The special shows the ins and outs of life with 14 children, including homeschooling, meal preparations, the buddy system, and other large family logistics. Viewers are also given a first look at the home in which the Duggars now reside, but at this point, it is only a steel structure.
Towards the end of 14 Children and Pregnant Again, Jackson Levi Duggar (baby No. 15) is born via C-section. At this point, Michelle has only had one other C-section, with twins Jana and John-David. Have you seen the show?
Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com
I think Jessa said it best (repeatedly): "We're not a TV family, we're just a family that happens to be on TV." ...for 14 years. And counting.
ReplyDeleteThe Duggars sure were a different family then. Being on TV really changed them. They went from showcasing how a large conservative Christian family lives and functions on a budget (which I thought was fantastic! I enjoyed seeing how the family lived debt free) to justva show about courtship marriage and babies. No talk about values or living on a budget. The Duggars have changed and not for the better. I’m really disappointed
ReplyDeleteCounting On no is not 14-19 Kids and Counting. Back when the Duggarsvwere first featured in specials and then the early series, they were living on a budget, through the years their financial situation improved. They live their values and talking about them today can sometimes ruffle feathers and cause trouble. People grow and change over time, that isn’t a bad thing. The Duggars have evolved just like the rest of us, they have less children at home today and have learned from their mistakes. If you don’t like the show don’t watch.
Deleteagree, plus used to enjoy the recipes!!
DeleteMe too!!!!!
DeleteI have to agree with you. I don't watch the show anymore because the whole premise of the show went from a simple humble large family, who lived a frugal life and talked about the Lord and volunteered blessing others. Now it's just like any other family on tv with private planes, vacations all over, girls posing for the camera in all the new outfits, and eating out all the time. We can see that stuff anywhere on tv. They should have stopped years back and stayed those God loving people we use to know. It's all about the money now.
DeleteThe network has changed what they are covering, in part because many of the children are now adults. That has absolutely nothing to do with whether or how each of the individuals involved have changed.
DeleteExactly! What happened to the homeschooling, music practice, Big Sandy trips, home church...?
DeleteAgree!
DeleteThen don’t watch.
DeleteMe too ! I actually really enjoyed their tips about frugal living, saving money, etc. It enticed me to do the same ! There's no talk of that anymore... I also loved the homeschooling explanations !
DeleteI think that the Duggars still live by values. To me the Duggars are a challenging example of what God does. God grew that family from the foundation built on Jesus! Jim Bob believed, Michelle believed, they came together in Christ. The rest is right up til today how they have been blessed living their values in Jesus. It is wonderful!
DeleteCompletely agree with you @10:01am.
DeleteCan any of you say you would not or have not changed over time. They used to have to buy used, now they can have new, they used to eat tator tot casserole now they recognize it’s not that good for you. Public speaking and flying here and there is one of the ways they make money. It sounds like most of think they should still be struggling and not enjoying the gifts God has given them....you all know you would change a few things.
DeleteYes, I've seen 14 Children and Pregnant Again and enjoyed it. I've enjoy watching the family grow and mature. They are a wonderful and loving family, I don't see where they changed all that much...Jane
DeleteHow do you know they DON'T live debt-free?? John-David is a pilot. He can fly his family around. They still shop at thrift stores and borrow each other's clothing. Baby shower gifts for second, third babies go to charity. To struggling families or single parents.
DeleteThe only kids old enough to home school at the moment are Anna's kids, but they are not on the show. Those who want home school tips will need to wait a bit. I can agree to both sides. I would like to see recipes. Loved seeing how the girls decorated the homes. I would like to see if they still to the same church or if some moved on to other churches closer (Jinger and Jeremy). Money saving is a good one too!
I miss seeing them worship. Hearing them talk about values, beliefs,and their way of life. I feel like now they are to afraid to be as open as they use to because they do not want to offend anyone. I do understand they have alot more money these days and do not have to shop at thrift stores or buy used. I hate they cannot even talk about the IBLP without backlash. They cannot even have their whole family on the show. It is sad to me. About time they found a new network. TLC is far from a Christian channel.
DeleteAnonymous @ 9/9 6:34 pm, not true to only ones old enough to home school are Josh and Anna's kids. There are still some of Jim Bob and Michelle's littles that are home schooled. You see them at the dining table every so often when Jana is walking through the house going some place or doing something. They do have more money but they do still shop at thrift stores, the show shows it quite often! I don't know where you people are getting that they are not showing their values anymore. You need to watch the show more closely and listen more intently, I see their values in every episode!!
