I know we as women are extraordinary and marvelous creatures, but 11 children!? I mean...my God! I didn't think the female human body was capable of such extreme abuse to the reproductive system as this woman has done. Not to mention she still seems to be popping them out fresh like a damn bread oven. As if there wasn't enough problems with overpopulation in this world. Is she trying to land her place in the Guinness Book of World Records for 'the most babies a woman can produce in a lifetime' category? And to think, she's still got at least another decade till menopause kicks in. Where's the sanity!?

Dammit! Sorry, I meant 14 children (with the 15th on the way). Only two weeks into the quarter and my brain has already died.

Damn. There's a weird news karma going on right now, isn't there? Incestuous father slaughters his family pretty much balances out this human baby machine; and the woman who gave herself a c-section is the counterpart to the other woman who is now facing trial for refusing a c-section, and hence losing one of her twins.

But... I agree with you. This woman should have her tubes tied around her neck. Fifteen kids? What the hell are they thinking? Families that large are invariably fucked up to the extreme, especially the younger kids, who are often left to be raised (and/or abused) by the older kids.

And someone should tell them we don't have the mortality rates of the past. I mean, my grandmother had thirteen kids, but only seven of them made it to adulthood. And out of those seven, only four of them felt compelled to breed, none of them had more than five kids and my own mother only had one.

I think that was their ultimate revenge on grandma's "puppy mill" mentality.

I want more information on this one, methinks. Although I originally had the same reaction of horror and disdain as you and your readers, it also felt a little self-righteous. Granted, 15 kids in these times of prolonged lifespans and reduced mortality rates can seem reckless at best (these folks wouldn't last a minute in China!). And their "because we can" mentality masked with a thin veil of divine blessing is a bit annoying (and certainly not worthy of a state award, but hey, it IS Arkansas), but there's more to it. My siblings and I are very close and fiercely protective of each other, and the idea of several (up to 13...!)other brothers and sisters to share life with is both tremendously exciting and a little overwhelmingly scary. But then I look at my own life and desires; I absolutely love kids (I work with them all day) and look forward to when I can have my own. My biggest concern as a father at that point would be that I might be able to provide for however many I have, be it 1 or 11. I'd never really considered having more than three or four, just because it doesn't seem to happen so much, and again the concept of provision comes in. But this guy clearly is able to provide if he can build this hotel/mini-mansion for his family as it expands. Furthermore, while we have little to go on from the article, they DO appear to be a happily married couple. I feel it's safe to say that a stable and happy marriage is certainly a big part (admittedly not all) of having a happy family. In sections of my family and other families I know, every time there are significantly older siblings (9+ years age difference) or large numbers, the older ones consistently love and help out with the care of the younger ones, and don't seem to regret it one bit.

My Aunt and Uncle have, lemme see... 8 kids. I think. I've lost count. The house is like, constantly an uproar, it's messy, messy, messy, and my aunt just sort of oversees everything wheras the oldest looks out for the rest of the kids and basically does everything except the laundry.

It's crazy.

I can only imagine 15 kids. Woof.

Sorry to post in your journal, but I HAVE to agree with your opinions on this 'horrifying' article.

I found some more, similar to this on the same family. >>; It just scares me that some people truly think that having as many offspring as they can roll out is what they are meant to do - I'm not a religious basher, but I think it's a bit silly (maybe not the right word usage, but I don't want to offend anyone...)

Ugh... there's already enough people in the damned world - don't people know WHEN to stop!??

This self absorbed society doesn't understand these,loving, nurturing parents. You would have to see them to believe how great they are. You will soon on national TV

I'd probably have two kids at most, but if this woman is willing to take responsibility for all her children and their upbringing (which according to one article she appears to be doing quite well), then I don't care if she has thirty of them.

