Yesterday we heard that Josh Duggar, 23, the oldest son of the prolific famous Duggar family, was expecting a son which would be his second child with his wife Anna. Josh has 18 brothers and sisters and co-stars on the Duggar’s reality show on TLC, 19 Kids and County. The big premiere for season five of show aired last night and centered around Josh and Anna finding out that they were expecting a baby boy. The news was delivered to Josh, Anna and all of the Duggar family via skywriting, no kidding, after they asked their doctor to tell Josh’s mom and keep it a secret until they could use it to promote the show.
In an interview with E!, Josh answers the question many of you have been wondering about – just how many kids does he plan on having with his wife? He sort-of says that’s not up to him at all, but he does acknowledge that there are things he can do to prevent pregnancy. He also has some thoughtful things to say about how expensive and difficult large families can be, but it sounds like he wants one anyway.
So what happens after the arrival of baby boy Duggar? Will he be the second child of many to come, or will Anna and Josh stop once they have “one of each”? If nothing else, having kids gets pretty darn expensive!
According to Josh, “‘We’ve decided we’re going to have 25.’ I always say that jokingly, but there’s a lot that goes into a family, and a lot of hard work, and that point often gets overlooked, especially with the harshness the economy is going through now. [The cost of children] is something we think about, but it’s often a sacrifice to be able to raise a child and do it well, whether you have one sacrifice or 19. It’s really not about the number of children you have, but how well are you doing with the children that God has given you. We’re just focusing on Mackenzie right now and this little boy that God has given us. We’re really just going to take it one at a time. I don’t think you can say we’re going to set out and say we’re going to have five kids or four or three. We have no control over that. God has the control. Obviously, we can do things to prevent that, but I’m glad my parents didn’t just settle to have three or four children. There are definitely a lot of advantages to trusting [in God]. Anna’s glad that her parents didn’t stop at four, because she was number five.”
But isn’t there a limit to how many ways you can realistically slice up the family pie? Josh responds that, “I would look at it from the other side: There’s always room for one more. There are arguments on both sides, and obviously we hear them all, and everybody has their own opinion, and that’s something we have to realize every day as well. We’ve been doing this in the public eye for a long time, and you get a lot of scrutiny and a lot of negative comments, but we also hear a lot of positive comments. I think any one of my siblings could attest to the fact that you could say what you want to in a general worldview, but when it comes down the individual child, there’s not any one of my siblings that I wouldn’t want to have in my life. Each person has to make that decision for themselves, but right now we’re in the state where we’ve got a little one that’s under our feet and a little one that’s on the way, but we’re just enjoying the time and the precious moments that we have at this time, and taking each moment as it comes to us.”
[From E! Online]
Under the Duggar evangelical Christian “Quiverfull” belief system parents are supposed to have as many kids as God “wants them to” and not try and prevent pregnancy at all. In Quiverfull, free will doesn’t exist when it comes to fertility.
While my first impression might be that Josh is saying he’s letting God give them as many kids as He/She sees fit, he also seems to acknowledge that it’s complicated and that it’s important to raise children well and focus on the ones you have. It’s hard to tell whether he’s saying that God controls free will when it comes to fertility or simply that there’s no way to control and predict fertility when you want to have children.
I hope for Josh and Anna’s sake they make their own choices and realize at some point that they’re not obligated to have children indiscriminately until Anna is no longer physically able. Josh, Anna and the rest of the Duggars may seem like a huge happy family but that doesn’t mean they’re typical for a Quiverfull family. Many women in the Quiverfull movement lead incredibly difficult lives of poverty and there’s a movement to help them escape and recover from years of oppressive patriarchy and child rearing.
That’s pathetic. They’re obviously doing it for attention. Dipshits.
This is one of the reasons why I’m an Atheist.
The Duggars are not quiverfull. I think they start their interviews off by saying that because they’re so sick of ignorant gossip columnists writing about it. Even though you didn’t say that they are-by just mentioning it you associate them with it.
I’d like to hear him say those same words if he was the one going through childbirth and not just making the deposit.
