http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270554,00.html LITTLE ROCK — The Duggars are once again pulling out the pink ruffles and lace as they prepare for the birth of baby number 17. Michelle Duggar said Monday in a telephone interview from her northwest Arkansas home that the whole family is excited about the arrival of the baby girl they will name Jennifer Danielle, keeping with the family tradition of giving the child a name that begins with J. Jennifer Danielle is due July 27. Duggar, 40, said she was doing fine with her latest pregnancy. Although she has gotten older since she had her first child at age 21, she said, she still has plenty of energy and only minor aches and pains. "With each baby, God's given me the grace and the energy to keep going, and they really keep you going," she said. "I feel like a 20-year-old kid, but I'm realizing my body isn't that 20-year-old. I don't get up and play the games as hard as I used to, and I try to be a little more careful." Duggar said she and husband Jim Bob, a former state representative and U.S. senate candidate, view each phase of their children's lives as an adventure. /**/ "I've never been a mom of a 19-year-old young man and a 17-year-old young man and woman, so every phase of parenting is an exciting adventure" Duggar said. The Duggars home school their children at their 7,000-square foot home in Tontitown. The couple's oldest child, Joshua, is 19, and their youngest, Johanna Faith, is 19 months. Their children include two sets of twins. Because the couple sees each child as a blessing from God, Michelle Duggar said they will, as long as she is able, accept each child they are given. "Really, our heart is we would love to receive whatever gifts or blessings the Lord wants to give us," she said. "But I love the baby stage and I can't imagine life without having a toddler in the house." Two of the Duggar children, Janna, 17, and Jill, 15, attended Johanna's birth at St. Mary's hospital in Rogers in 2005. Duggar said the two girls, who both have an interest in becoming midwives or nurses, may attend Jennifer's birth as well. And though she has 16 children, Duggar said that each child is so different there are times when she feels like she knows nothing about parenting. "Here I am a mama with her 17th child on the way, and so many people think 'Oh you've got it all figured out,"' Duggar said. "I am still learning. Just when I think I've got something figured out I try it on the next one and it doesn't work." The Duggars' other children are John David, 17; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 8; Jedidiah, 8; Jason, 7, James, 5; Justin, 4; and Jackson Levi, 2. :shock: WOW!! What a woman! My Grandfather had 18 living brothers and sisters, all with the same parents (there were actually 21 children born, 2 sets of twins, but not all of them survived ), but that was in the 20's and 30's, it's hard to imagine anyone having this many children in todays day and age! I've seen a documentary on them on the Discovery channel, absolutely amazing!
http://www.sixpak.org/vince/overpopulation.html Overpopulation: The World's Problem The world's population will soon reach a level where there will not be enough resources to sustain life as we know it. Growth must be checked to avoid this catastrophe. Many environmental, social, and economic problems either stem from or are increased in magnitude by the overpopulation problem. With an exponentially increasing population, the problems created by overpopulation grow correspondingly. To ensure population stability not only in the increasingly wealthy third-world areas, but also in the industrialized areas, countries and individuals must work together to achieve zero population growth. The earth does not contain enough resources to indefinitely sustain the current enormous population growth. For instance, there is a limited area of arable land and living space. China, home to 1.2 billion people or 1/5 the world's population, is an excellent example of the kinds of problems that arise in an increasingly crowded society. Trying to increase the standard of living of its people, China has industrialized and the economy has grown (Hanson). This increase in wealth has increased the demand for food in China. The demand is so great that China went from exporting 8 million tons of grain in 1992 to becoming a net importer of 16 million tons of grain in 1994 (China News Digest). This causes a world-wide grain shortage which raises prices, which in turn puts food out of reach of even more people. In many areas, there is simply not enough food to feed the growing populations. Each day 40,000 children die from malnutrition and its related diseases. 150 million children in the world suffer from poor health due to food shortages (Turbak, 20). Another resource, which cannot keep up with an increasing population, is water. The supply of fresh water is limited. The recent California drought exemplifies this problem. Conflicts ensue between farmers, municipalities, environmentalists, and others over water rights. Recently, environmentalists battled with Los Angeles over the diversion of water from Mono lake to the LA basin. The Mono Lake incident and the aqueduct fights highlight some of the conflicts that arise over water. Creating fresh water can be expensive. A swelling population may have to turn to desalinization for their clean water. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is the only country for which this process has had any success. However, Saudi Arabia does not require the vast amounts of agricultural water that California and other areas need. Another possible solution to the fresh water shortage is towing icebergs from the polar caps. This is just too costly for many areas. In addition to depleting resources, overpopulation increases environmental problems. Pollution is an environmental problem whose magnitude is increased by overpopulation. As more people drive more cars, use more electricity, throw away more trash, and cut down more trees, the environmental problems we experience are greatly increased. The earth could easily sustain a small population of highly polluting people. But as more people such as ourselves pollute, massive problems occur. Pollution is magnified in developing nations. As those nations with larger growing populations become richer, their pollution increases with their wealth. Developing nations often promote industries that pollute to compete economically. These industries are less tightly regulated in order to stimulate growth. Besides causing the environmental strains on the earth, overpopulation causes a large number of the social problems in today's society. One example of this is described in the recent study by Ohio State University showing that children whose family sizes were larger did worse in school. "The research, to be published in October's American Sociological Review, found that as family size increases, parents talk less to each child about school, have lower education expectations, save less for college and have fewer educational materials available" (CAPS).
I've seen the documentary on television. I understand it is their God given right to reproduce, but why so many?? I also have to wonder what sort of public assistance they might be receiving.
I don't believe they receive any public assistance at all, he is an ex-senator from their state. They homeschool as well. I think it's a religious thing, no birth control and all. Can't remember if they were Mormon or Catholic. But 17 kids??
OK, I just had another thought, with 16 kids already, how did they find time to........................oh nevermind! :lol:
