I can barely take care of them. I would forget my kids' names if I had 18.:D
What if all those kids need braces, glasses, haircuts, doctors appointments? Even with insurance and the co-pay it must be ridiculous to care for 18 kids.

I think it's crazy too but whatever...there are a lot worse things they could be doing I suppose. My Great Grandmother had 11 kids plus 2 that died at children birth and that was back before modern medicine!!!!! You should see the family tree how huge those 11 kids became...it's like hundreds of people were created from just my great grandparents!:eek: I however couldn't bare the thought of having even one child and I am soooo glad I never had kids! The thought of having kids never even entered my mind...from a very young age, I knew I never wanted children..EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

It bothers me, for several reasons. One, as others have said, it's not healthy for anyone to grow up in that kind of isolated environment. We have a couple who are patients at work who have six kids (not as bad as 18, but still), and they let them have pretty much no interaction with the outside world. The parents are super fundamentalist Christian (the kind that's pretty much totally nuts) and I can't describe what they're doing to their kids as anything but brainwashing.

Secondly, with the world being as overpopulated as it is, and the fact that there are so many kids out there without parents/families/homes, it seems kind of irresponsible to have 18 of them. If it's just because you honestly want to be parents that much and you just genuinely like kids, then why not adopt/be foster parents?

It just seems to me that in cases like this, a lot of the time it's about getting attention and using the kids (like using the older ones for childcare), and with the people I know, it's like their kids are possessions rather than people. I also wonder how good of a parent you can really be when you have that many kids splitting your attention, just because of the fact that there are so many.

I don't know, maybe it's not a big deal, but it seems that the people who have the most kids are people who shouldn't have any kids at all, at least in my experience, so it makes me wonder.

According to Wikipedia, the Duggars follow a movement called "Quiverfull", which basically states that they view children as a blessing from God and that those who follow this lifestyle do not believe in birth control of any kind (I copied the Wikipedia definition below).

While that's all fine & dandy, I agree with those who've already stated that it seems as though the older children end up caring for the younger ones -- seriously, how could this woman keep up with all those little ones if she didn't have the help of her oldest children?

I have 4 kids, 3 of which are 5 and under, and only months apart in age, and I have a difficult time keeping peace in the house, and at times, our mental stability is tested to the hilt when there are tantrums being thrown and fighting is going on between the little ones. Having watched some of the specials on TV about this family, I swear it makes me feel like an incompetent mother, seeing how idyllic and peaceful and well-behaved their kids are lol. Is this REAL LIFE?

I can't imagine it being fair on their oldest kids to be put in the position of "surrogate parents" for lack of a better way of phrasing it.

But then again, who am I to judge? They seem to have the money (the father was a former state legislator, and IIRC, is not hurting in any way for money, due to commercial real estate holdings and the money/free things given to them for their TV appearances/specials) to support everyone, but in the end, I just can't see how it's possible that each child gets the personalized attention that they need from a parent(s).

Quiverfull is a movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement) among conservative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism) evangelical (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism) Protestant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism) Christian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity) couples chiefly in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States), but with some adherents in Canada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada),[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-QF-Canda-0) Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia), New Zealand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand), England (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England), and elsewhere.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-hess-1) Its viewpoint is to eagerly receive children as blessings from God,[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-hess-1)[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-rainey_ref_2-2)[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-demoss-3)[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-campN-4) eschewing all forms of birth control (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_control), including natural family planning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_family_planning) and sterilization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterilization_%28surgical_procedure%29).[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-joyce-5)[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-LifeSiteNews.com-6) Someone of this persuasion might call themselves a "quiver full", "full quiver", "quiverfull-minded", or simply "QF" Christian. Roman Catholics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism) and some others might refer to the Quiverfull position as Providentialism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providentialism),[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-open_embrace-7) while the popular press has recently referred to the movement as a manifestation of natalism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalism).[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-cbn-8)[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-nytimes-9) The movement and its corpus of literature have grown steadily since its inception. Its adherents most likely number in the "thousands to low tens of thousands".[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull#cite_note-joyce-5) It began to receive significant attention in the U.S. national press in 2004.

