With so many little ones, the Duggar home is bustling. The family does their best to stick to a schedule, but that does not always happen.
"We have goals, but then we have reality!" explain the Duggars on their website. We are learning to practice flexibility...We try to make each day fun."
Duggar Daily Schedule
7:30: Get up/Dress
8:00: Breakfast (cereal or something simple)
Bible time (Proverbs)
8:30: Jurisdictions (Chores)
9:00: Music practice and individual studies
Grades 3 and up: Switched On Schoolhouse and Teaching Textbooks (for higher mathematics). Younger children: Sing, Spell, Read & Write, ACE paces, and "Bible Copy" (writing out passages of scripture)
12:00: Lunch (Prepared by one of the older children; everyone helps clean up)
1:30: Children under four: Naptime
Older kids: Scripture and Character Qualities memorization (with hand motions). Wisdom Booklet group studies (science, history, law, and medicine) with Mom.
3:00: Free time (after music practice and individual studies are completed)
6:00: Dinner (Prepared by one of the older children; everyone helps clean up)
Free time
Baths for the little ones
9:00: Bible time (study scripture, recap the day, share prayer requests, make announcements)
The older children often congregate into our room after Bibletime, and sometimes we’ll stay up for hours talking! I know we will one day look back on these nights as some of our most precious times together.
Each child also has an individual daily checklist, allowing Jim Bob and Michelle to award their children for responsibility.
"We have goals, but then we have reality!" explain the Duggars on their website. We are learning to practice flexibility...We try to make each day fun."
Duggar Daily Schedule
7:30: Get up/Dress
8:00: Breakfast (cereal or something simple)
Bible time (Proverbs)
8:30: Jurisdictions (Chores)
9:00: Music practice and individual studies
Grades 3 and up: Switched On Schoolhouse and Teaching Textbooks (for higher mathematics). Younger children: Sing, Spell, Read & Write, ACE paces, and "Bible Copy" (writing out passages of scripture)
12:00: Lunch (Prepared by one of the older children; everyone helps clean up)
1:30: Children under four: Naptime
Older kids: Scripture and Character Qualities memorization (with hand motions). Wisdom Booklet group studies (science, history, law, and medicine) with Mom.
3:00: Free time (after music practice and individual studies are completed)
6:00: Dinner (Prepared by one of the older children; everyone helps clean up)
Free time
Baths for the little ones
9:00: Bible time (study scripture, recap the day, share prayer requests, make announcements)
The older children often congregate into our room after Bibletime, and sometimes we’ll stay up for hours talking! I know we will one day look back on these nights as some of our most precious times together.
Each child also has an individual daily checklist, allowing Jim Bob and Michelle to award their children for responsibility.
Why do the children cook meals? Isn't that a parents job?
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that the children are involved in all aspects of running the household. It doesn't matter how many kids there are!
DeleteIt teaches them how to prepare meals so that when they get older and have their own families they have very valuable skills
DeleteThis is so interesting, i love posts like this, because they don't often tell us about this stuff on the show!
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous (at 12:10)
ReplyDeleteMany of the Duggar kids (even several of the boys) thoroughly enjoy cooking and baking. And then there are some who find joy in other household tasks, like teaching (Jessa) and shopping (Jinger)
I (Ellie) enjoy cooking and organizing so much that those tasks don't even feel like chores.
~Ellie
How do you know the children enjoy cooking and cleaning, have you been there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why isn't Michelle home teaching her children?
Anonymous (at 12:10),
ReplyDeleteIt is a useful skill to know how to cook and clean. More women are going out into the work force now and men need to learn how to cook for their families. The earlier they start, the easier it will be to cook when they have their own families some day. It is the same with cleaning.
We would probably all agree that purchasing the food, and preparing it for babies and young children is the parents' job. We would also probably all agree that parents are responsible for preparing their children to make their way in the world one day. Adults who don't know how to shop for groceries and prepare meals will suffer physically and financially.
ReplyDeleteI loved cooking when I was a child! I am not sure how old I was when my mom began letting me try my hand in the kitchen, but I remember being responsible for planning and cooking all of our meals at some point. I volunteered for the job, because I really wanted it. To me, it was a creative outlet. No one was concerned that I was "losing my childhood", or anything like that. Of course, the greatest thieves of my "childhood" were the vulgar language I heard everyday at school, coupled with the adult behavior of some of the children in the hallways, the television shows and movies I watched, that fought hard against my views on moral purity. I wish I had been protected from those things, but I have no regrets for the kitchen training I had. Knowing that it helped relieve some of my mother's load is only a plus!
