The Duggars family TV show premieres this Sat.

[chobie]

Hmmm... I didn't watch this yesterday. I think I'll catch it when it's on tomorrow. Should be interesting.

Actually, it was pretty boring - but the little kids were cute.

 

[disykat]

delete

 

[JennyMominRI]

delete

You
You're too slow .I saw the post,and just to be clear,since you uoted my post when you mentioned abuse,I never used that word. I don't see any evidence of abuse,and believe me I've seen abuse..I just disagree with many of their choices..No big whooptie...They would probably agree with many of mine

 

[disykat]

You
You're too slow .I saw the post,and just to be clear,since you uoted my post when you mentioned abuse,I never used that word. I don't see any evidence of abuse,and believe me I've seen abuse..I just disagree with many of their choices..No big whooptie...They would probably agree with many of mine

Excuse me? I quoted you at the top of my post, and then went on to talk about other posts. I used the word "abuse" in quotes at the bottom of a lengthy post - it certainly was not directed at you - you.

I deleted my post because I decided it wasn't worth the argument - I didn't write anything to be ashamed of. I don't really appreciate the implication that I wrote something I was trying to hide.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Excuse me? I quoted you at the top of my post, and then went on to talk about other posts. I used the word "abuse" in quotes at the bottom of a lengthy post - it certainly was not directed at you - you.

I deleted my post because I decided it wasn't worth the argument - I didn't write anything to be ashamed of. I don't really appreciate the implication that I wrote something I was trying to hide.

I never said you worote anything to be ashamed of..I wasn't implying you did,I simply wanted to clarify my own position,which is that while I disagree with them,I don't see abuse.. I really wasn't implying anything..I was simply in the middle of responding to your post ,when you edited your post

 

[OhMari]

No one answered the question if this show will be continuing.

I was amazed at the 8 washing machines. That was a bit excessive. Maybe they only use 2 or 3 and when those quit, they can use the next ones.

The little boy in the trench laying the gas line is a big OSHA no no. The trench went 2 ft-about the same height as the boy. Sure it would have been easy to pull the little guy out if the sides collapsed, but no one can go in a trench as the same height as yourself without trench walls. Maybe someone should send OSHA a tape of that illegal work situation.

At the end of the taping, the dad made a comment how nice it was to spend time with his older boys building the house. Otherwise he said, if they wouldn't have built that house, he wouldn't have had the time.

And, there was a computer in the old house, I saw it a few times, but that doesn't mean it was hooked up to the internet. But with the dad in realestate, he would almost have to have the internet.

 

[PaulaSue]

I was amazed at the 8 washing machines. That was a bit excessive. Maybe they only use 2 or 3 and when those quit, they can use the next ones.

Maybe I am wrong but I thought they had 4 washers and 4 dryers for the new house.

 

[Albertan mom]

Wow, 8 pages since I posted last.....

I agree with some of the posters here.
Kids have to do chores. Big deal.
Kids eat burritos. Big deal.
Kids are helping with thier siblings. Big deal.
Kids are homeschooled. Big deal.
Mom makes tatortot casserole. Big deal.
Mom has had lots of kids. Big deal. Her choice.

None of these things seem abusive or cultlike to me.

Personally, I wouldn't be willing to put my family on tv or on a website and have the world (and hundreds of Disers) criticize every little thing we do, from what we wear to what we eat. That is a choice they made, to expose their family. I am sure they got much money and free stuff out of it. With 18 in the family, I am sure they needed the money.

As someone posted earlier, big families used to be perfectly normal. My grandpa has 13 siblings. DH's grandma had 12 kids. Are they strange, cultlike and abusive?

I am not concerned about these kids. I am more concerned about the kids with neglective or abusive parents. Parents who are alcoholics or druggies. Kids who are in gangs. Doing drugs. Carrying weapons. I don't ever see a Duggar kid in jail or in the news for doing crime!

*
I think that those that just sit and criticize and judge others need to find something better to do with their time.
*

 

[Planogirl]

*
I think that those that just sit and criticize and judge others need to find something better to do with their time.
*

Ummmm, you wouldn't be criticizing and judging anyone that posted on this thread would you? A little irony?

 

[Brier Rose]

ITA. And no one that is critical of them has said they were abusive. Or that they should not be allowed to make those choices. We just think they are creepy and possibly irresponsible. And we're having some fun at their expense, because that is the point of watching a TV show to be entertained.

It's the people that are defending them that are reading too much into the comments.

Those harping on a few of the comments made on this thread is no better then what they are accusing people of, picking out little things and not seeing the big picture. No one is aghast at this family simply because the kids have an all-tatertot diet, or because the kids have chores. It's the whole compound mentality and everything that goes with it that bothers most.

I can only speak for myself, but I am not harping on any of the comments made on this thread.

You quite possibly might think I am not looking at the "big" picture, but I quite frankly think the same thing could be said about you.