DeleteDon't you think it's about time this family rolled up the Welcome mat and went back to being private, living away from TV? They're no different these days than a lot of other families. They may have had 19 babies in a row at one point, but now they're rattling around that big house with kids grown and gone, like any other family their age. Without the scandals and controversies, why would they attract any interest now?
ReplyDeleteBecause it’s cool to see the type of people they end up marrying and their little kids
DeleteThey still have alot of kids still at home and enjoy their large extended family being around. They are what I wish I had grown up with. My beautiful Mom and a large family. But I was Blessed with my beautiful Mother, brother, grand parents and eventually my 2 children. I am blessed and so are they
DeleteSounds like you are the one who needs to move on. They have been an inspiration to me and many other family who were taught that children are a hassle, curse, and/or interference. You should respect the fact that they love babies and children. That's something America deeply needs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteTrue !!!!!they do what we all do except for having lots of kids it’s just going in circles now !someone new is pregnant someone new is courting we all do that
DeleteSeems you are here on the blog commenting it means they have at least still attracted your attention.
DeleteThey still have many under aged kids living at home, including Tyler
Delete@10:40 Just because most families do not have 19 children does not mean that people believe that children are a hassle, curse or interference. In fact, the majority of young couples I know take parenthood very seriously. They limit the size of their families because they want to provide for their families and give their children the best start in life.
DeleteI wish they would show more of Jim Bob and Michelle and the younger kids at home. I miss Michelle narrating. I miss the whole family being on. Josh and Anna, Jill and Derrick. I still watch because I have been a loyal fan since the beginning,but I would be lying if I said I was not getting bored with the show and missing the old way.
DeleteAnon 10:40, You don’t need to have 19 kids to respect babies and children. What America needs is more children obeying and respecting their parents, teachers, and elders not the other way around.
DeleteTime 2:30PM Fri 9/7/18
ReplyDeleteYes I have seen the special on YouTube but never on TV. I seen the special couple of times on YouTube never get to finish It.
Hey Neddy! I meant to wish you a happy birthday a few days ago so sorry it’s late. How was your birthday? Hope you enjoyed it! 😁
DeleteNeddy, I watched this special on youtube, as well. I would play the show on occasion to give me encouragement when my two children were a baby and young toddler. Now, they have removed all of the shows from that YouTube channel, but I'm thankful for the encouragement it was to me at the time.
DeleteHappy Belated Birthday, Neddy!!
DeleteThey have been blessed in so many ways. And they are also such a huge blessing to many many others
ReplyDeleteThank you duggars for sharing your lives with us. I love you guys and your love for Christ really shines through.
ReplyDeleteTheir love for Christ used to shine through. Now all that shines through is fancy wedding dresses and who is having the next baby. The only reason I continue watching the Duggars anymore is because its a clean program. You can only hear so much foul language and innuendos on TV and then it gets too much.
DeleteI think they show us fancy wedding dresses and new babies because it’s interesting and fun. Some aspects of their lives are private. It is a clean show and I think the still love Christ.
DeleteThe producers are the ones who decide what to film and what to edit. Not the duggars fault.
DeleteI wish the Duggars would find a new network. They could move to UP with the Bates. TLC use to be a family channel now they show nothing but filth with the exception of a few older shows like the Duggars.
DeleteThe Duggars can't just quit TLC without breaking their contract (Derick and the Dillards leaving appears to have been a mutual decision) and there's no guarantee any other network would pick them up, including UPTV.
DeleteUPTV is certainly more family-friendly than TLC but the shows other than the Bates show are much more mainstream, such as the Gilmore Girls reruns. One of the wedding shows featured a couple who already had a child together before the wedding. So they are obviously want more mainstream viewers, and I suspect they may not want two shows that are so similar in nature as a Bates and Duggar show would be.
Have you ever watched the comedy improv show on UP? Watch it and tell me again what a "family friendly" network that is...
DeleteI love their show. They are kind and gracious and have so much patience. And they are so diligent. To be able to build a home with no debt! That's pretty impressive.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but they would never have been able to build that home on their own without the show earnings to back them up. I don't mind the Duggars, and like some of what they stand for, but their oppression of women under the guise of religion is over-the-top. There are certainly aspects of clean living we could all aspire to, though. Nothing wrong with high morals and a higher standard.
