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Duggar Dysfunction: ‘Raising 16 Kids’ Recap
Apparently Raising 16 Children came out in 2006. Like its predecessor, 14 Kids & Pregnant Again!, this show feels stuck in the 80s.
It begins with a weird song about the Duggars. The last lyric ominously says, “How many Duggars will there be?” Again, we are introduced to the “little family.” And we’re about to see the birth of J’Baby 16.
We got some quick birthing stats. Michelle was 21 when she had her first baby, and she’ll be 38 when she has the 16th. She’s been pregnant or nursing for 15 years of her life and in labor for a whopping 12 days.
We then get a weird “starting lineup” segment. And we hear about how Michelle and Jim Bob met again.
The Duggar family is still building the house, and it’s been about three years. The church next to their house bought it and wants to turn it into a softball field, so they have to move out while they build. The Duggars had to find a rental home and seem surprised nobody would rent a three-bedroom home to a family of 18.
So, we see the same montage of the family eating and packing their stuff into a moving truck. It looks like they didn’t pack a damn thing before people showed up to help them move. There are still decorations on the walls.
We also have to see the family go to the same conference they did in the last special, which is weird. The boys are going to do ALERT, which they describe as Boy Scouts where they “climb on walls” and “learn about God.” The girls sing songs and make crafts, from what I can gather. The boys get to do a fun excursion into the woods and the girls are inside doing crafts and helping young children use the bathroom.
Josh Duggar gets on his high horse (seriously, so embarrassing) and says young people need somebody to look up to. I guess he thinks that’s him?
Suddenly, the family is back home and it’s time for the ultrasound. They have a new doctor because Michelle wants to try a vaginal birth after her last C-section.
The family has had six consecutive boys, which is awful because it only means there is more work for the older girls to do. The next baby is a girl, and Jana and Jill look very happy. The baby will be named Johannah Faith.