I'm not mad about this, or worked up about it in anyway. I don't feel I need to defend them because they are "fellow homeschoolers". Like I said, I don't know these people, and in real life they very well may be weird beyond my imagination. I am only commenting on a televison show the same as you. We just happen to disagree on our opinions of the family.

BUT

Having said that..it is quite obvious that no matter what gets shown to the contrary you have already made up your mind about them.
That is what bothers me. That whole mentality. I really feel like some people would rather ignore facts, and just base their opinions on half truths.
It's a whole lot easier to make fun of people that way.

They DO watch TV, they do read books and get on the internet.
They do ALL help out with the chores, and IMO are not treated as slaves.
They DO have contact with the outside world..how much..who knows. I don't, and I'm pretty sure you don't.
They DO NOT plan to make all the children live right beside them, but would welcome that if they choose to.
The oldest boy wants to be in politics, so I think it's safe to say he plans to leave the nest.

They did not seek out the television publicity. They were contacted by the media after a picture of them was taken at the polls on their father's election day.

They DO NOT have a problem with tv, they are just selective in WHAT they they watch, and how long they watch it.
They prefer to spend family time playing games, etc.. Most kids should be so lucky!

They DID NOT do the show to make money and exploit their family. According to the couple's oldest daughter, 15-year-old Jana, her family isn't welcoming the cameras because of the freebies or because the spotlight is coveted.

She says...

"We're able to share with others about Christ and what he's done in our lives," she said, stressing the family's primary message: "Children are a blessing and not a burden."

So they only have friends that are like they are. Don't most of us???
I don't hang around people that aren't "like" us.
I think we all tend to make friendships with people that are at least in the same realm of understanding.

And the perpendicular thing???
I don't get the joke. The dad was expaining to the kids about a beam, and in his explanation said it was straight up and down. The mom then pointed out to the kids that the correct term for that was perpendicular.
Why is that funny??
That was a perfect example of how life's eveyday moments can contain even small lessons. Like vocabulary!

OK..so NOW I am harping. A sure sign that it's time for me to be done with this.

 

[jenfur]

I agree with Brier Rose. I love this family. I don't think they have a compound mentality, they just need that much space. I mean they aren't inviting other "cult members" to move on their property. Just because the girls want to get married and have big families does not mean they believe that is their only option. My DD wants that too, and will say it first, then tell you she also plans to open a restaurant or whatever plans she's making for the week.

Many on the board do seem to be picking out every little flaw possible to make them into bad parents. All of those arguments can be countered. Most people already had their opinions of these people going in and nothing would have changed it.

All of this worry about them surviving in the "real world"- what is that exactly? Everyone has their comfort zone, no matter how extreme it may seem to others. What is it exactly that these kids won't be able to handle? In today's society, I consider their thinking to be very "out of the box".
If anything, the kids seem to have one thing most kids today are in dire need of, a sense of responsibilty.

 

[barkley]

i think the "cult like" perception comes more from the first documentary. the family is very isolationist- unlike mom and dad who went to christian schools, held jobs as teens, had social interactions through their former church, buisnesses and dad's political campaigning-the kids have been homeschooled from day one, do no outside activities unless they involve the family or the select friends that share their lifestyle beliefs, attend "church" that is held in their home/"pastored" over by dad (and only includes those friends mom and dad choose to include)...in actuality it very closely models published warning signs of a cult in the making.

i am concered more about what this family and the kids will evolve into. mom and dad base their lifestyle choices on their experiences in/with the world-it's their choice. the kids however are not being educated (in my opinion) such that they will be able to make an educated choice. i see the young women growing to be fearful of the outside world and believing that they only have one path they can take. i see the young men growing to emulate their father and becomeing very authoritarian-i would be concerned that unless their future brides have been "groomed" for this type of lifestyle and are fully accepting, the potential for disaster is great (if a young man is raised to only know that women are to be subserviant and always compliant and that this is "god's law" (which may be what they are taught-because we don't know how dad interprets the biblical teachings in his "church"), any divergence from that on a woman's part can't be easily handled).

i think from a socioligical standpoint it will be interesting to see if ANY of the girls move outside the influence of the family, and if the boys are successful in finding brides that are willing to have that type of life.

i thought in interesting that in both the original documentary and this one there is never any mention of mom and dad's parents and siblings (the original showed their "church" family but no blood relations). i also thought it odd that with that large a home and the ability to move walls to suit their needs-no guest room. i guess (if they are close to any family) it's not their practice to have them over night. i wonder if they are estranged from the grandparents and any uncles and aunts? i think it would be interesting to hear what their extended family feels about their choices.

 

[LukenDC]

I described them as "cultish" because of the home churching. They live in a state with many fundamentalist churches yet the father, a realtor by profession, is unwilling to trust the spiritual development of his family to nobody but himself. It does seem isolationist, unusual, and cultish.