‘There’s always room for one more.’ Wow. Way to steward our planet and not contribute to stripping our planet of other species and atta boy (girl) to not contributing to massive overpopulation where we can’t feed the people who are already here.
Are all the kids going to follow this path? You’d think that growing up having to be a caregiver to your siblings would make you reconsider having a ton of kids.
I always think Anna & Michelle look scary similar. š Can’t get beyond it.
@Heb I realize that they say that but many of their statements about having children and disciplining them mirror concepts from the Quiverful movement. That’s why I included that link to a story comparing their belief system to Quiverful. That’s what they’re promoting whether they identify themselves as part of that movement or not.
As far as free will and fertility goes, they choose to live this lifestyle. That is where they exercise their free will. They made the choice to give up control over how big their family gets. That is absolutely exercising their free will. I have no problem with them having as big a family as they want. They take care of their children and are responsible citizen. I believe they contribute more than they use up.
Well I watched the first season of the show… and bits and pieces since… when I stumble across them.
But there is one thing clear. Josh Duggar is not a hard worker. Being the oldest child and son. He seems to have been fawned over his entire life.
I suspect he realizes that in order to buy what he wants. He will need to keep the children in his house to a minimal.
So I would not be surprised, that his wife is pregnant so they have a storyline this season. Since Michelle is not going to be pregnant.
And Josh probably got him self a nice bonus check for this baby.
And the Earth is already bursting at the seams.
I am thankful to be an Atheist too. These brainless hypocrite god bumbling moron are the ones that’s been ruining the world.
@Heb If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck …
The thing that gets me most about these people is their closed minds. I could have every single thing in common with the mother, live a conservative lifestyle, self supporting, yada with the only small difference being that I’m black, I’m gay and all my kids are adopted and because of that, she wouldn’t give me the time of day.
Makes me sick to my stomach to think that her children have absolutely no opportunity to get to know the real world unless they break off from their family. Just pathetic. Shame on them.
E! is completely irresponsible for supporting these reality reproducers.
“ignorant gossip columnists” that clearly you’re a fan of & daily reader & comment poster. And, I hope the Duggars know how much we’re sick of their ignorant way of thinking!
@heb: If they align their views with a certain philosophy I don’t think they should be surprised when people draw comparisons.
Ultra conservative christian does not equate to this practice of treating a woman’s womb like a clown car. I think they are free to chose what they want to do but I personally find it selfish but they justify it by being all in the name of God.
At least he seems more smart than his foolish mom.
I despise the “we have no control!” excuse. YES YOU DO.
They at least seem a bit more realistic about it than his parents, but still, especially when the TV show is involved and that depends on more babies and “big announcements!”, they’ll probably keep having more and more.
I don’t think that it is fair that religious people such as myself, should be labeled as a “moron” just because of these two very irresponsible people. I don’t plan to have any children so I hope that makes up a little for this situation :-S
@Sloane Wyatt
Social and demographic studies show that whenever the curve of population growth reaches unsustainable levels, something intervenes to substantially diminish population numbers. Richness, for instance, seems to automatically lower the number of kids per couple (not only because of higher birth control activities, other variables are to be considered, too); on the contrary, being poor (or having to fight to obtain resources) also affects surviving chances, as brutal as that is.
So, no, one couple who decides to procreate as much as they can does not contribute to overcrowd the world.
Besides, I know quite a few couples who try not to restrain their possibilities to have kids for religious beliefs and have as many children as they can. Turns out, none has ever more than 4-5, for phisical and practical reasons: you simply cannot have sex that much when you have 5 kids to run after.
That actually is what interests me most of this family, who supports them in economical terms? How on Earth do they manage to find the time to make another baby?! It actually makes me wonder whether they do this for God or their own egoistical needs. Oh, vanity.
I agree kiki… I only had one.. instead of the 500 I could have spit out since I was 12.
