Seventeen and Counting…Please Stop Counting

In line with my fascination of extremes in human nature, I sat down to watch “17 and Counting,” the newest documentary style show from the Duggar family. Oh you know the Duggars, admit it. You know, the family with 17 children whose names all start with “J” from Arkansas. How can you forget the patriarch of the family, Jim Bob! And matriarch Michelle, with her long flowing mousy hair, House on the Prairie smocks and never ending pregnancies. To say I am fascinated by this hockey team of a family would be an understatement. Whenever I watch Jon and Kate plus 8, I feel a bit sorry that they have to deal with eight kids with sticky hands, snotty noses and crying. Oh the crying. But then, I remember Jim Bob and Michelle and the fact that this woman has had 17 squirmy bodies pass through her birth canal (BY CHOICE!) and I scoff at Jon and Kate for their measily contribution to society. Eight? Try 17, suckers! You don’t have anything on Jim Bob and Michelle.

The first and second episodes of “17 and Counting” featured the Duggar family going on a trip to New York City to be on the “Today” show where Jim Bob and Michelle were due to announce their 18th pregnancy. I almost fainted. That’s just because I think the idea of having that many children is inconceivable. I don’t mean to pass judgment on the Duggars because clearly, they have managed to raise all those children pretty well and by no means are they in need of any charity. If someone has the choice of never having children, I suppose others should have the choice of having as many as they want.

At times, I find it unfair on the children. Obviously, Michelle cannot raise all those kids on her own, and even with the help of Jim Bob, things could get out of hand, so more or less, the older kids are in many ways responsible for the younger ones. It just upsets me a little that their time is consumed by raising kids, when it should be consumed with teenager-type activities. They obviously don’t have any semblance of social lives, because let’s face it, every day is a social gathering in the Duggar house. That means they can only function within the confines of their family and perhaps town and are more or less unprepared for the real world, as evidenced by their trip to New York City. The family are conservative Baptists who follow the Quiverfull movement. The Quiverfull movement prohibits the use of contraceptives of any kind and endorses homeschooling and homesteading in a rural area.

To put it simply, the whole thing is just…strange. You can pretty much guarantee that I will keep watching, in between bouts of cringing.