Monday, August 6, 2007

Sign up sheets

I was watching the Today show this morning and they had the Duggar Family on there with all 17 of their children. Of course I had to rewind and watch the whole segment and I was furious! Matt Lauer asked them if they (the parents) felt like they didn't have enough one on one time for each of their children. Their response was........

THEY HAVE A SIGN UP SHEET IN THE KITCHEN!

Can you believe that???? In order to spend one on one time with your children they have to sign up when they want to have it? I wish I could have seen how many spots were open up to them. Of course the kids don't think that they are being slighted, but the one son said he doesn't know any different, that he is used to having such a large family.

I think that is the most ridiculous and cruel thing to do. You shouldn't have to sign up or earn the right to spend time with your parents. It shouldn't be a reward to spend time with your mom or dad. I was appalled that they would do this, or that anyone would.

On another note, all 17 of their children stood there during the interview and only one moved around. Weird, my youngest two would have been all over the place.
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7 comments:

Gypsy at heart said...

Well, a sign=up sheet is a little weird, but I might have appreciated one when I was growing up in a family of 7 children. It seems the parents should be observant enough to recognize that a child needs something more than s/he is getting. What if someone has a need but doesn't want to interrupt mom / dad by asking for more time? How do the parents find time to meet the needs of the children on the sign-up sheet when they didn't have time to do anything about it before the child signed up?
Just as with everything else in life, there are pros and cons. Wonder how they will turn out in the long run? It would be interesting to do a follow-up on them at 10 year intervals.

August 6, 2007 at 8:14 AM
The Teacup Cottage said...

That is a little out there, but they seem like a highly organized familiy. I mean, didn't they have the kids help build their house! I agree that having a lot of kids can leave some without attention. Growing up in a large family, it was always the "squeky wheel that got the grease." I was a bookish child so I rarely had any one-on-one interaction with my parents. I think it carried over to my life today as I can go MONTHS without speaking to them. In fact the only time I do is when they call me. I never call unless I hear someone is in the hospital. Sad, yes, but I don't even think they notice!

August 6, 2007 at 10:25 AM
Old Cowboy Dan said...

I saw a TV show about this family on the construction of their 5,000 sf house built on steel and metal studs. The program started when the slab was poured and some of the framing had been started. The end of the program was to be just before #17 was born, but they missed that by some time, although the news says otherwise. The oldest son ahd been working on the house for 5 years and the others worked there also. If some expertise was required the dad brought in someone who instructed the kids in how to do the work; electrical, plumbing, etc. They did hire an interior decorator near the end who selected colors, designed graphics and picked the furniture. With a new house you would expect lots of bedrooms and bathrooms but that was not the case. The 2 oldest boys shared a room with a bath, 3 teenage girls shared a bedroom and bathroom and the smaller boys and girls had bedrooms and bathrooms that the shared with their siblings. The bathrooms reminded me of restrooms in an airport with lines of sinks and toilets. They must have received some $'s from the TV producers as everything was first class, including a large playroom with pool table and one commercial kitchens as well as one residential kitchen. The also had a laundromat with 8 washers and 4 extra large dryers in it.

The kids are home schooled in the mornings and worked on the house in the afternoons. Each child was assigned a task within the family, for example one 3 year old boy was in charge of the pantry and all of the supplies there. The pantry was about 12' wide and 20' long with 4 sets of shelves, it was his task to keep everything stocked and know where everything was.

Good luck with college Dugger's

August 6, 2007 at 6:04 PM
Marine Wife said...

This family sounds incredibly anachronistic. I'm sure they are organized, etc. as they HAVE to be with that many kids. But I'm also wondering how much the older kids are raising the younger? I just don't understand why anyone would want that many children. It seems irresponsible on many levels.

August 14, 2007 at 9:44 AM
Anonymous said...

It seems pretty judgmental here. The Dugger's have a large family. They seem to enjoy it. No one in the house is complaining. Why does everyone else seem to think this is awful or "irresponsible". When did having a large family become such a bad idea. Seems to me, there must be a lot of love in this house! God has blessed them with many children. If God had blessed them with a million dollars, we'd all be jealous... but since He blessed them with many children that are "irresponsible." Wow. I pray that we all would value the life that God gave us and thank the Lord there are others trying to do their best as well!

February 11, 2008 at 1:01 AM
ABW said...

I could care less how many children they have, and there are other families that have just as many, but it is the parents who are raising the children, not the older children. What I have the problem with is that the older children are taking care of a younger child once they hit the magic age of two. Michelle says that she keeps them till two and then they get a "buddy" who is responsible for taking care of their day to day activites like getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc. I have three kids, and those are my responsibilities. I am not going to pass them off to another CHILD in order for me to have more kids so that I can take care of them instead. My children deserve to be children. I am sure that there is lots of love in the Duggar house, but I think that they need to be responsible for the day to day upbringing of their children and the thought of a child having to sign up to spend time with a parent--a parent should be doing that every day, not just when they have time or just when the child thinks that they need it. Selfish. They obviously can afford all these kids and that's great. I'd never be jealous of someone because they thought that they had more than me. Goodness knows I have plenty of everything. :)

February 11, 2008 at 6:16 AM
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