I am a cousin of the Duggars. I am not for having that many children myself. But, they are. And so be it. They are wonderful people. They are doing a great job as parents and as providers. The kids are being as raised as good people should, with two parents. Dont be so quick to judge when all you know about is one story. Get to know them a little before you go off ranting and raving. Yes, you are entitled to your opinion. But hwo much of an opinion is it when you know nothing of the subject? Read up some more on the family. Call and interview them. You may end up liking them and maybe understanding them a little

I dont know what to think my ex-aunt has number 10 on the way and shes well into her fortys I have two kids and dont want anymore if these people want all these kids more power to them hope for the best its not good on the female body it kills bones gotta think about calcium etc as far as I know your supposed to wait a year to try and have another child to give yourself a rest she may not realize it but shes killing herself I wonder if her doctors even cautioned her about the risks shes taking

COUSINS OF THE DUGGARS tell your family god bless them cause this woman wouldn't be able to handle having more then the two shes got

I for one, think the world (and the US) have an overpopulation problem as it is... we need 15 more kids in it...why?

Good parents or not, that is absolutely ridiculous...

I wonder how many other kids the father has... I bet he's not around much....

If this family is doing great, then hooray for them. I would love to interview these kids in 10 years, though. There's a book called "Fourteen" by Stephen Zanichkowsky, about his growing up in a family of 14 kids. Granted, this was before our current "enlightened" age and the parents basically abused most of them physically and/or emotionally...but I wonder what each Duggar child's perception of life will be as they mature. One child's bliss can be another child's nightmare--it's all subjective. I think having 15 kids in this day and age is pure insanity.

I really feel sorry for the older kids. It's true, when kids have a big enough age gap between them, the older children become "built-in" babysitters. My parents waited a while to have my younger brother and sister. When my youngest brother was born, I was 11, and my brother was 9. When my youngest sister was born, I was 14 and my brother was 12 - perfect babysitters. Our parents promised that they wouldn't make babysitters out of us... BS! We frequently had to cancel our plans in lieu of watching the kids, we missed out on a lot of stuff that normal teenagers did. If we ever complained, our parents gave us huge guilt trips, therefore managing to keep us controlled. I just think that parents should consider the impact on their entire family when they choose to have a large family. I read somewhere that having more than three children is a subtle form of child abuse, because it is virtually impossible to divide enough attentionamong so many kids. My advice? Stick to 2.5.

i put concerned for my name b/c i AM concerned. NOt for the Duggars or their children. They seem to be doing beautifully. i am concerned for all you people that are bashing them. They are none of your business! HOw many children they have is none of your business. You are not paying for them! They are. They can obviously more than afford their family, so WHY do you care? They LOVE children. That's all. The Bible states children are blessings. They have chosen simply not to limit God by saying "Lord, we won't recieve any more blessings" This woman's children are lucky to have such a loving, giving, unselfish woman as their mother. We should all be so wonderful. We should all be so lucky. Why is it so many so called Christians say "give control of your life to God" but yet in the area of how many children to have they refuse to even ASK God how many or (the horror, the shock) DARE to believe He might know best instead of them!!!! i sincerely hope that the Lord allows me to have so many blessings! thank you and God Bless the Duggars, concerned

Quote from Steph:

"such extreme abuse to the reproductive system "

I had to laugh out loud at this one. Why do you think it's called the "reproductive system" ? It's for reproduction!! Won't go into my opinions on this subject :D

I grew up in a family this large - there were 12 of us that were full siblings; and we also had 4 half-siblings and 3 cousins living in the house with us. My mother was ALWAYS pregnant and it was a miserable life for us kids. I was somewhere in the middle of the batch and STILL raised my younger siblings once my olders had left home. Every single one of my siblings left home before age 15, including me. Though the youngest is in his thirties now, Mom only has 3 grandchildren by two of her children. Myself and the rest of my siblings are avowed child-frees. We don't talk a lot about why - but I know my reasons are that living in that house with that family made me hyperaware of how awful raising kids can be. Babies, these days, just turn my stomach. I can't stand being around younger kids because of the noise and I strongly suspect my siblings share my feelings (lets just say that the three grandbabies are strictly disciplined toward being seen and not heard).

That many kids is always bad news.

