A discussion with Bayley RE: Duggars......

So The Duggars sow happened to be on TV, the new one, about the new kid. So we had a discussion about how many is too many...should they stop etc. Neither of us really for or against( she is 12 ), but just a healthy discussion. Kristin joined in when she came over, and this is what happens when you have an in depth discussion with Bay, she brought me this a while ago.........( I added my own comments)



Let's say they end up having 22 kids.

And let's say 20 of their 22 kids have kids (maybe two of them rebel or two of them can't or something).

And those 20 kids have an average of 18 kids each.

They will have 360 grandchildren.

Let's add in the children in-law for the total Duggar Village total so far and it's:

Ma + Pa + 22 kids + 20 spouses + 360 grandchildren = 404 people.

404 people. That's three generations.

Now let's assume that 325 of their 360 grandchildren marry and have kids.
The 325 grandkids who have kids average 15 kids a piece (maybe fertility is declining, whatever).

They would have 4,875 great-grandchildren.

Ma + Pa + 22 kids + 20 children in laws + 360 grandchildren + 325 grandchildren in law + 4875 great-grandchildren = 5,604 people living in their now medium-sized town related to them by blood or marriage in FOUR GENERATIONS.

THAT is the long-term view they are taking. Creating their own medium-sized town.

(If you're curious, if even half of their 4875 great-grandchildren had kids and averaged "only" 8 kids a piece, that would be 19,500 great-great grandchildren.)

So this is the kind of crap I deal with from my kid on a daily basis....but she cannot find her shoes or socks on her own..............

Looks like she is pretty good at math
Seriously though, I think that is the entire point. Kind of like - let's make sure there are a lot of people who think just like us. Seems like Mormons started the plural marriage to populate the west with as many Mormons as possible. Along the same lines, except one poor woman has to spit out all the dang Duggars, except the one grandchild, so far.
I would never have that many kids myself, but they do have the right to have them. There has been no fertility intervention and no state support. I know they make money from the show, but I have watched the show all along, and they had enough money prior to the show starting. Not at all a Jon & Kate situation where the money was, apparently, the point of the show. I do hope they stop now that this one had to born so early. I am sure it is a complication of having too many kids born from one uterus, so I pray they stop now. Almost 5000 great grand children has got to me enough, right?????

it just astonishes me, because her brain spews out stuff like this daily.........I personally don't have an opinion, to each his own.

I would love to see thier Christmas list in a few years however...

Nice, I think it would drive me batty, lol.

As for the Duggars, I have never seen the show. They pay their way. I personally think you have to be bat shot crazy to want that many kids, but ultimately I agree, to each their own. Now if they were spitting them out one after another while collecting welfare........

kleenaechs wrote:Looks like she is pretty good at math
Seriously though, I think that is the entire point. Kind of like - let's make sure there are a lot of people who think just like us. Seems like Mormons started the plural marriage to populate the west with as many Mormons as possible. Along the same lines, except one poor woman has to spit out all the dang Duggars, except the one grandchild, so far.

Yeah, not quite right about that Mormon thing.... that was back in the pioneer times (1800's), and most pioneers had tons of kids to help out with the farm. Not all pioneers were Mormon either. Mormons do not practice polygamy anymore & haven't since the 1800's (except for the branch that broke off from the Mormon church.. THEY practice polygamy).

Now, I think the math itself is amazing... and troubling at the same time! Augh! But, they are amazing parents, and have shown over & over again, they can handle these kids! Sure, they get the help from their kids..... but I agree, now that they had a baby who was born 4 months premature, and that Michelle's life was in danger this time around, maybe they'll either stop or slow down.

I didn't mean to hurt your feelings amybecca. I know they don't do it anymore, and was talking about pioneer times. Here is a little blurb I found:
Reasons for Polygamy in the LDS Church

While the LDS church gives no official statement of God's explicit purpose in commanding polygamy at some times and not at others, the Book of Mormon suggests that it has to do with increasing the population of believers.

Read more at Suite101: Mormon Doctrine of Polygamy: Polygamy in the Bible and LDS Plural Marriage http://mormonism.suite101.com/article.cfm/mormon_doctrine_of_polygamy#ixzz0erZalnUI

There were so many reasons why people had lots of kids back then. You can add lack of birth control knowledge, religious reasons (it being wrong to use BC and deny God's little miracles), and the fact that so many children died from childhood diseases to all the reasons above.

My opinion with the Duggars is that part of it is religious choice and part is the show and wanting to keep people watching. They would deny it, but I believe that people of any religion can be fame whores.

My only concern with the Duggars is that they can't be attentive parents to 20+ kids. I have 4 and have real trouble having time enough, focused enough, etc. I think by necessity you'd have to have the older ones doing a lot for their siblings, and to me that means asking them to raise kids when they didn't choose to go out and have sex/kids. I know my older two do a lot of 'parenting' to the younger two. I work hard to make sure that they also get to play and be on school teams and hand out with friends, etc. I also make sure that they get lots of breaks from their siblings and get one on one time with me and their dad. How do you manage that with 20 kids? And when they do have 100+ grandkids, how do you do things like babysit so that they parents have some alone time, or even get to know all the grandkids as individuals, take them fishing, teach them to play ball, or practice reading with them? Yes, you can deeply love 20 kids. But can you really be a parent to them all?

I don't know, I grew up in a family of 4 kids and can't remember ever having one on one time with either parent until I was an adult and we'd do things together. It seems like the Duggar kids have enough companionship and I've seen them making an effort to have special activities with the kids. The one time I did watch the show the dad took the girls camping.

I have an aunt who had 4 girls quite close together, and then a few years later, a boy. The boy was spoiled rotten by the attention all of his sisters gave him. Then a good number of years went by and she had twin boys. The older kids did a lot to help raise the younger boys, but it was something they loved. Who can resist a baby/toddler/young'un?

Oh I do think that some kids will love it and thrive. But I can't imagine they all would. And I think it would be a lot harder with a dozen+ kids than with 4 or 5. But who knows. It may work just fine for them and I'm OK with them having as many kids as they choose because I want to be able to have as many kids as I choose (4, and not a one more!). I just wonder how they have the time and energy, and especially how they'll continue to have the time and energy 20 years from now. They just had another, so they've got 20 years of parenting ahead not even counting grandkids.

BR's great grandfather was one of 17. most of those 17 stayed right around here. They all had kids.

BR's grandfather didnt even know most of his kinfolks. His daddy denies bein kin to pert near all his cousins, and there are hundreds that we dont even realize are 4 generations later.

Of course, his family is kinda cooky... Very few of any of the branches speak to their siblings by the time they hit middle age. BR and his siblings are one of the very few exceptions.

I agree with Karen, I cant see spending quality time and staying sane with 20 kids. Not with out lots of help- which comes from the other kids.

Staying sane is a whole other story! LOL I barely had the patience to put up with my two boys.