DeleteYes! I hate that the family catches so much flak for the amount of kids there are in the family. They don't have debt, they are not welfare cases, yet people still complain.
DeleteGet your facts straight. They were already in the process of building their home when the show started. And it wasn't a regularly scheduled show each week in the beginning either. They also lived without ac the whole time they were building. Not a lot of people would do that.
Delete9:53 - that is true. But they were already in their second house (the rental I think is what they called it) and were struggling to get it done in time. The specials helped fund and finish the house before they had to move out. It's not bad or good. It just is what it is. It was just a much bigger project than they could finish in that time frame by themselves.
DeleteIt’s still legal to have an unlimited number of children, but is it responsible? Food, clothing, medical and dental care, it adds up. If you can’t provide the essentials; home, utilities, food, clothing, medical and dental care and education for 4-5-6-7 + kids, then you shouldn’t have that many.
DeleteApparently you were unaware.Jim Bob already had a successful commercial real estate company, long before the show began.
DeleteBeen watching from the start. Its nice to watch someghing clean for a change. I watched the Duggars and Duck Dynasty. Then came little people big world. Love the Duggars and hope they continue on.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you mention LPBW. Neither show is still what it started out as, but at least the Duggars haven't disintegrated as a family the way the Roloffs have. They went from being about two dwarf parents raising a family and raising awareness about "little people", to being a soap opera, the parents divorcing was milked for maximum drama on the show. And the youngest Roloff son has become estranged from them, or at least he was the last time I checked, hope they've reconciled.
DeleteCompared to all that, the Duggars aren't doing that badly. Yes there have been scandals but they've managed to survive them and not been torn apart.
Just because your "scandals" haven't torn you apart doesn't make things right.
DeleteSpeaking of Duck Dynasty. I loved that show and how they left tv on their own before it turned them into something they were not.
DeleteAnon 11:36. It is only a matter of time before more scandals happen to the Duggars. With this many people in the family and then the people marrying into the family then of course there are more scandals coming. There is a reason God says not to be busy bodies in and out of each other's houses. Our homes are our sanctuaries, where we as families deal with all the ups and downs of life as private families. Reality shows promote being busybodies and it comes with a heavy price for them.
DeleteRemember this one so clearly! I was pregnant with my youngest at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the show when it was more about the logistics of raising a large family and less about courtship, weddings, and babies. I hope they return to some of their roots.
ReplyDeleteCourtships, weddings and babies ARE part of the logistics of raising a family.
DeleteThe large family grew up, now not as many at home, finances aren’t strained, they can’t be the same show.
DeleteThe courtships, weddings and babies is the premise of Counting On. Just because they're about the same family, doesn't mean the shows are the same. 19 kids and Counting was about Jim Bob and Michelle raising their large family. Counting On is about the older kids and their lives as they court, get married and start families.
DeleteI remember watching the special and being impressed with not only a family with 14 children, but with children's names all being named the same letter, J. Continue to watch when I can, I always wonder if Michelle and Jim Bob would adopt now that it seems that they are done having children.
ReplyDeleteThey don’t meet the age guidelines for most adoption agencies and besides that they will have lots of grandkids coming for visits.
DeleteI've been watching the Duggers from the beginning.... they are a wonderful family, kind, good and never claimed to be perfect... we all have different views on how we live life and I enjoy watching how they live theirs!
ReplyDeleteWow that's a young Jana. Is that Josiah ?
ReplyDeleteIs that baby James in the stroller with Jill & dad JB?! Thank you for sharing your obedience & faith to be fruitful & multiply; 14 years & He's not yet finished! ❤
ReplyDeleteNo, it's Jana and Josiah.
DeleteIt's not Josiah. He was about 8 years old when the first special was filmed. I think that is Jason with Jana.
DeleteWow Jana looks like Jennifer in that picture!
ReplyDeleteIs that Jana or Jill on the foto??
ReplyDeletebeen watching from the beginning too. i liked the format they used in the specials. even though it was the narrator speaking for a lot of it, i honestly wouldnt mind seeing that type of special again. how about a special with anna and the kids! day-to-day, homeschooling, normal stuff like the first special was. if not anna, then maybe the younger duggars we dont get to see a lot of. i realize 'counting on' is about the adult duggars, but fans could use an update on the younger ones every now & then too!