I don't know. One of their children apparently said that it was 'fun', and I always wanted a sibling close in age. However, 15 is extreme. It would be one thing if the world didn't have too many people already.. but has anyone ever heard of adoption? I really hope to adopt when I get to the point when I want to have children. I doubt they ever considered using their wealth to help out some children who are already in this world, and suffering, as an alternative to bringing more children into the world.

I dont think they love children, I think they love the attention having children brings them...

Having been in the Duggar home, I can tell you that it is not chaotic as you might expect and JimBob and Michelle are both very involved in the parenting/nurturing of each of these children. Keep in mind that it wasn't too many years ago that 15 children wouldn't have seemed so strange. I have 5 children myself and I get the comment or the look everywhere I go about having such a large family. When I mention my cousins family, they don't think mine is so large anymore. We live in such a self-centered society that we can't imagine anyone wanting to make this sacrifice of time, money and energy. I have so much respect for the Duggars not so much because they have SO MANY children, but because of how they choose to raise and love the children they have! The older children are always overjoyed at the news of a new baby on the way. It's a great life for them.

Just a comment to all those pro-brood folk who complain that it's the "self centered" society that doesn't understand large families...

Bite me. I'd say it's being self-centered that drives these folks to reproduce like a Xerox machine on steroids. Fifteen kids, two parents, you do the math. And with one of those parents seemingly constantly pregnant, it means that a good number of these kids aren't going to get any parenting at all. Chances are, they'll be raised by their older siblings, and who knows what issues they'll have. Resentment, perhaps, over being conscripted as babysitters and having to do a lot of the work the parents should be doing with far fewer kids? And no group of fifteen people is without its cliques. I have no doubts that a small group of the older kids gangs up on the next younger bunch, who do the same to the next younger and so on.

In any case, this is the formula for at least a few severely fucked-up adults in the making. I've known a few families who passed the decade mark on baby-making, and every single one of them has more nutjobs than normal adults to show for it.

Well, since someone felt the need to take one of my comments and explain to me that a reproduction system is for reproducing (BTW, no shit Sherlock!), I kind of felt like I'd like to try and explain a concept to one of the Duggar's cousins.

Quote by Another Cousin of the Duggars:

"Keep in mind that it wasn't too many years ago that 15 children wouldn't have seemed so strange."

Since you're referring to our civilization's past, your statement is quite true. However, I'd like to remind you of some other factors about the good old days that you seem to have forgotten to mention.

1) First of all, our medical knowledge and technology is far superior to what it was back then. Do you know how many children died because of disease, sickness, birth complications, etc.? A lot! If you'd like to refer to back then, please keep in mind that around half of Mrs. Duggar's children would currently be six-feet under. Or, if not them, she probably would be instead.

2) Also, we didn't have all those really neat high-tech machines and gadgets to help lighten the load of physical labor back then. As a result, it must have been some major back-breaking work to keep all those acres of farmland and cattle ranches up and running. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking, the more kiddies Mommy can pop out of the oven, the less work they'll eventually have to do. Dad can take his strapping young boys out to the field, and turn them into men; and Mom can teach her lovely little daughters those good old fashion values of cooking and cleaning.

That's all for today's lesson folks. I hope you remembered to take down good notes, as this will all be covered in next week's final. Have a nice day!

I am horrified by this woman. I majored in college in early childhood and must say that the major part of a child's personality is developed by age 5. Children need all the attention and nurturing possible during their toddler years. What Mrs. Duggar is doing is leaving the development of her younger children to be influenced by the older siblings. They are immature children who do not know a thing about properly rewarding,punishing or nurturing a child to develop them into a positive adult. This is frightening to think about what type of people these younger children will become. I worked for many years with public welfare in the state of Oregon and saw many women have huge numbers of children because they were just too lazy and irresponsible to use birth control. In the end they did terrible damage to their bodies that they had to live with pain for the rest of their lives.I am a Christian and I agree with Mr. and Mrs. Duggar that birth control pills and IUD's cause abortion and that no Christian family should ever use these products but there are other forms of birth control and natural family planning that they should use to space their children. It's not how many children you have but how close together you have them that can cause irreparable harm to a woman's body. I am surprised that Michelle has not seriously damaged her body. In closing, I also blame her doctor for not properly informing her of risks. I was friends with an OB-GYN doctor for many years and he says that many women who love having babies in the extreme usually downplay the risks involved despite his warnings. Michelle is a disaster waiting to happen. I will pray for this woman because she is not right in her way of life. She is using children to gratify herself and her desire to be a mother, rather than understanding that a true mother always puts the welfare of her children first. I don't doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Duggar are wonderful persons who love children, but they should use their talents to work with children in groups such as girl scouts or boy scouts or church youth groups to satisfy their desire to help young persons, not have babies way beyond what they have the capacity to parent.

