I saw the Discovery Channel program on this family a while back. It really bothered me on so many levels. The girls are thrown into a caregiver/mother role being responsible for their siblings. They are homeschooled so they never socialize with people of other backgrounds and lifestyles. They make those clothes, then hand them down! That woman is constantly pregnant. The hair! Ugh, so many things wrong IMO.

I have to agree with Snowflake. It is their life, but definitely not for me. I do have a big problem with this lifestyle if the family does not support itself. They get donations, aid and other benefits for choosing to have too many children. Then society ends up paying for their children and that is not right. I am not sure about Jim Bob's finances, but they do have a gorgeous home they just custom built.

By my calculations Jim Bob's do-ability factor is -73 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Not really...


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...52C1A961958260

Thing is, that's the way most families used to be. That's the only way a family with more 5 kids can function, and most families used to have that many. Two people simply cannot mother or father that many children. There were four in my family and I was changing diapers, feeding, burping, teaching, entertaining, as much as any 11 year old could. I enjoyed some of it, was annoyed at some of it.

I think that the experience of helping to take care of a baby sibling is very beneficial to future parents. That isn't to say only children would make terrible parents, but any experience helps.

Still, 17, crazy. :)

Oh, yes, I helped take care of my little brother, but I was not assigned to him full time. I had time to socialize with people outside my family. I was able to experience other teenage girl things, and help my parents/brother. I had choices (most of the time).

It's not for me, but then neither are a lot of other lifestyle choices. As far as I can tell from the tv shows Jim Bob supports the family so as long as that keeps up whatever floats your boat. Yes it's a bit odd and I'm sure some of them will rebel big time as they get older but they're not burdening anyone else.

SFGate article from 2005 when there were only 16

True that, for me as well.

Wow, what a hate filled article, from someone who probably is pro-choice and yet feels they have a right to dictate what that woman does with her body. :rolleyes:

To be honest, I think all this knee-jerk judgementalism stinks, from the smallest slights to that abhorrent article. So, she wants to be pregnant over and over, so, they're religious, so, they home school, so, what? It's their lives, and as long as the kids are polite, clean, well fed, and don't start a cult, why should anyone judge them, lest ye be judged, eh?

Exactly. Like I said it's not for me. But as far as I can tell they're taking care of themselves. And one of their TV shows showed them going to some sort of homeschooling convention so there was social ineraction with kids their own ages (of course with the same beliefs) so they're not living in some sort of concentration camp.

I can't imagine what having 17 children does to ones body. I know it's why women used to die young they'd just finally give out.