My 13 year old daughter often asks if she can make dinner by herself. She also enjoys looking up new recipes, creating menus and shopping for all ingredients. She also has taken over the family laundry (5 of us total) all on her own (it was not assigned) - why I asked her? She said she likes the smell of clean clothes, and folding is relaxing. Who am I to argue when she wants to take on these tasks! And her homemade chicken/vegetable soup, oven baked potatoe slices, and other of her "specialties" are now family favorites!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, at about age 12 or so, I really wanted to help out my mom in the house. I had simple chores from a young age, but on my own I asked to prepare serveral meals per week on my own as well as try out desserts. Not only that, but I just about totally took over laundry duty. I have no idea why people think that if children do jobs that they are missing out. Why is that a negative?
ReplyDeleteMy oldest girls cook the meals most of the time b/c they need the practice. I know how to cook; they need to learn so they aren't like me, learning it when I'm running my own house. Boy is that the hard way to learn!
ReplyDeleteIt's a parents job to teach their children how to do the things they will need to know in adulthood. It's sad how many parents cripple their children by not doing this. They do their laundry for them for 18 years and then suddenly their child is supposed to figure out how to do it on their own even though they've had no practice whatsoever.
So true. My parents emphasized and pushed my brother and I to go to college. Books and learning were pushed on us. We went to private schools. And th hey did so with good intentions. And I did what they wanted. I went to college and everything. But the irony of it all is that I am not currently using my degree. I am a stay at home mom of 4 kids, 5 and under. I got a five year old, three year old twins, and a baby . Needless to say,i got a crash course in parenting 101. I knew hardly anything about childcare, cleaning and maintaining a home, and organizing or making a schedule. And there's many days where I feel like I'm failing miserably. But because I never had those life skills it made it much harder for me today. I think it's great the duggar girls are learning to keep a home. I would hate for anyone to struggle the way I have
DeleteExactly! I have been cooking meals, on and off, for myself and my family since I was 10 years old. Cooking meals should always be a FAMILY job, and in many of the episodes, you see just that...several of the family, including Michelle or JimBob helping to cook!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy cooking and organizing as well, and have since I was a young child. I think every child should be taught how to cook.
Thanks for posting! Your blog layout looks great on my blackberry,
ReplyDeleteI love to here there music and when they play bluegrass music it sound so pritty. Michelle and Jim bob is very good partents. Kathie s. Kathies42@Gmail.com I won't to win the dvd
ReplyDeleteThis is so helpful! Thanks for the posting! God bless your family; such a wonderful example.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love the Duggars, and I think they are an incredible example of what it means to actually be a "parent.". I have tons of great things I could say about them. In saying that, I am wondering also why it seems Michelle never even is cooking alongside them. My girls love to cook with me also, but I think being required to do it on a daily, everyday timeline it would become a "chore." Michelle is very obviously an incredibly UNselfish person, and I'm sure she has good reasons for this, I just wish we were able to know what they are. But then again, just because they are on tv, doesn't mean we have the "right" to know all of their business. I don't think their children are hurting any! People all over the world can't say enough good about them.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Mom do?
ReplyDeleteThis schedule can't be correct. I've heard Mrs. Duggar talk about the bulk of the family routinely staying up until 2:00 a.m.
ReplyDeleteno1,
ReplyDeleteI don't think you read it all. :) It says:
"The older children often congregate into our room after Bibletime, and sometimes we’ll stay up for hours talking! I know we will one day look back on these nights as some of our most precious times together."
it sounds like a busy day for the Duggars! They are such a great family!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Cool article.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like the Duggars all work together for the good and happiness of the family. They share many of the duties. Sharing and togetherness, isn't that what all families should be about.
ReplyDeleteAlso don't forget that Jinger and Jessa do all the packing for family trips, because they like it!!!
Ginger, That was sort of my point. If parents and older kids are staying up that late they are not starting their day at the time stated in the schedule. That would mean 5-ish hours of sleep per night.
ReplyDeleteThe Duggars are super-human and don't require but 2 hours of sleep. However, by Jim Bob's own admission, they are never, never, never on time for ANYTHING. Never. This teaching will not suit well when the children go out into the "real world." I don't think a boss and co-workers will accept the tardy excuse, "But, hey, I am a Duggar!"
ReplyDeleteWhy aren't Jana, Jill and Jessa away at college enjoying young adulthood rather than taking on the responsibility of the parent? This family is wrong in so any ways.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Duggars were all nightowls and didn't like getting up early.