18 kids is a lot, although I am #6 in a family of 10. My older siblings watched us from time to time, and when I got older I was the one to watch my younger siblings from time to time too. It was never too often though and I never minded, I actually loved it when my parents would leave for a while and we got the house to ourselves! We'd get into the food and crank up the radio, try on my mom's clothes and shoes. Yeah it was fun! Our house was amazingly clean, my mom didn't allow messes, it drove her nuts. She put a stop to fighting real quick too. I do not know how she did it, I really don't. She had the right temperament to have lots of kids, I don't, however. We always got compliments on what a great family people thought we were. I used to hear my mom get lots of compliments on her "beautiful well behaved" kids from the mothers of her piano students. Personally for me I am glad and yes thankful even for all the kids my parents had. They have all been such a blessing for me as I became an adult and have had many a crisis and every single one of them was there for me, caring about me, helping in any way they could. If my mom would have stopped at me I wouldn't have such kick butt 3 cool younger sisters who have been rocks for me and the sweetest little brother I could ever imagine. I am grateful to my parents for having us all. My older siblings made it possible for me to hire a fantastic divorce lawyer who helped me win custody of my two precious children. They all cared so much when I had a grand mal seizure and swallowed my tongue and almost died except my BFF saved me, they care like crazy about my health with my having Crohn's disease, my little brother called constantly to my parents house to get updates on me when I was in the hospital for it. My family loves me a great deal. I owe my siblings the world! I love them like no one else, other than my kids of course. I have so many happy, crazy, spectacular memories I will treasure for a lifetime with them. Yes, we had our downs too, and no we were not perfect, but I wouldn't change a thing, not ever.

All of us were encouraged to go to college, marry a partner one day who was good enough for us and worth their salt, not to put up with anyone's crap, and all that other good stuff. I actually feel sorry for my kids because they will grow up with not many siblings, and I had the advantage and privileage of it. I am used to it, I was lucky. I have 6 sisters and 3 brothers and I love them all. For my youngest sister's 18th birthday I gave her a big framed picture with two girls in white dresses and it says, "I loved you too much to just be your friend, so God let me be your sister." I should have given all my siblings that picture I guess...:cool:

Anyway, that's my experience. I don't know anything about this particular family, and everyone is entitled to their opinions. I just wish this family the best and hope the kids are happy.:)

I'm in no position to judge others...as long as the children are cared for, I don't think they should be told it's wrong.

Thanks for all your opinions ladies!! I must admit I had very little knowledge about the Duggars family, and never saw them on TV. However, I do agree that if the parents are able to financially and emotionally support their children, then their family size shouldn't matter. As for the children's upbringing, I wish them well and hope that they all have a bright future. :)

Vagina: not a clown car.

They do provide for them, but a lot of the $$$ and merch they've gotten, they've gotten from the publicity from the TLC specials. I'm sure there are other families out there who need the help a lot more, but won't get it because they actually practice birth control.

I also don't agree with the older kids taking care of the younger ones.

I also don't agree with the older kids taking care of the younger ones.

Well I don't think it hurts kids to have things that they have to do aka responsibilities. Kids now days are way too spoiled and don't do anything and think parents are supposed to wait on them hand and foot. Back when my Mom was a child (she's 86 now) children had "jobs" they had to do, they didn't sit around and play on the computer all day...they worked in the fields and picked cotton! That generation of people were hard working good people. I hate to see what the kids growing up today will be like...it scares me to think those mean, spoiled kids(brats) are going to be in charge of things one day!:eek: And also my Mom told me that when she was young and people had families with 10 kids as the norm..the older kids always helped take care of the younger kids. I just don't see how making kids actually do something is a bad thing...I'm sick to death of the spoiled brats of today!!!!!

Ah the Duggar family! I've seen the tv special and am in awe of how many kids they have in the family!! To me, they are like living in a total different time period or universe from the rest of us. The family seems in peace and everything is working pretty well for them, the best part is probably the fact that they are debt free.

I only have one kid right now and I can hardly keep up with her and I'm always afraid that I won't be able to give her my full attention. So it's really hard for me to imagine having 18+ kids and not be able to have one-on-one time with them most of the time.

I wonder when they will stop having more kids, are they just going to let the nature take its course? The mom is only 41 years old and chances are she will be able to have more kids for many more years. I just can't fathom the fact that they will continue to bring more and more kiddies into this world to add onto the already large family.

They do provide for them, but a lot of the $$$ and merch they've gotten, they've gotten from the publicity from the TLC specials. I'm sure there are other families out there who need the help a lot more, but won't get it because they actually practice birth control.

Exactly. I don't think it's right at all that they get all this publicity and money just because they don't believe in birth control.

I also don't agree with the older kids taking care of the younger ones.

Me, neither. My mom is from a large family, and because she's the oldest and her parents were lazy, she pretty much raised her younger brothers and sisters. She still has a lot of resentment towards her parents because of it, and feels like she missed out on a lot of her childhood. I think kids should get to be kids...they'll have enough responsibilities to worry about when they're adults.

I have a huge problem with families like the Duggers. The mother isn't raising 18 children, she just birthed 18 children. The children are raising each other and being saddled with too much responsibility at such young ages. They miss out on the chance for a childhood and for personal growth. It's completely unfair. Caring for a family is deeper and more complex than putting food on the table.

I'm personally waiting for that woman's uterus to fall out.

I'm personally waiting for that woman's uterus to fall out.

This makes me LMAO. I really shouldn't, but I just can't help it. :o

Well I don't think it hurts kids to have things that they have to do aka responsibilities.

It's one thing to have responsibilities. It's quite another to force the older children to basically be surrogate parents.