The Duggers' 17 children

[JoyProv31]

Goodness!!! I am totally shocked!!!

By way of a short background: I am brand new to this site, getting here by doing a misspelling on Google (Duggers, which should be Duggar). And I am a brand new Catholic, coming into the church a year ago at age 49, having been a strong Christian the rest of my life. Part of my conversion to becoming Catholic had to do with justifying my life to fit what the scriptures I had read indicated: giving one’s body as a sacrifice to God’s desires. (This is what is taught was Mary’s response… which leaves one with the impression that she could have refused.) So I naturally jump on the Catholic-inspired comment regarding the Duggar family.

Shame on you for finding so much fault with this family. They are demonstrating God’s promises in obedience. Their children are well-behaved, well educated, and they pay cash for everything, which also, by the way, is a principle in the Holy Bible. They are also demonstrating the practical side of how to manage one’s blessings by keeping a grocery-store styled food pantry. There’s another biblical principle espoused in their clothing: modesty, lack of coveting, and sharing.

Your comments appear critical, shallow, and jealous, much like the comments that one may hear Cinderella’s stepsisters mutter under their breath. Your problem seems to lie in your heart: You may have given birth to 12 children, raising 10, but there is much bitterness. From all appearances, Mr. and Mrs. Duggar have kept their priorities Up Above and towards their children, and have as a result been richly blessed. I hope more people will appreciate what they’ve done and learn from them, whether Catholic or simply Christian.

JoyProv31

PS: Also, what a disappointment for an eager, new Catholic to find these comments upon her first visit to a Catholic-based answer forum. Think I’ll un-join.

 

[coffeelover]

I’ve felt all along that the arguments raised against the Duggars here are superficial. So their kids are sometimes dressed alike, and all their names begin with “J”…so what?? And it was also held against them when the mother said she was open to children, just after the birth of her last child. I fail to see the real harm in that either. Just saying that you’re open to more in the future does NOT imply that you’re going to forget all about the child you just had, forsaking her so that you can move on to the next baby. The arguments against this family are ridiculous.

The only thing that bothered me was the claim that they’re involved in some sort of cult. But do we really know that that’s true?

Those children appear happy and healthy…more so than the vast majority of modern children!

 

[KCT]

And it was also held against them when the mother said she was open to children, just after the birth of her last child. I fail to see the real harm in that either. /quote]

I’ve read posts here by women who are 8 mos pregnant and say they want more. —KCT

 

[monicatholic]

Your comments appear critical, shallow, and jealous, much like the comments that one may hear Cinderella’s stepsisters mutter under their breath. Your problem seems to lie in your heart: You may have given birth to 12 children, raising 10, but there is much bitterness.

This is an interesting (and presumptuous) statement attempting to refute my criticism. Joy31, yours is so much of the pot calling the kettle and all that.

my criticisms of the Duggar parents are critical. they are neither shallow nor jealous. in fact, i am surprised at the shallowness of the positive responses this family recieves. were they poor, children moderately unkept, but healthy and happy and loved each other, people would shriek they shouldn’t have kids they can’t take care of. but…

mix in oodles of cash, a very large home, a pantry from heaven and a few violins and the response is exceedingly positive because all the material property is there.

that’s shallow.

am i jealous? i would like to see my husband experience some financial ease and decrease of difficulty and danger of his work. he works a weekly shift in a steel mill that is akin to dante’s second level of hell. he’s been there 22 years. but am i envious?

the CCC 2539 Envy is a capital sin. It refers to the sadness at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly. When it wishes grave harm to a neighbor it is a mortal sin:

i’m not sad for the Duggar’s material good. nor do i wish them not have it. i wish them no harm. i’m not envious.

i am not even complaining at the amount of work the Duggar kids do. my kids have chore charts, too. (though the type of work the duggar daughters do---- raising their siblings-- is inappropriate)

i will restate my position for the last time: the Duggars, espeically voiced by Mrs. Duggar, seem much more interested in numbers of children than in the unique dignity of the persons of childrens.

from the further reading i’ve done, their myopic perspective seems consistent with their religious choice.

i am sorry you disagree. in doing so, i don’t suggest any shame on you. there is no shame on me.