Many people believe that if one can financially "afford" to have a family of 15 children, then it is perfectly OK. I'm in agreement with those who believe it's blatantly irresponsible. Here's a test of ethical behavior that was passed a along to my husband by a college professor: if you're ever in question about whether an action is ethical or not, ask yourself what the consequences would be if everyone would do it. Obviously, if everyone in the world (or in the country, or in your town) would have 15 children, we would have a big problem - the strain on the world's natural resources can't sustain this kind of population. It becomes not a question then of the family being able to afford 15 children, but of the world being able to afford it.

My other problem with this situation is that there are just so many unwanted children in the world. It's great to have a large family if that's your thing, but why create so many more children when there are many children already in need of a good family? Wouldn't it be better to have a couple of kids and adopt the rest? This would truly be an act of selflessness and kindness.

If all you retards out there think there's too many people in the world then why don't you kill yourselves too make room for all the baby girls in China. Why do you think you are anymore important to this world than the Duggar children? Why do you asume that these children are growing up in such an awfull environment? Have you been to the Duggar home and seen this for yourself? Or do you have nothing better to do than sit on your ass at your computer and bash people you don't even know. Maybe we should all read the bible. I'm going to go do that right now. Suddenly I have the urge to stop swearing and have fifteen children. Don't you all freak out though, I live in Canada so someone's gotta do it!

Anyone who is bashing the Duggars is a jerk. So they love kids! What are you gonna do? Shoot them? That is so awsome that they are able to take care of all those kids and home school each and every one of them. I wish i could have that many brothers and sisters! Plus, Josh is pretty cute...hehehe

I'm 16 Josh! Call me! lol

It is so easy to criticize these people for having many children. You know, there are parents that have 2 kids and they don't even know what on earth is going on with their children's lives. Parents nowadays let t.v. be their babysitter, have no quality time for their kids and blame society that their children turned out bad. Whether these people have 15 kids or 20, they are a excellent example of what parents should strive to be: nurturing, sweet, not abusive, respectful, have morals and have time for their children. these people have qualities that the majority of people lack. I am not saying to be like them, but to learn a thing or two from them.

I guess this looks all nice on TV and stuff, but these people live in an alternate reality. Big Southern Baptists living out in the middle of nowhere. I don't think any one of those kids will have any life past the age of 18 except to continue to care for the older kids. How does Jim Bob plan on sending any of them to college, anyway???

How can you make negative comments about this family? If you can't agree with their lifestyle, why aren't you also bashing Amish culture...amazing, but the Amish seem to exist in our society in positive ways...what percent of correctional facility populations are Amish? I haven't noticed any violent, or sexually deviant crimes committed by an Amish person being sensationalized in the media...I don't notice them selling crack on the corner... What percent of bankruptcies are filed by Amish consumers? How many retirement funds are raided by Amish people? I am curious to know what percent of people that engage in behavior that is hurtful to other humans came from large, well managed, spiritually oriented families? I don't recall those qualities being an attribute associated with deviants. I personally am not a Baptist, but I do respect parents that are healthy and focused enough to present a positive family environment that allows children to have relationships, and support, that they can enjoy for their entire lives

Actually, back in the early 1900's, many many women didn't know how to prevent pregnancy. Yes, they were that ignorant but you have to understand that this was before television and the world was pretty darn naive. So, many of our grandmothers and great grandmothers didn't have a "puppy mill" mentality, they just didn't know any better. My grandmother was 1 of 10 children and luckily all but 1 lived to adulthood. They were all very close as everyone congregated at my grandmother's house every Sunday and trust me, her little house could hardly hold all the people who visited on Sunday but it was always a happy bunch and I have wonderful memories of growing up and visiting my grandmother every Sunday until she passed away at the age 89. Also, another reason why women back then had so many children is because when the husband wanted sex, he got it. Most women, including my grandmother, thought it was their wifely duty and it didn't matter if it was their fertile time or not (not that they understood ovulation back then). I don't know if they had condoms back then but I know they didn't have birth control pills so mainly it was ignorance that led them to have so many children.

