Duggar Girls on Growing Up on "19 Kids and Counting"
THE DUGGAR FAMILY
Jim Bob and Michelle, the Duggar girl’s parents, had their first child within their first four years of marriage. Soon after, Michelle went on birth control but surprisingly became pregnant again. However, her pregnancy ended in a miscarriage that the Duggars attributed to the side effects of birth control. They felt the Lord tell them that children are a gift and decided not to use any form of contraception again. Before long, Jim Bob and Michelle had 19 children. In 2004, the president of Discovery Communications decided to do a one-hour documentary on the family. Now the family has become a media sensation and is one of TLC’s biggest productions, aptly named, “19 Kids and Counting.”
The Duggar Girls, Jinger (20), Jessa (21), Jill (22), and Jana (24), are the eldest daughters in the family. They wrote their book, Growing up Duggar: It’s All About Relationships, to communicate their core Christian values, take advantage of this season of influence, and answer the large volume of questions they receive about their mega family.
DUGGAR RELATIONSHIPS
In, Growing up Duggar: It’s All About Relationships, the Duggar girls discuss the principles that have been instilled in them through their parents. They simplify these values by putting them into different categories of relationships. They specifically highlight the importance of relationship with yourself, family, and guys. They believe that a relationship with God is interwoven into each of these categories.
The Duggar Girls share how they value themselves and discuss their views on beauty. They believe that people need to honor how God made them and not reject one’s physical appearance. They say, “…if we’re upset with the girl in the mirror, it means we’re upset with God for how He designed us.” They believe that people should be confident in how God has made them and that things like clothes and makeup should only help accent their beauty. They address how many girls look for acceptance through others approval of their physical attributes. However, confidence can only be found when God is made priority and people live for His approval and learn to accept who He created them to be.
The Duggar Girls also share how they handle their relationships with their parents and siblings. Being such a large family, they have to be, and are, intentional about connecting and being vulnerable. Their parents make time every month to have “heart to heart” talks with their children, which are one-on-one conversations between parent and child. The Duggar Girls have also learned to be quick to deal with offences with siblings. With 19 kids total, they explain how they have to be prompt to apologize and forgive to keep bitterness from coming into those relationships. Through intentionality and conflict resolution, the Duggar family is able to maintain connectedness and harmony.
The Duggar Girls also discuss their views regarding relationships with guys. They reveal how they choose to “court” rather than “date.” They believe that “dating,” many times, is just for fun and lacks in purpose but courting is just the opposite. “Courting” involves family accountability, real-life settings, and marriage as the end goal. They believe that the true purpose of relationship with guys should be finding your future husband and take it very seriously.
The eighth season of TLC’s “19 Kids & Counting” premieres Tuesday, April 1 at 9PM ET/PT.