 

[mrsfrazier]

I’ve heard moms say they had this sentiment soon after giving birth and were surprised given the labor they just experienced. Some moms bliss out after labor.

I felt this way after a 36 hour labor and my obgyn laughed at me when I said “The next one can’t be this hard!”…I don’t know why, but something about that little miracle makes you eager for another. Although I don’t want to wean that early or get pregnant again that soon!

 

[JenniferMoon]

I’ve felt all along that the arguments raised against the Duggars here are superficial. So their kids are sometimes dressed alike, and all their names begin with “J”…so what?? And it was also held against them when the mother said she was open to children, just after the birth of her last child. I fail to see the real harm in that either. Just saying that you’re open to more in the future does NOT imply that you’re going to forget all about the child you just had, forsaking her so that you can move on to the next baby. The arguments against this family are ridiculous.

The only thing that bothered me was the claim that they’re involved in some sort of cult. But do we really know that that’s true?

Those children appear happy and healthy…more so than the vast majority of modern children!

I agree.

The link I’m sharing lists all the kids names, ages, hobbies, interests, goals… ALL normal and healthy. If the kids have only 1 hour a day free time, how is it they are able to do all these things? Maybe because that’s simply not true?

Plus their organization and homeschooling allow them more family time than most of us get. I bet those kids experience way more than my children ever will and they sure spend their time more wisely.

health.discovery.com/convergence/duggars/duggarkids_02.html

 

[Sr_Sally]

The only thing that bothered me was the claim that they’re involved in some sort of cult. But do we really know that that’s true?

I don’t know if it is an actual cult. The issue is a child-raising / family lifestyle guru that they follow. There are links on the Duggar’s website to the material. I have read some of the material itself and also read some of the websites from their detractors. From what I’ve read, I would say that there are definately ideas I don’t agree with and could possibly be dangerous depending on how they are implemented. What we don’t know is how the Duggars use this program within their family.

But in general, I don’t have an opinion either way about the Duggars. I haven’t followed their story at all, have seen no TV show about them, and don’t really care what they name their children or how many of them they end up having.

 

[littleton]

May God bless the Duggers. I applaud them for their openness to life. God has a unique plan for each family. He is with us and attentive to every detail of our lives. My hope is that large families become more and more commnon place as opposed to an anomaly,

My wife and I have 14 living children, ages 21 down to one. We have just written a book, Better by the Dozen, Plus Two about our Catholic approach to faith and family amidst the chalenging culture we live in. Keep us in your prayers.

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

Goodness!!! I am totally shocked!!!

By way of a short background: I am brand new to this site, getting here by doing a misspelling on Google (Duggers, which should be Duggar). And I am a brand new Catholic, coming into the church a year ago at age 49, having been a strong Christian the rest of my life. Part of my conversion to becoming Catholic had to do with justifying my life to fit what the scriptures I had read indicated: giving one’s body as a sacrifice to God’s desires. (This is what is taught was Mary’s response… which leaves one with the impression that she could have refused.) So I naturally jump on the Catholic-inspired comment regarding the Duggar family.

Shame on you for finding so much fault with this family. They are demonstrating God’s promises in obedience. Their children are well-behaved, well educated, and they pay cash for everything, which also, by the way, is a principle in the Holy Bible. They are also demonstrating the practical side of how to manage one’s blessings by keeping a grocery-store styled food pantry. There’s another biblical principle espoused in their clothing: modesty, lack of coveting, and sharing.

Your comments appear critical, shallow, and jealous, much like the comments that one may hear Cinderella’s stepsisters mutter under their breath. Your problem seems to lie in your heart: You may have given birth to 12 children, raising 10, but there is much bitterness. From all appearances, Mr. and Mrs. Duggar have kept their priorities Up Above and towards their children, and have as a result been richly blessed. I hope more people will appreciate what they’ve done and learn from them, whether Catholic or simply Christian.

JoyProv31

PS: Also, what a disappointment for an eager, new Catholic to find these comments upon her first visit to a Catholic-based answer forum. Think I’ll un-join.