Whateva.. I dont like dirty diapers that much to have another. I’m good with one. Thank you.
why nobody cares about environmental issues due to overpopulation?? Is it God’s will to have a planet where most of people have no access to basic resources, and species and ecosystems are eliminated because of the increasingly demands of resources and space that an ever growing population requires??
I also think it is very selfish and ridiculous the idea that God will be looking for your reproductive system and decide if you impregnate your wife or not every time you have sex. Seriously.
If they love kids and want a big family then that is what they want as long as they take of their children; I never wanted THAT many kids but if couples want large families then they take responsibility for the consequences of a large family. I’m sick and tired of people’s misinterpretation of God that “God is in control”? NOT,(they are so IGNORANT of the Word because they don’t seek for themselves the truth but let somebody else tell them what the Word says; and you wonder why so many people are so led astray and why people want to be aetheist) God DOESN’T bring the kids into the world the man/woman do, the result of sexual intercourse DUH! Sperm + Egg = baby!! God IS NOT in control of our lives, WE CHOOSE the way we are to walk, God is there to guide/lead us to the right path/walk but it’s each individual’s choice not God’s. A lot of problems/issues WE bring upon ourselves as result of choices/decisions and lack of knowledge, God doesn’t bring sickness/afflictions/hardships in our lives, but people don’t want to take accountability for their choices. Also, it’s not wrong NOT to want to have kids.
This planet will have 9 Billion people in couple of decades and these morons contribute to the overpopulation and polution.
I pity these women who allow their men to use them like birth machines.
Theres something really wrong with these people. I just can’t shake the feeling that the Duggars are in it for the money. Otherewise why have a show? Why do magazine covers? Why tell every detail of your life?
psychos
“Honey, you look so beautiful. There’s just one thing that would really make you more beautiful to me.”
“What’s that, Joshie?”
“If you parted your bangs like my mom.”
@Merry – That’s what I said on yesterday’s post if you are a good parent there is no way you have time and energy to be having that much sex to produce 19 kids.
@Quest: Amen to that!
Michelle and Ana are competing to see who will have a prolapsed uterus first.
As an aside, I once had a playground conversation with a woman who told me that reproduction should be left up to god and that fertility treatments were “against god.” I then informed her that I must be the product of the devil because my mom had fertility treatments to have me; and that, my children must be satanists because they were conceived similarly.
I like that he says each individual has to make the choice for himself. I hope that when he votes, he supports the rights of women to make those choices, but I assume he is anti-choice and instead just means that people should be supportive of his choice to have lots of children.
I also think that you can say whatever you want on a global scale about overpopulation, but everyone has to make their own choices, and I don’t want to go around criticizing one family’s decisions as though these 19 kids add significantly to earth’s population. Then again, I don’t really want to watch a show centered around their one, mildly interesting lifestyle choice to have tons and tons of kids, either.
Agree wholeheartedly with @Sloane Wyatt.
No control? They have all the control. Stop fucking.
why does josh think god should be his condom or his wife’s diaphragm? you’d think that with all that god (if he/she/it exists) has to think about and do, josh thinking that god should be his personal birth control is a bit self-important and arrogant.
Ugh the Duggars are ATi not QF.
We are QF and not impoverished or any other rubbish. Get the facts.
Cath:
I literally spit up coffee when I read that. Might be the funniest comment I’ve ever read on here.
@ Merry, susieqinBA, etc – The fact that a set of parents takes good care of the children they have does not mitigate the environmental damage that they do by having more than two. The amount of resources used up by an average American child is huge compared to the rest of the world, and if their children go on to have more than two children of their own – yes, it makes a difference. Each of these couples is contributing to a serious problem and whatever their reasoning, it does hurt all of us in the end.
“we have no control over that” Really? I thought the whole thing with God was that he gave humankind free will and the brain to ensure that we do in fact have some control over the majority of our lives. Like getting pregnant.
If the wife can’t work out the 2-3 days she may be ovulating (and I know it’s not always easy but there are signs, right?!) and tell loverboy to back off then she’s as stupid as he is. Unless of course she wants to be pregnant for over a decade (now that’s something God only knows about) then rock on.