ReplyDeleteBy enjoying young adulthood you meant what?... drinking, sleeping around, unwed pregnancy, going into debt for a college education that they'll still be paying off 20 years from now, staying up late and partying? Yea, that sounds like just how an adult should act. I think they are making wise and responsible decisions. They are traveling the world, serving others who are less fortunate, volunteering their time in the community, and even earning a college degree from home (which is very popular and inexpensive now a days). They sound like responsible adults... which we need more of in this country.
ReplyDeleteI was raised much like the Duggars and look back on my childhood with fondness.
ReplyDeleteI have great respect for the Duggar family, and find them very inspirational. I think that it is still a relatively new idea that people have that children should not have to work to contribute to the family. While my family is much smaller than the Duggars, it was still expected for the children to participate in all aspects of the home. The older Duggar children have said many times (that I have heard on the show) that they enjoy living at home and choose to remain there while going to college. They refer to their siblings as best friends- why move away from that? Michelle works very hard to spend time with her children- teaching them lessons in education, life skills, and Christian living- along with ensuring that they can talk to her about anything. How much more time do they have to spend together as a family since they do not watch TV or sit in front of a computer for hours on end? There are many hours a day to do all that they need to do and all that they want- they just prioritize differently. I really don't understand why a person that has such distaste for the Duggar family and a closed mind to their different lifestyle would come to a blog about them to leave nasty remarks. From the tone of some comments, the person doesn't sound interested in learning about a different choice in raising a family or asking questions, but only wishes to criticize the family for doing other than they would.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Duggar parents are doing a wonderful job raising the kids, and helping them grow stronger in the Lord. I come from a large family myself, (not that i think its large, but based on people opinions). It's very common to have a large family from the culture that i come from. i love seeing the older silbings do things around the house, and trying to keep the house clean. i think they will all be good wife's and husband's when they become one. They will know how to cook, clean, raise children, and they wouldn't have to stuggle in the future. May God bless you all abundantly, and may you all stay strong in the Lord!
ReplyDeleteThe schedule that you posted is different that the one posted on their website in their FAQS section. In that schedule, the Duggars do personal bible studies first in the day ( or picture proverbs for the little ones ), and then hygiene. The schedule you have posted seems similar to the one I saw in their first book.
ReplyDeleteHi lily and Ellie I just wanted to know that what time do they sleep? Please reply, Seniyah
ReplyDelete@Lisa GAbsolutly agree with you on this!!!Amen!
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteYes, it's good for parents to cook meals but, as with all jobs a parent does, we want to work ourselves OUT of a job. That's where our children benefit! By the time they're old enough to cook on their own (after cooking with Mom since birth) they're excited to be to try out new recipes they've come up with or dabble with ideas for old ones. They love to show off their own creations (approved by the 'Kitchen Master', of course!) complete with a creatively decorated table. Learning a new task teaches the child they're contributing to something bigger that couldn't function without them.
Schedule's change! I have 4 kids and mine has changed 3 times already this year!
ReplyDeleteThe older kids are capable of cooking. All children should be taught to cook once they are old enough. It is an important life skill.
ReplyDeleteI must say, I look up to the girls in a way. They are responsible, they don't sit around and do nothing all day, they are always serving. Totally agree with you, Crazy Mom of 4!
ReplyDeleteI really am learning so much from the duggar family. I am a Mom of 2 and I struggle a lot but growing to be a better Mom everyday in the Lords strength. Wish it wasn't so hard but its what makes us stronger. You guys are such an inspiration. I grew up in a rough childhood but want so much for my girls to have a healthy home. You guys help me to see my job can be a joy as that has been a struggle for me. Thank you. I'm encouraged from all of your shows.
ReplyDeletethanks for all of ur coments
ReplyDeleteIts the parents job to teach and guide their children. One day these kids will be cooking for the one God intended for them. This is teaching them to also not be lazy. Its better to teach a man/female to fish and feed them for a life time rather than just give them a fish and feed them for a day. God bless.
ReplyDeleteI am teaching my four kids how to cook and do laundry. My mom spoiled me and did everything for me. I wish she would have taught me how to at least do the basics. When I got married at 18 I didn't even know how to boil water, it was a rough first year for many reasons. Love this show and family and how they are raising their kids! It's also a good family show I can actually watch with my children which is hard to find!
ReplyDeleteJust keeping everyone happy and on task is a full time responsibility and Michelle and Jim Bob are doing homeschooling by allowing the children to learn responsibility as well as cooking, teaching, cleaning skills. I really admire this family.
ReplyDeleteMost of the older children are 17yrs & older into their twenties so I think they should cook meals. Definitely nothing wrong with teaching your kids to prepare meals, take care of household & family.
ReplyDeleteHe who is without sin , let him/her cast the first stone.
ReplyDelete