Bye, thanks for stopping by and being judgemental as you have so bravely condemned.

God bless!

 

[leonie]

May God bless the Duggers. I applaud them for their openness to life. God has a unique plan for each family. He is with us and attentive to every detail of our lives. My hope is that large families become more and more commnon place as opposed to an anomaly,

My wife and I have 14 living children, ages 21 down to one. We have just written a book, Better by the Dozen, Plus Two about our Catholic approach to faith and family amidst the chalenging culture we live in. Keep us in your prayers.

Oh very cool! I’ve seen your book advertised. It’s on my “to acquire list.”

Another Catholic author I admire with a large family is Mary Ann Kuharski. Her books are a real inspiration to me.

 

[sjegts]

Oh my! I suspect that I will be criticized, but… I’m shocked at the number of posts on this topic. I always am discouraged when I become involved in anything that has to do with the church and it degenerates. Hate the sin, love the sinner. I guess it is overly simplistic to just say, change the channel when they come on and don’t read about them any longer. I would rather focus on fighting abortion, and rather than dedicating so much energy to criticizing a family. Prayers for them might be more in order?

 

[Seekngrace]

I simply wish to add my two cents… it’s, (as previously stated), refreshing to see a family so open to life. It saddens me how narrow and selfish our society is when it comes to family life. Not only do we restrict the number of children that we “choose” to have but we also limit the time we spend together by busing our lives with the focus of “getting more”.

Although I may not agree with everything that the Duggars choose to follow, I do feel that they are an inspiration in their faith. I don’t know that many families that are willing to open their lives to God’s plan to such an extent. And to top it all off, they are willing and able to provide for all of these beautiful children without buring themselves in debt. It may be a matter of opinion but having the courage to live debt free takes faith… even if you are a Senator, having 17 kids is going to pinch the buget a bit…after all ,they’re not all Senators!

I pray for their conversion, may they experience the fullness of the Catholic faith and continue to be a positive image of family life for this world’s viewing audience!

 

[aboverubies]

May God bless the Duggers. I applaud them for their openness to life. God has a unique plan for each family. He is with us and attentive to every detail of our lives. My hope is that large families become more and more commnon place as opposed to an anomaly,

My wife and I have 14 living children, ages 21 down to one. We have just written a book, Better by the Dozen, Plus Two about our Catholic approach to faith and family amidst the chalenging culture we live in. Keep us in your prayers.

Welcome to the forums Littleton I love your family name, it gave me quite a chuckle. Won’t you please start a new thread on life in a big family and share some tips with us all?

 

[aboverubies]

PS: Also, what a disappointment for an eager, new Catholic to find these comments upon her first visit to a Catholic-based answer forum. Think I’ll un-join.

Please stay. There are many different opinions here on the forums…how can there not be with such a melting pot of people?..catholics, protestants, muslims, atheists, agnostics, pagans…did I leave anybody out? And many different countries and cultures collide here. Even amongst Catholics there are many different viewpoints as we represent cradle catholics, converts, re-verts, lapsed, struggling and everything in between.

The forums are a place for debate and exchange of information…if we all just posted “Yes I agree with what she said” it would be a rather dull place to hangout. Please stay, but be prepared to often come across those who hold a different opinion, and who don’t mind sharing it. Afterall what is a forum for?

I joined the forums as a fairly new Catholic too and have learnt much about my faith. If you close the door because of one thread you will miss out on a wealth of knowledge and support. Please stay.

 

[JenniferMoon]

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoyProv31

PS: Also, what a disappointment for an eager, new Catholic to find these comments upon her first visit to a Catholic-based answer forum. Think I’ll un-join.

Please stay. There are many different opinions here on the forums…how can there not be with such a melting pot of people?..catholics, protestants, muslims, atheists, agnostics, pagans…did I leave anybody out? And many different countries and cultures collide here. Even amongst Catholics there are many different viewpoints as we represent cradle catholics, converts, re-verts, lapsed, struggling and everything in between.

The forums are a place for debate and exchange of information…if we all just posted “Yes I agree with what she said” it would be a rather dull place to hangout. Please stay, but be prepared to often come across those who hold a different opinion, and who don’t mind sharing it. Afterall what is a forum for?

