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Duggar Dysfunction: ‘14 Children & Pregnant Again!’Recap
This week, I decided to watch 14 Children & Pregnant Again. I believe this to be the first Duggar special, and it aired in 2004. It’s hard to believe this special is only 16 years old, because everything about it feels at least 30.
We start off with some quirky music and a narration that tells us about families. In case you didn’t know, most families only have two children. But did you know that the Duggars have a whopping 14 children?
We meet the kids. Justin is currently the youngest, but Michelle is pregnant again! The kids walk in a line wearing prairie dresses and suits. They talk about all the public attention they get. Jill seems annoyed by the attention, especially when people ask if they’re a daycare. Michelle says the most common questions are about laundry. Sure. That’s the big curiosity here.
Josh says he always thought of his family as normal, likely because he doesn’t interact with anybody outside of his religious sphere.
The group eats sandwiches, and the narrator compares the Duggars to the Walton family. Though I question if the Duggar kids were ever allowed to watch The Waltons.
The kids pile into a bus. Jessa, 11, says the hardest thing about living in a 3-bedroom house is the two bathrooms. A visual shows the kids lining up outside the bathroom at a nearly constant rate. Can you imagine trying to relax and go to the bathroom with crowds of people waiting for you? No thanks.
A strict system in place helps keep the kids in line, or so they say. Jill says that they split up showers, so some shower in the morning and some in the evening. The best way to get a shower first is to get super dirty.
The buddy system is introduced next. Essentially, the older kids take care of the younger ones, but what it actually looks like is that the older girls take care of the younger kids. We see the girls feeding the younger kids, teaching school, and sewing.
Michelle says she is the youngest child’s buddy until he or she is weaned. Then, they are passed on to the next girl whose “turn” it is to get another buddy. She says that she is also Jim Bob’s buddy.
