The Duggars: 20 and Counting By Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar

I loved this book. Since our website is primarily about parenting, I thought why not find our how one of America's largest families operates. I have to admit: I am thoroughly impressed. If one thing is for certain, these parents have it together. It really irks me when someone judges the Duggars when they really don't know them. I know they have a lot of children, and some people have a problem with that. I know it's not the conventional way to live, but nothing about our website is "conventional," so this book is quite fitting. The Duggars are also very conservative. They're criticized about it often, but the truth is, they are raising their children with excellent values. Many of these values are addressed in the book, and readers will get a sense of why the Duggars believe what they do. I would even venture to guess they're the morals and values most parents would like to instill in their children.

The Duggars are religious. I know this bothers some people as well, however, I pose a suggestion. Read the book and then see if you have a different perspective of the Duggars. I was amazed at how blessed their lives are from the decisions that they have made. They feel the Lord has guided these decisions. Other people may feel differently, but there is no denying that they have made very good choices in many areas of their lives. I truly enjoyed hearing their personal testimonies. I personally felt quite intrigued by the way situations, especially regarding finances, seem to have fallen in place in their lives. Could be coincidence, though I feel the reader may be swayed from this opinion when reading the book. There's several areas about this book I would like to address.

The first would be the issue of having so many children. How do they give them all attention? Well, the book answers these questions and more. The children are homeschooled, which allows for more time to spend together. Both parents are home much of the day. Through the book, the Duggars clearly portray how each child does receive attention. I think it's important to remember with a large family, there is always someone to talk to, and it's probably pretty hard to be lonely or isolated. Large families are becoming less common these days, but in our not so distant past, larger families were much more normal. The truth is that you have to make an effort to be connected to your children no matter how many kids you have. This doesn't just happen, it takes work to stay connected, even if you have only one child. Parents of many children can be connected to those children as much as someone who only has one child. Conversely, parents of one child can be detached or disconnected. It's about the effort you put in.

How do they handle so many children? Do the older children "raise" the younger children? This thinking always bothers me as well. Yes, the older children do help the younger children... and the younger children are also expected to help as they can. The fact is in their family everyone helps each other, which is the way families are supposed to behave. No, the older children are not responsible for raising their younger siblings, and as the reader will see through the book, each child is invested in as a valuable human being. The older children will testify that they do not feel burdened by having a large family- the children love it. Who wouldn't want to grow up in a loving family with ever present playmates. As an only child, I can attest it can be lonely often, and I would have loved brothers and sisters. How many children is too many? A silly question indeed since it is different for every person. The truth is that these parents have been blessed with a large amount of children, and they handle it extremely well as one can clearly gather from the book.

How do they afford so many children? This is the area that truly blows me away. The way the Duggars have managed their finances is amazing. They decided in the very beginning of their marriage they would not accumulate any debt. This is obviously very contrary to popular culture. They still live today in a 7,000 sq foot home with no debt whatsoever. How many of us can say that? They go to bed at night owning their home with nothing hanging over their heads. It was very interesting to see how their needs have been provided for without accumulating debt. I am truly fascinated. We could all take a lesson in their resourcefulness. The Duggars are very candid about many of their finances to paint the reader a detailed picture of exactly how they are able to stay debt free and still afford life. They also set the record straight that they have never been on any public assistance of any kind. Bravo

The book is littered with family recipes. The Duggars answer burning questions and share many wonderful tidbits on their lives. There is information on how they stay organized and how they get everything done. It is so interesting to learn how they do what they do.

The book also gives lots of homeschooling resources and advice, which I especially appreciated.

I truly enjoyed this book. For those who want to stand by and be critical or judge from a far without knowing anything about the Duggars, well that's just fine. But you'll be missing out. I learned a lot from reading this book, and I hope that perhaps you'll allow them to teach you something too.