The Duggars are another story though. In this day and age, we women can say "no" when we don't feel like having sex. We have birth control pills, condoms, Depo shots, etc.... The Duggars simply love having children and they do take care of them, in fact, they take very good care of them. I saw the special on TLC the other night and those children are very loved and happy. I'm jealous in a way because it took my husband and I over a year to conceive our first child and it's now been 2 years that we've been trying for our 2nd, so I'm envious of the fact that she can get pregnant so easily. Even if I could though, I would still only have 2 kids but more power to them for having the time and energy to care for 15 kids. The important thing is that they can afford it. They aren't on welfare or food stamps, so they aren't a drain on our economy. They're not asking other people to financially support their kids, they are doing it all themselves, with no outside help. Unlike the McCaughney's (or however you spell it), why when she had 7 kids all at once, which brought her total up to 8, they were GIVEN a house, cars, baby equiptment and supplies, COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS even!! The Duggars haven't been given a single thing. Everything they have they earned or built with their own hands. The fact that they have no debt whatsoever should speak volumes. They are a responsible caring family and I think many people out there could learn a lot from them, myself included.

I really can't find any faults with them except that maybe it's a good thing that she homeschools them because they are a little goody goody acting plus the girl's homeade "Little House on the Prairie" dresses would have got them picked on horribly at a public school, where everything is all about designer labels.

The special on TV the other night showed how they take care of laundry, grocery shopping, etc.... You know, the basic questions most people have for them. Here's my question for the Duggars....how do you manage when all 15 kids are sick at the same time? And I'm not talking colds or ear infections, I'm talking a stomach virus. I'm a wreck with my 1 child when she throws up but can you imagine 15 kids all barfing at the same time (because you know that when one child gets sick, they all get sick.) To me, that is what nightmares are made of!! If you can't tell, I have a vomit phobia........

Anyways, I've rambled on far too long. I just saw the special on TLC the other night and wanted to voice my opinion.

To me its pretty obvious that those who find it necessary to make such disrespectful, judgemental and just plain mean comments about the Duggar Family most likely have never experienced the miracle and the amazing process of having and raising a child. You're not berating a couple that is exploiting or neglecting their children but one of the "good" sets of parents in our country that actually has a strong sense of family values. Its one thing to not choose to have children of your own, or to agree with their beliefs, but to mock them based solely on their decision to have a large family that they are 100% responsible for is just disgusting. I admire ALL of the Duggars for their commitment to each other and their obvious success in the area of tolerance for other people! (...perhaps a lesson that some of the contributors here need to learn.)

I agree fullheartedly with the girl above who asks why the show didn't show the Duggars when they were sick? Your stomach virus question was hilarious; I thought the same thing.

The next show on the Duggars should be "Follow-up in DuggarLand: When ALL IS NOT WELL ," or something to that effect.

I have nothing against the Duggars; in fact, the poster who said she was a bit envious of their fertility, not to mention their incredible efficiency, rang true for me as well.

They are one tightly-run, well-oiled family machine. Go, Duggars.

"This self absorbed society doesn't understand these loving, nurturing parents." Posted by grandma @ 04/18/2004.

