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<p>Michelle Dugger:
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<p>Sorry to sound so vain and trivial, but what does that many pregnancies do to a womans body, externally speaking? I would think skin can only stretch and contract so many times!</p>
<p>Re: Mafool’s post above: God doesn’t provide for the Duggars; TLC does.</p>
<p>VeryHappy, I will wait eagerly for SunnyFlorida’s answer to your very interesting question, but in the meantime I will chime in with my much less informed answer, which is that the deterioration of the ova takes place over time, and the “loss” of a few every month from ovulation has only a minimal effect.</p>
<p>I had a surprise pregnancy at 48, delivering S2 when I was almost 49. This woman has more years left.</p>
<p>I agree that the children appear to be incapable of independent thought. I saw the clip of the announcement on msnbc.com:</p>
<p>[msnbc.com</a> Video Player](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32639555#32639555]msnbc.com”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32639555#32639555)</p>
<p>Note the allusions to “training” of children.</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve heard that women who have had many pregnancies (few cycles) do tend to be a little more fertile than average as they get older. They have more eggs left-- but their eggs are still subject to damage from aging like everyone else’s </p>
<p>I know quite a few large families belonging to particular religious groups. Among those I know of, last live births were at 46, 45, 43, 42, 41, and 39. I know a couple older women who had babies at 47 and 48. Most of those women ended their reproductive years with a series of miscarriages–more miscarriages than live births among these older women. This could be Mrs. Duggars last one if she is 43. Then again, maybe not! It seems, for most people, fertility ends in the early to mid 40s</p>
<p>I watched a family interview with them a few weeks ago, and couldn’t help wondering how the parents would have handled things if they’d encountered serious physical or mental handicaps in their children. They and their situation seem surreal to me.</p>
<p>We have no idea if any of the kids have learning disabilities or other issues. As well, dad doesnt think the girls should go to college, so its not even on the femailes radar. I would almost guaranttee they would get free rides to the likes of Bob Jones, PCC, Liberty, just for the publicity, if they were allowed to go to school. THeir education at home would be just on par for those institutions. The just married couple have their own website and its basically a sales machine with links to everything religious based the family believes in and I would bet you they are getting kick backs or whatever for marketing. So much for god will provide.</p>
<p>And if god doesn’t provide, does that mean you are a bad person. Just wondering.</p>
<p>I can’t believe that Michelle is pregnant again. Personally, I think it is insane, especially since she only births and nurses the kids, and then all care is turned over to the older girls.</p>
<p>These children are not allowed to go to college, not even a Christian based one. ATI and Bill Gothard frown upon any of these outside influences, and none of the Duggars have been (or probably will be going) to college, although they clearly have the funding, courtesy of TLC. Besides which, I don’t think that Michelle would give up her live-in childcare so that her daughters could have a semblance of a normal life.</p>
<p>Do they appear unhappy to you? Who are you to judge given the rampant drugs/drinking, casual sex and general unhappiness with many many “regular suburban teens”. Not like that life is so “normal” either–it’s probably considered pathological.</p>
<p>They don’t appear to have a choice, that is what makes it so sad. And their education is sorely lacking, as Michelle doesn’t come across as the brightest bulb in the shed. </p>
<p>I would bet those kids in that back yard who knew no other life somehow found joy in life. And if someone shoots down all your options= education, freedom, then no you ain’t really happy, you just don’t know that you have been “trained” to be a certain way, they don’t say raised, or educated, its “trained”- i taught my kids, I didn’t train them like a puppy</p>
<p>Yes, I judge them. They put their lives out there, they brag about their homeschooling, and how thegirls bascially take care of the little ones, so yes, we can judge them all we want. </p>
<p>My Ds aren’t into drugs or rampant sexual activity, or dressing like tramps, but they have imaginations, goals, want to better the world and don’t fear the unknown. </p>
<p>Michelle doesn’t raise those kids, her daughters do.</p>
<p>IMHO, they seem happy and close as a family. Lots of us don’t have that. That said, intellectually I would go crazy in such a closed environment.</p>
<p>My feeling is that when people parade their family in front of the American public on national television, and reap the financial benefits, they are open to critique. If they wanted to stay in their little modesty patrolled homeschool cocoon, and birth 20 or 30 children, no one would be the wiser. However, they put themselves on TV, for us all to gape at. I think the family has compromised its values by selling themselves to American consumerism, and you bet we can comment on, or even judge, their lack of education, close-minded attitudes, etc. as a result.</p>
<p>I’m a liberal northeasterner and while I can’t say I’ve seen every episode I’ve seen quite a few and I’ve never felt the Duggar’s to be particularly close-minded or hateful. They’ve made some extreme choices for themselves but they don’t come across as judging other people. I’m sure they’re the opposite of me on many issues such as gay marriage but that doesn’t make them bad people. Just a very different life view going on there. I loved the episode where Jim Bob and Michelle went to Haight-Ashbury and could laugh at their fish out of water selves. It’s not a lifestyle I would ever choose for my family but they seem happy.</p>
<p>THey have a church in their house, so they pay no property taxes. Sounds like a good plan to me.</p>
<p>They aren’t hateful, just closeminded when it comes to the females and that to me is enough of a reason to dislike their belief system.</p>
<p>i think girls can do more than take care of their little brothers and sisters and have RIGHT to go to college. They also push an educational program, and I am not referring to homeschooling, that is regressive, false and frankly odd. I think the world is more than 5000 years old, but hey why let facts get in the way of a biblical education. They are vehemently anti-choice and Mr Duggar tried to go into politics to push his agenda. They are disingenous when they say they take care of everything for themselves, TLC pays for lots of things, and they make money from the very tv they don’t allow in their home.</p>
<p>I believe they were doing fine before TLC. Now—just finer.</p>
<p>I don’t like what the duggars teach. I don’t like the text books they indoctrinate their children with. I don’t like that they can run a “church” to avoid taxes. i don’t like that they “train” their children, instead of raising them. I don’t like that they hold their girls back. i don’t like that Michelle claims she can teach those kids well, using those bizarre books from Bob Jomes Press. I don’t like that they act all righteous and bless by God when its the advertisors. And I don’t like that they deny how much TLC has done for them. </p>
<p>I find them artificial and self absorbed.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the most pressing issue here is what they’re going to name #19. Jujube? Jalopy? (The kids names all start with “J”, just like Daddy Jim-Bob. Ick.)</p>
<p>just checked out a website called</p>
<p>nolongquivering</p>
<p>pretty interesting stuff, for those that think the movement is all fun and babies</p>
<p>The Duggars didn’t “honor our differences” when they went to a public school (where they rolled their eyes at the kids dancing) or at the Ethiopian restaurant, where they complained about the food and also made faces and remarks about the ethnic dancing. Some of the Duggar children, from the teens on down, were downright rude! If they can’t behave themselves better in these settings, it would be better for them to stay put in Arkansas.</p>
<p>Also, I find it fascinating that ol’ Jim Bob and Michelle “won’t allow TV in their home”, but make a very nice living off the very medium that they supposedly reject. They exhibit hypocrisy on many issues.</p>
<p>I hadn’t realized that contradiction (getting $$$ from TLC but not allowing a TV in their house) until ilovetoquilt and Allmusic pointed it out. Now, that is hypocritical. Everything else, I can respect without agreeing with, but that is hypocritical.</p>