I joined the forums as a fairly new Catholic too and have learnt much about my faith. If you close the door because of one thread you will miss out on a wealth of knowledge and support. Please stay.

I hope JoyProv31 stays too.

I hope others who, like me, are very sensitive souls and easily hurt, can continue to enjoy the forums. Its not that we don’t want people to disagree with us. Its the way they disagree~ quite nasty at times and void of charity, compassion, respect, kindness… its very intimidating.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

I give the Duggar Family a lot of credit. I thought it was rough growing up the eldest of 7 in the 1950s and 60s!

However, if I had a choice of meeting one of the large families TLC promotes through their Kids By the Dozen families, I think I would be more comfortable with the Heppners than the Duggars. I don’t know if it’s because Spud and Mariam are more water-oriented, more midwestern, or because I don’t think I’d be afraid of messing up the Heppners’ house if I went there. While any big family has my admiration, I think the Heppners seem to me to be just a tad more relaxed in the way they live everyday life.

I also don’t understand why TLC can’t find a Catholic family to highlight. They seem to only seek out the “quiverfull” movement folks.

 

[Vanny]

I say God Bless 'em for being open to life. There is a Catholic couple here in my area(now almost 90) who had 21 children- all same mother and father.

 

[jeanineruby]

What I can’t understand is why this huge family of 19 people doesn’t have a garden? Their recipes are all made with processed and packaged food which we all know isn’t nutrious and can lead to health problems later on. If they care about their children as they say they do, they’d feed them wholesome natural foods as God indended. They’d certainly have plenty of hands to do the work.

 

[whatevergirl]

Until recently, I didn’t ‘get’ the Duggers…but now I do, and I applaud them being open to life. Their life is really beautiful, actually…a little different than maybe how the rest of us live our daily lives, but their kids seem to have a strong sense of helping out…helping each other. It’s pretty neat.

 

[ronnette]

These past 12 or 13 years, our practice at Christmas has been to give each of our children one special gift-- ie rollerblades or something of that size and two smaller gifts-- totalling three gifts-- the same number gifts scripture records Baby Jesus received at his birth.

it wasn’t always this way. years ago, i’d begin Christmas shopping in august and continue purchasing “cute stuff” or things “he’ll love” almost up till Christmas Eve.

those Christmas mornings were disgusting. the kids would tear open one of the dozen boxes designated for them, look briefly at the new toy and grab for the next wrapped package, while tossing the latest gift into the heap along side them on the floor. until the last box was opened, they were grabbing for “what’s next.”

the Duggers just gave birth to their seventeenth child. i’ve read quotes and seen them on TV since the birth of their fourteenth child. the single most disturbing thing about the Duggers is this: at the very moment they are first holding in their arms an astonishing, unique, unrepeatable, eternal gift from God, they are already looking for the next one.

I have given birth to ten live children and lost two. when i am holding my newborn baby in my arms, i have absolutely no thought to who might come next. i want only one thing-- to spend the rest of my life learning who this person is, feeling completely humbled that God has given us this gift of this child.

when people learn we are parents of ten, have homescooled for seventeen years, are actively involved with our church (the general family bio that follows us like a billboard) they often ask, “didja see that family with 16 kids on TV? are you like them?”

no. we are not like them. my children have never been required to dress alike because they are unique people, not part of a set. when they approach their first birthday, we are not actively trying to refill their baby slot. we like them to be the baby for a long time.

they are not expected to all learn violin. my pantry does not look like the new, bright, clean A+P superstore. our home looks like real people live here. even for a TV interview, this place would appear to be as loved as it is.

i don’t think the problem is some perceived overpopulation or that the Duggers have too ***many ***children.

instead i am sad that as the Dugger children emerge into the world, perfectly brand new from God, their parents can’t seem to sit still long enough to deeply relish that particular gift of that particular unique child. instead they seem like my spoiled kids on Christmases of old, insisting, “what’s next?”

My, my, aren’t we holier than the Duggars?

Gossip threads are so sad.