Having so many children is extremely self-absorbed and selfish. Where does the bible say:" Go forth and consume as much of the earth as you can?" Many of these kids said in the tv show that they want to have large families of 10 more. Do the math: 150 grandchildren ?? This is sick - how come nothing was mentioned about parent-less children and adoption ?? There are so many environmental issues out there, overpopulation, waste, over-consumption, single-parent families, orphans, thousands of children without parents - what these parents are doing is ultimately very selfish. Hedonism taken to an extreme. I noticed there was no discussion in the show about the Duggar family regarding why they consider having a child as a gift why that precludes having as many as possible? Something is terribly wrong here. God have mercy on them and us. Life is not about mass consumption out-of-control - beyond reason. The terrible example Mr Duggar is setting forth is a very very poor one indeed:

Greed and selfishness galore !! !!

I think a lot of you people are

just simply jealous of the duggar

family because they are Debt free.

Yeh. Hip Hip Hoorah for them.

I wish I was. Dont you? Another

thing they are living off the

government either.

I think a lot of you people are

just simply jealous of the duggar

family because they are Debt free.

Yeh. Hip Hip Hoorah for them.

I wish I was. Dont you? Another

thing they are living off the

government either.

Psalms 127:3-5

3. Lo,children are an heritage of the Lord:and the fruit of the womb is his reward.4.AS arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;so are children of the youth.5.Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:they shall not be ashamed,but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

I saw this special and felt compelled to search out a website where it was discussed. I know people whose beliefs are very similar to the Duggars, but who conveniently came to them after a vasectomy....hmmm...I thought it was interesting that the littlest children were often pictured being held by the older children, but only being held by the older girls, never by their brothers. I remember one girl discussing their chores and mentioning that her least favorite was cleaning up around the boy's toilet. I wondered why the boys don't have to clean up around the boy's toilet; it seemed the girls had "jurisdiction" over both bathrooms. I also noticed only girls helping with cooking. The division of labor seems very sexist. I understand the Duggars are financially independent but wonder if that extends to the ability to pay for a college education for each and every child who desires one. I noticed that when the children were questioned about their hopes for the future that many mentioned having large families themselves. Obviously this response shows that they want to please, but isn't it normal for children to break away from that need at some point? None of the girls mentioned what careers they might like to have. What I notice in evangelical home-schooling families like this one -- whether large or small -- is what I call the "hermetically sealed" aspect of their lives. The family IS the school and in this case also the church. There is no TV, radio, movies, internet or non-religious books. The family's friends are strictly of a like mind. It even seemed that the Duggars had already more or less chosen a mate for their oldest son from among the daughters of another family. Of course the kids want to perpetuate the lifestyle because they don't know another kind to dream of. I see parents who represent a religious viewpoint that says the world is essentially a bad place and that children must not only be protected from it but insulated from it. Another respondent mentioned the Amish; well, the Amish give their children a year "off," so to speak, to live in the mainstream society before asking them to commit to the Amish way of life. These people don't want their children to even know of another life, and if they do, they make sure it's presented as an evil, heathen thing. I know of a situation where the father of a large family ran for a seat on the school board (even though his kids were home-schooled) because he wanted free health-care coverage for his family. His enrollment alone cost the district a substantial amount of money. I wonder if Mr. Duggar's interest in government work doesn't have some hidden benefit in this regard. You could tell that the Duggars were in tight control of what was shown; every ribbon was tied just so. You don't see children being physically disciplined, which the Duggars believe in. I did see a sobbing toddler being told in no uncertain terms that his mother just did not have time or patience to deal with his feelings. I think it is unfair to ask older children to do what parents are supposed to do -- build a house, comfort and discipline other youngsters, or do so much of household chores. These adults are all about CONTROL -- of everything except their reproduction. Michelle is in submission to her husband; this is the only area where she has final say, apparently. So it's not the size of the family that bothers me, really; it's the mind-set that it represents and perpetuates by not allowing its members to see the world for themselves. Do they think their values are so fragile that a year in public school would destroy them?

I JUST THINK THAT IT IS SIMPLY RIDICULOUS TO EVEN THINK OF HAVING THAT MANY CHILDREN. HOW DO THEY SEEM TO HAVE IT ALL UNDER CONTROL? IS IT ALL JUST AN ACT FOR THE MEDIA TO SEE? STEP INTO REALITY, NO FAMILY IS PERFECT!!!!