“God has control” Well, God ‘allowed’ birth control to be created so I’m guessing God means for us to use it!
I don’t understand their bizarre religous beliefs, and definitely have quarrel with letting the boys dress modern and the girls are dressed like Little House on the Prairie. It rubs me the wrong way. But after seeing horrible reality shows with teens and young girls giving BJs to a ton of guys and filthy language and such, they have done some stuff the right way. They have children who are respectful and not materialistic.
But why doesn’t Mother and Father Duggar, instead of having children ad nauseum, actually foster children who weren’t wanted or loved?
As someone who can’t even recycle consistently, I am in no position to judge these people on the basis of their environmental impact. However, the degree to which they seem to be planning their lives around a reality show is getting really creepy.
does anybody else think that anna looks like avril lavigne with no makeup? and yes, she is eerily similar to michelle -from a freudian standpoint i don’t want to go there.
Funny how God has control over when she gets pregnant, yet they allow themselves the luxury of modern medicine when it’s time for birthing.
I find it disturbing that the girls seem to do everything, and there seems to be no emphasizes on their education or the hopes of going to college in their future. Instead, all they’re getting prepped for is being a housewife and mother. Even more so is that they can’t cut their hair or wear jeans.
@cath, you’re right she does have the same features and robotic/ moronic glazed -over-numb-brain look of mommy. Bit of an Oedipus complex happening.
@Turquoise Blue
The environmental impact of having more than 2 children is irrelevant. It has been shown by many studies that the reduction of resources brings to struggle to acquire said resources. The fight ensures that part of the overgrown population (those with a better genetic pool or simply better luck) reaches access to them. The other part of population does not succeed.
So, you see, it does not “hurt all of us in the end” because there is a natural stabilizing effect in the population growth that ensures a decrease.
This is the most diffused theory here in Europe, I realize that in the USA there probably are other ways of adressing this issue.
quote from Francesca: “As far as free will and fertility goes, they choose to live this lifestyle. That is where they exercise their free will. They made the choice to give up control over how big their family gets. That is absolutely exercising their free will.”
That needs to be said again. CHOOSING to forgo control (over one’s reproductive outcomes) is not the same as being FORCED to forgo control. These people have definitely made a choice, as is their right.
I won’t get into an off-topic debate, because this isn’t the place for it, but the comments re: overpopulation and dwindling resources are opinions, not facts. I am not concerned about the Duggar;s overpopulating the planet and using up too many resources because I don’t believe they are, not because I think it’s fine.
Abject bullsh*t. I will copy and paste from my last Duggar post, because this is important and the Duggars are broadcasting the worst possible message:
How is it selfish to reproduce, even twice, let alone 19 ignorant times? WHY should you not have them? How is the Bible totally outdated in terms of what humanity and the planet face in terms of massive overpopulation and the destruction of natural resources, aka ourselves and the planet?
Please consider the future. If 2, or 19 kids each have 2 (or 19) kids, and those kids each have 2 (or 19) kids, where does that leave a planet which is already unhealthy looking and starving for air/resources in say, 25 years time?
If you have kids, stop. Just STOP, stop it right there. My compassion no longer extends to you as an individual, because frankly, the planet and the species are far more important than anyone’s selfish desire to breed at this point. We -humans- are the worst kind of planetary ant in terms of ability to spawn en mass and simply eat/use everything in sight. STOP.
@ KsGirl
This isn’t a matter of happy belief. If data is what you need, there is data that we are overpopulating and using up the earth. If what’s in plain sight to you ISN’T ENOUGH – look at how grey and sad our cities and farm lands are, or just how many animals died sudden deaths in large groups in the last few months, or how many children have physical problems (asthma, autism, etc.) related to our contamination of the land as a group – then I’m sorry, but you may be lacking in some vital perception.
Just do something for me: don’t add to the problem. Don’t breed these unfortunate qualities into other resource consumers – we have enough of them already, doing enough damage.
