The Duggar Family

[JustJuls]

Thank you luvsginger! I think they did a pretty good job too!

[Google]

 

[Margaritaville]

Originally Posted by JustJuls

I don't see a problem with pulling your own weight either....but not "kids raising kids" like you said. Two totally different things. I pulled my own weight in my family....I did chores, I watched my younger brother when my parents went out to dinner once in awhile, I got a job at 14 and had my own spending money. But I didn't do the laundry for 20 people, or cook dinner for 20 people, or clean the entire house, or homeschool my younger brother and care for him like I was his mother. I think its good to teach children responsibility....but I also think its good to let kids be kids....teenagers be teenagers. There is all the time in the world to be an adult and have those big responsibilities of children and housework.

These are the things that bother me so much about the Duggar clan. It is such a shame to see the girls doing all of the laundry, all of the cooking, all of the cleaning, and for trips - all of the packing. It is quite a feat, and I don't think it's fair. J'Bob and Michelle wanted all those kids - let them take care of them, and that includes all of the chores that go along with it. Maybe then they will have less energy at the end of the day to procreate. Damn.

[hutchlover]

I don't know of any family that doesn't make their older children help out. I only have two, but from the time they were young they were doing chores. Until we moved & my daughter stayed back in Cleveland, she did the laundry, bathed the dog, took turns with dishes, etc etc even while working p/t and going to college. Ditto with our son. Yet I wouldn't let him touch my laundry with the proverbial 10' pole, even though I taught him how to do his own.

Just because they have more children, doesn't change the fact that there's also more children to help out with those chores. So it isn't like 2 people are doing laundry for 20. And they've made it a point to show the girls & boys how important it is to know how to do each other's chores.

I have no problem with the girls doing most of the household chores, as long as the boys help. I'm sure the boys do the outdoor chores themselves.

[JustJuls]

I think its a must to have children "help out" and do chores around the house. But there is difference between helping out and doing all. I started to do my own laundry in Junior High....but my own....not my brothers and sisters (of which I had 6) and not my parents. I definitely wouldn't want to wash my dads underwear I shouldn't have to.

[Muduh]

Originally Posted by JustJuls

I think its a must to have children "help out" and do chores around the house. But there is difference between helping out and doing all. I started to do my own laundry in Junior High....but my own....not my brothers and sisters (of which I had 6) and not my parents. I definitely wouldn't want to wash my dads underwear I shouldn't have to.

My kids had their chores and were responsible for their own rooms but if they did household work, they got paid. My son was paid to mow the lawn and my daughter was paid for any cleaning or whatever she did. One rule I did have was if I was doing something specifically for one of them, they had to watch the baby. I sewed a lot for my daughter, made all her formals and cheerleading outfits and she had to babysit then. The kid wasn't theirs to raise. They had their lives to live.

[stacerace]

Originally Posted by JustJuls

I think its a must to have children "help out" and do chores around the house. But there is difference between helping out and doing all. I started to do my own laundry in Junior High....but my own....not my brothers and sisters (of which I had 6) and not my parents. I definitely wouldn't want to wash my dads underwear I shouldn't have to.

My sister and I did help out with the housework and my brothers split the outdoor work with my Dad evenly most of the time. When my brothers grew up and moved out and it was just me and my sister, my Dad did ALL of the outside work and took out the trash (man's work by his definition. now he wonders why I don't like to take out my own trash at my house that I OWN. he actually comes over every week and does it for me ). My sister and I still were responsible for our own rooms and laundry and helped out with the rest of the house. But my Mom was a stay at home Mom so she had time to do all of the housework herself if she had chosen to but wanted us to learn responsibility. She briefly went to work my 7th and 8th grade years and my sister and I then did ALL of the housework as well as having to wash our Dad's underwear (YUCK! I wouldn't touch it so I made my sister fold them ) and put dinner on the table by ourselves every night. It wasn't too bad and I didn't resent doing the work. I just resented not having my Mom around all the time which is why she quit her job and started a home day care for money instead. My sister and I were each responsible for taking care of a particular kid when we got home from school which was great for me because I was the youngest and had never been around babies before so I learned a lot about taking care of babies and toddlers at different stages.

[gabriel]

Originally Posted by Muduh

My kids had their chores and were responsible for their own rooms but if they did household work, they got paid. My son was paid to mow the lawn and my daughter was paid for any cleaning or whatever she did. One rule I did have was if I was doing something specifically for one of them, they had to watch the baby. I sewed a lot for my daughter, made all her formals and cheerleading outfits and she had to babysit then. The kid wasn't theirs to raise. They had their lives to live.

Paid??? Wow your kids were lucky. The only time I got paid for anything was if I wanted to buy something and something extra like really cleaning the basement was done.

[causingchaos]

I never got paid either. I was the only child with two working parents and did a lot of housework and never got paid. But I gained a lot of knowledge like that too that helped me when I moved out on my own. There things that my peers faced when doing laundry or dishes or stuff like that they didn't know how to handle and I was like oh gee lets go to walmart and get this and that and here's what you do no big deal.

[gabriel]

Originally Posted by causingchaos

I never got paid either. I was the only child with two working parents and did a lot of housework and never got paid. But I gained a lot of knowledge like that too that helped me when I moved out on my own. There things that my peers faced when doing laundry or dishes or stuff like that they didn't know how to handle and I was like oh gee lets go to walmart and get this and that and here's what you do no big deal.

Me too. To this day even though I am 51 and my brother is 54, my Mom just radiates pride when she says "my boys went out into this world being able to totally take care of themselves and others and not depend on anyone.

My sister (55) who had the same rules etc., can't cook worth a hoot, never kept a clean house and well that's stories for another thread. I bet those Duggar kids will be able to be on their own with no problems.

[JustJuls]

They'll never be alone. They'll get married as soon as they leave the house and then have 18 children to take care of it