Seventeen Children

[Capt Jack]

Originally Posted by AllyOops!

"my Jinger got stuck in my zipper again".

if they had, they'd only have 16 kids

[Babette]

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.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Babette

The girls are thrown into a caregiver/mother role being responsible for their siblings.

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.