ReplyDeleteI agree..we need an episode to update us on the younger ones and how they live day to day with Michelle narrating. That would be awesome.
DeleteWow its been awhile... i don't think isaw that except clips of Jackson birth.
ReplyDeleteLove this family!
ReplyDeleteLove the duggars. It's one of the only wholesome shows on tv. We need more wholesome for sure.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite show. I love to hear how they are doing.
ReplyDeleteAmerica could use more christian shows like this. I have been watching from the beginning and i hope to see them for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteHow about simply more clean family shows? No swearing, sexual innuendos and/or screaming at each other (thinking KUWTK). Show some family fun! One thing I wish is that Counting On was televised at 8:00EST instead of 9:00- more kids could watch!
DeleteThere are recording devices for televisions if their parents want their kids to be able to watch it. Or even buying it on formats like Amazon or Itunes which is available at 6 AM the following day. It's a choice like any other. So I dont think the time makes it unwatchable for some children.
DeleteIf you wanna watch clean family shows watch Disney Channel.
DeleteDisney Channel is starting to introduce some not-so-clean shows/characters.
DeleteDisney is not that great anymore...
Delete@7:58; I am well aware of recording the show. Wouldn’t it be ideal to televise it at a time the whole family can watch together? It is billed as a family show!
DeleteThey are such a precious family. I really enjoy their shows and books. I miss seeing jill and derick though.
ReplyDeleteAnd how the family has changed!
ReplyDeleteIs that Jana, and the Josiah in the stroller?
ReplyDelete*then Josiah, sorry
ReplyDeleteThose of you complaining about it being about courtship, weddings and babies...but that’s what is happening in all of their adult children’s lives.
ReplyDeleteI understand that is what is happening in the adult kids lives but they could show their day to day lives like they did when they lived at home. Show them homeschooling, explain what they do for work. Also show the younger kids at home and what they do day to day. Not just courtships, engagements, weddings, honeymoons, birth annoncements, gender reveals, and births. See they is all they show now and I left out party planning.
DeleteDisagree! Not all their children are following that pattern. Show a day in the life of Jana and interview her or the twins!
Delete"Wholesome" TV shows do not necessarily mean "Christian shows". I am of a Christian religion and I find that statement uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Wholesome can have variety or different perspectives. Blossom was a wholesome show from my youth and it wasnt Christian programing.
DeleteTo 5:55. If you find that statement "uncomfortable" then you have a problem. Wholesome is not a bad word. People seem to get way too offended these days over nothing.
DeleteMe too 5:55
DeleteI agree. The Duggars may all be Christian but they do not talk about him or show worship. They are a scripted reality tv show now. Nothing more...nothing less. I am still a fan and viewer but I do not consider them as Christian tv.
DeleteWholesome programs are what we need for sure. I agree100 percent. And the duggars fit that definition
DeleteI like the Hallmark channel
Deleteit looks like Jessa, not jana or jill
ReplyDeleteI have been watching the show since it started 14 years ago. I have enjoyed every bit of it. I miss seeing everyone especially Anna and the kids. I miss Jill and her little ones. I still enjoy watching it today and future seasons. Natasha B.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that the duggars were able to build their own home while remaining debt free. That takes a lot of patience and endurance. So many of us want things right now but the duggars live the way all of us should.
ReplyDeleteIt takes sacrifice!!!!
DeleteI love to watch this show. They are true servants of christ.
ReplyDeletePlease identify things they do for Christ.
DeleteThe duggars are a living example of what we all should look up to and practice
ReplyDeleteI do miss the recipes. Tater tot casserole is the best!!
ReplyDeleteTlc are the ones who found the duggars. The duggars did not look for a way to be on television. Their house project was already started before tlc ever knew them. Jim bob and michelle were able to pay for it themselves. They already had it planned out.
ReplyDeleteThey were recognized as JimBob was campaigning by Discovery Channel.
DeleteI too - as with so many fans - have watched from the very beginning. We got to know the Duggars on a baby to baby, child to child basis and cared about all of them.
ReplyDeleteSure, naturally, we miss seeing Jill, Derick and their boys and Anna and the kids. . . . but families have problems and short falls.
A couple of shows - in my opinion - were in VERY poor taste -
the funeral of grandpa Duggar (come on, some things are far too personal for a TV show) AND then the funeral for Jubilee -
no need for "us" to see that.
Plese keep us up to date on Jill. Please