I certainly would not accuse the parents of abuse, but the kids do need some more fresh fruits and veggies in their diet.

 

[nealymouse]

Barkley, I think I remember in the show that they did have a guest room. I could be wrong ??

IMO I think they did it all for the money and freebees.

We have neighbors who are hoping for 12 children (last I knew they had 7 maybe 8). They are JUST like this family on TV. Live on 56 acres of land, Home school, Have a home church, dont interact much with neighbors in fact all but the oldest boys names start with "J" Mom told me he was born before they found Christ. All girls wear dresses and have long hair and boys pants.
The day I was there she called the kids and they all came running to her and lined up according to age.
Now that I am thinking of it Mom told me each older child had a younger one to watch. Wow this show has tapped into my memory about our cultish neighbors LOL

Both sets of Granparents live on the land and sort of invited my family to church but we declined.

I have not talked to them in years but I remember going over there while they were building this HUGE house and found it strange that they also only built 2 huge bedrooms for the kids and that Mom and Dad had there own private living space (bedroom, LV room bath) I found that odd.

 

[mickeyfan2]

And the perpendicular thing???
I don't get the joke. The dad was expaining to the kids about a beam, and in his explanation said it was straight up and down. The mom then pointed out to the kids that the correct term for that was perpendicular.
Why is that funny??

Staight up and down would be vertical not perpendicular. The vertical stud would be perpendicular to the horizontal stud. This misuse of the word is what is so funny.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I described them as "cultish" because of the home churching. They live in a state with many fundamentalist churches yet the father, a realtor by profession, is unwilling to trust the spiritual development of his family to nobody but himself. It does seem isolationist, unusual, and cultish.

But he sees nothing wrong with the van being owned by a local church. They claim they get no charity, but the food, wash, dryer ..... are all given to them. Sorry that IS charity. Again she does not understand her words. She would have been correct to say they gets no form of Welfare from the State for Federal Government. There whole live debt free life style is really live off of somebody else paying the bill life style. No respect from me here.


The AV room for the "boys" is not for his career in film making, he wants to be a policitian. It is for the living room where they home church and have financial seminars (that you can pay to go to). Does anybody see this home becoming a church and then tax free. He needs to do that before the 2007 tax season, or he will get too many 1099s for the free stuff. They are not great parents but great scam artists.



BTW Has anybody notice a parallel with a famous family?

 

[barkley]

kind of reminds me of one of my bil's. raised in the church his parent's attended and attended schools sponsored by that church. went on to becoame a pastor of that recognized faith but did'nt realy have the personality to succeed so he left the "calling".
he and his wife (also raised/schooled in the same church) have 3 kids. none of the kids every did any schooling out side homeschooling, did go to a public church but only intereacted with those persons my bil approved. no other social interaction. we (and the other relatives saw these kids maybe once a year for a few hours-and they could talk literature, politics, RELIGION, but they couldnot talk coversationaly-they could basicly only parrott out what their mom and dad said or what mom and dad gave them to read.

flash forward to when the kids are maybe-6/10/12. mom and dad decide to get divorced and a nasty custody battle ensues. finaly the courts order a social worker to meet and evaluate the kids to see where they would be best placed. social worker meets with the kids several times, calls in some psychological evaluations and the like. upshot-the kids while years ahead academicly were found to be "socialy inept" and "unaware of /unable to function outside their family home". brother in law got custody, but it was with a court order (and social services oversight) that mandated the kids attend a public or private school (and it could not be a homeschool at their/or a friends home). the kids were enrolled in school but were REALY upset to find that while they were academicly grades above their peers they were placed in classes with kids 2-3 years younger. they had no social skills whatsoever, and the educational staff was concerned that they needed to learn these skills before they could successfully interact with kids their own age.

we saw them a few times after that (more since 2 have become adults and left their father's home)-they are now much more at easy interacting with others, they join in coversation, share ideas, and are open to exploring family dynamics other than that they had experienced (previously the girls would say "well i just have to become a wife and start my family as soon as i graduate. after a couple of years of hearing new ideas, sharing ideas and theories with teachers, students, faculty-they would say "guess what? i found out today i CAN be a (whatever) if i want to-there's no rule that says i cant!".

there all still close to their dad, but he no longer (much to his distress) calls all the shots, picks out the clothing, interviews the friends and passes judgement on weather they can be friends or not, scheduals their every waking moment...) it's been a facinating change in family dynamics.

 

[SPAM]

this link was on their family's website.
http://www.wholesomewear.com/page-3.html

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Not too up on my employment law..but the kids are not employed by the parents.

While a safety issue yes--OSHA has no jurisdiction over the situation.

 

[hentob]

Staight up and down would be vertical not perpendicular. The vertical stud would be perpendicular to the horizontal stud. This misuse of the word is what is so funny.

Yes--Again, perpendicular to WHAT!?!?!?