Ha! One post! All it took was one post to get to the “you disagree with me and are therefore stupid/lacking in perception/misled” etc. I have looked at the data. I disagree with you. This is not the place for the debate.
*breeds indiscriminately*
Not only do Anna and Michelle look similar, but Jim Bob and his wife look like siblings. The whole thing is freaky. It’s much easier to make God responsible for all your choices than to decide to use your brain and think for yourself.
Yeah I dont get peole hating so much when most people all have 1, 2, 3 kids— I see babies in strollers ALL DAY LONG… arent those parents just as guilty of the same evil crime as the Duggars? Why in the hell are people still breeding anyway- I just dont get it LOL
Maybe if we ever developed a microphone sensitive enough to record bacteria in a petri dish, we’d hear the same thing: “Stop, just STOP already!! This petri dish is already starved for nutrients! If we keep going at this rate, we’ll have eaten ALL the agar gel, and the whole dish will disappear!! We’ll all die when it’s empty!! —–“
Always room for one more??? Well instead of making babies .. how about helping those children in FOSTER Care who don’t have “fit” parents?? I’m sure in GODS eyes you’d be helping out your fellow neighbor and giving charity instead of over populating this already full world!!
I just read an article about an 11 year old girl who for pregnant by her friend’s Dad at a sleep over. Did god control that one , too?
They didn’t leave it in God’s hands whether or not the youngest Duggar baby, who was born prematurely, would survive…they quickly made use of modern medical technology and the best drs available. So why isn’t it okay to use modern things like birth control? I mean, either you trust in God to give you a child or you don’t. If God really wanted Michelle and Jim-Bob to have Josie then S/He would’ve made she survived without any modern interventions. (Clearly if she hadn’t had those she would not have survived, so if simply left to God, then maybe that should’ve been a sign to stop!?!).
Plus, it sounds great when you are making a bundle from a tv show (much more money than the average family with a Mom at home taking care of lots of little babes). Plus they had TLC finish building their big house and had people come in and decorate it all just the way they all wanted and it didn’t cost them anything. Most people don’t have those perks. Not to mention that Jim Bob has his home declared a Church so he doesn’t have to pay taxes.
I don’t believe in God and I think letting “God” decide how many children you have is irreponsible, a burden to the older children who get roped into childcare and chores far beyond what any sibling should have to do for another when there is a mother and father present, and it’s often dangerous as well. If Michelle gets pregnant again she could die. She could’ve died with Josie due to the toxemia she had and then what about all those little kids without a Mom? I just think it’s very unfair to the older kids because they often don’t have a choice and I don’t see them being encouraged to have careers or pursue interests beyond very basic stuff. They clearly would have a hard time functioning if the older kids all wanted to go away to university. Michelle cannot handle all the little ones on her own and if you can’t take care of all your kids and be sure you’re giving them the individual attention every child deserves (or at least really be trying to do so) then you shouldn’t have that many imo.
I really don’t think it’s that hard to understand, and this is most definitely the place for this debate, when reality tv “celebrities” bring it up.
Stop breeding. It’s selfish to do so. The list of reasons why it’s selfish is already laid out for you, above.
Foster care is a whole other debate.
Oh and I think Josh and Anna’s life would be financially very difficult and would get harder and harder with each successive child if TLC wasn’t in the picture providing money and interesting places and perks to brighten things up.
I’ve read/seen a lot of the stories from women who were in these situations as wives or as older sisters who were forced to take on a heavy burden of childcare and chores…many of the latter don’t even want their own children when they finally get out (if they do), and many of the wives that left are barely making ends meet and overburdened in virtually every way. Lots of money from TLC makes it all look easy but lots of kids and average money is not easy even when there is a lot of love. Kids need clothes and food and education and there are only so many arms open to comfort kids and rock babies and Mommys need sleep and attention too sometimes.
I hope Anna doesn’t end up with a boatload of kids by the time she’s 30 and TLC has finally decided they’ve had enough of the Duggars and some new thing comes along. I hope they invest whatever money they are getting so they don’t end up living in poverty in the future. From what I hear, Jim-Bob and Michelle don’t believe in helping the kids out once they are out of the house with a family of their own, so Josh and Anna will be on their own.
They are both still so young and really haven’t experienced life. Both have grown up in this lifestyle and don’t really know anything else. I’m not sure that’s a good thing. It’s not the same as seeing the options out there and choosing it as the one that is right for you.
Can’t stand these ugly people. Utterly selfish and arrogant. People like these create problems that the rest of us have to pay for.
@Pink Elephant, people may breed for selfish reasons, but the act of breeding, in and of itself, is not selfish. It IS selfish, though, to impose your value system (angrily, I might add) on the participants of a gossip column message board. The answer is not disallowing reproduction, as that’s clearly a counter-productive, nihilist existence, it’s doing better with the offspring we have. Too bad your parents didn’t think of that years ago, instead you turned into an angry, possibly genocidal, misanthrope.
Nope. It’s a selfish act, period, when the standard we judge it by is not the personal happiness (or not) of the individual, but the standard of the planet itself. We – humans – are singlehandedly throwing this planet totally out of balance. I’m judging you by something higher than us.
There’s nothing to be done about those of us who already exist, so don’t get all interpretation heavy on me. My point is that there is plenty to be done about the over-populating that hasn’t been done yet. Do. NOT. Breed.
They’re not saying one way or the other because they WANT PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION. If he came out and said yeah, we’re stopping after this baby or maybe one more, people would stop paying attention. If he said we’re having as many as possible, the end, a lot of people would also tune out, mostly out of disgust. They’ve got to keep people guessing to stay in the spotlight and keep making that cash.
It’s not the number of babies. It’s the blatant sexism, lack of options for both genders, and willful under- and mis-education that offend my sensibilities.
@Enny, LOL.
Also, if one doesn’t believe in a higher power, what other purpose do we have on this earth besides perpetuating our gene pool? That is, after all, the purpose of ALL species.
While 19 IS ridiculous, calling a stop to reproduction altogether is just as absurd.
at least the Duggars do it with one set of parents at a time, right Ryan Philippe? lol.
Youre an atheist because of some Duggar offspring? Bahahahahahahahahaha! Im not sure who I am laughing at you Tigger or them.
@haha
You can direct it at yourself, that would also make sense.
@Pink Mengele, ahem, sorry, Pink Elephant.
Actually, I think I’ve said enough. There’s no getting through to you. You hate people, got it. You want to eradicate people from the Earth, got it. If you could, you would probably forcibly sterilize the entire population, got it. Why are you wasting time on a gossip blog, then? Don’t you have a world to save from humans like yourself?
It should be illegal how the Duggars treat the girls in the “family”. There is more to life than being a mother and housewife. They should all (the boys and girls)go to college. Their oldest son and his wife should be in college.
That’s great and all – I’m certainly not opposed to people having big families, and it seems if any one, he knows the responsibilities it requires seeming as he grew up in one. The only problem is when they’re in a situation like the two duggar parents. When they keep having children despite the fact that the woman is risking herself and the health of the baby just to keep churning children out, it starts to become a question of ethics rather then religion. And we all know that religion tends to blur the lines of morals and common sense…
not another one…. I have given up TLC, its a freak show.
I still don’t get the hate for this family. It’s not like they’re solely responsible for depleting the earth’s resources with their large brood. They’re just one (big) family out out millions of others.
I’m sure we’d still have the same environmental problems that were currently facing even if Jim Bob and Michelle never got together to procreate in the first place.
They’re a responsible family and they’re not getting any government assistance. It’s a free country so why can’t they have as many kids as they want as long as they’re financially responsible for them. That’s what works for THEM and they’re obviously doing something right since the kids appear pretty happy, healthy and well-adjusted.
@pink elephant. You do sound like a very sad and disturbed individual. I really do feel sorry for you. Do away with your ovaries if you want, but please do not come here and bash people who desire to have kids……..you can pass your earth protector opinion in a better way if you must.
Gd created doctors who invented both birth control and fertility treatments.