Parsnips and Parsimony

[DoodleBop2]

I have several kids and I've never expected my old to change diapers. I figure it's not oldest's fault for happening to be first in birth order why should kiddo be forced to parent someone else's kids. I find it odd in big families the parents who expect their kids to take on so much of the work far beyond doing their share of the chores. Often times homeschooling allows them do a lot more than they would if they went to school and had after-school clubs or sports.

If this makes anyone feel any better, I know quite a large amount of large families. While the older do help with the younger somewhat, it’s not a huge amount. I know a few that seem to make their older do too much though too. I TOTALLY agree. Unless I’m sick and my husband is gone, I don’t ask my older to look after the younger much. I never ask them to change diapers (although a few of them have) or bathe, dress etc. I feel very sad when I see older kids having to care for younger siblings at a park or somewhere THEY could be playing with kids their own age. I wouldn’t do that either. I’m all for kids learning household things etc but it shouldn’t be their responsibility to care for and help raise their siblings.

I think the negative association with big families and the oldest few kids becoming almost parents to their siblings is because it's more popular among more famous big families.

[dahell]

I have several kids and I've never expected my old to change diapers. I figure it's not oldest's fault for happening to be first in birth order why should kiddo be forced to parent someone else's kids. I find it odd in big families the parents who expect their kids to take on so much of the work far beyond doing their share of the chores. Often times homeschooling allows them do a lot more than they would if they went to school and had after-school clubs or sports.

If this makes anyone feel any better, I know quite a large amount of large families. While the older do help with the younger somewhat, it’s not a huge amount. I know a few that seem to make their older do too much though too. I TOTALLY agree. Unless I’m sick and my husband is gone, I don’t ask my older to look after the younger much. I never ask them to change diapers (although a few of them have) or bathe, dress etc. I feel very sad when I see older kids having to care for younger siblings at a park or somewhere THEY could be playing with kids their own age. I wouldn’t do that either. I’m all for kids learning household things etc but it shouldn’t be their responsibility to care for and help raise their siblings.

I think the negative association with big families and the oldest few kids becoming almost parents to their siblings is because it's more popular among more famous big families.

Oh for sure, I totally agree. And then, this is for real, when the Duggars were at their height of popularity, I DEFINITELY saw an uptick in skirts, “courting”, sibling-buddy systems etc in real life people I come in contact with.

[weed]

The only thing the Dugger girls aspire to in life is to have babies, although the occasional ambitious one might decide to be a pseudo- midwife. Charity would fit right into that family. Her ambition in life is to have her own family and (maybe) be a nurse / midwife. Personally I'll believe that when I see it, as I don't think either Janelle or Art really encourages her to follow that line of thinking. The only thing the poor girl can really do is to sit in an ambulance like her mother as an untrained EMT. She is just a Janelle-clone, I'm afraid.

I'll never forget the vlog where she was in the kitchen cooking a meal for her whole family with Lillian or Grace in a sling on her back. It reminded me SO much of the Duggars.

[DoodleBop2]

I feel bad for Jana she won't get out until all of her siblings are raised. Charity will either become like Jana or marry very young to a man she barely knows who are as boring as her parents and start the cycle with her own kids.

[dahell]

I can’t believe all the decluttering seems to not make much of a dent at all around there. Good for them for trying but I think they need to get more ruthless. Nobody needs 80 puzzles/games and 30 boxes of clothes. We get it, you’ll have as many kids as you can but that’s still far too much.

[weed]

These people are really insane if they think that what they are doing is going to make a difference in their house. How many times have we seen them do this before and yet the house is still trashed and full of junk? I'm so over watching them do this ad nauseum.

It is deja vu watching Art throw out wood from the top area of the barn as he has done it so many times before and yet the barn is still full of wood! When Janelle was vlogging in her bedroom it was an absolute shambles with stuff piled up everywhere in the background. It was a shocking mess. Insane!

I think the problem is that they just CAN'T see that they have too much stuff still ... in spite of "all" the throwing out they are supposed to have done ... and also that they just can't train their kids (and themselves) to put things away when they are finished with them. The house has stuff just thrown all over the place constantly and they allow the kids to just run around making it worse. No seem to be enforced in that house about taking care of things at all and the younger kids just seem to be feral when it comes to their behaviour.

I'm afraid they are beyond help. I have no patience for them any more.

[dahell]

These people are really insane if they think that what they are doing is going to make a difference in their house. How many times have we seen them do this before and yet the house is still trashed and full of junk? I'm so over watching them do this ad nauseum.

It is deja vu watching Art throw out wood from the top area of the barn as he has done it so many times before and yet the barn is still full of wood! When Janelle was vlogging in her bedroom it was an absolute shambles with stuff piled up everywhere in the background. It was a shocking mess. Insane!

I think the problem is that they just CAN'T see that they have too much stuff still ... in spite of "all" the throwing out they are supposed to have done ... and also that they just can't train their kids (and themselves) to put things away when they are finished with them. The house has stuff just thrown all over the place constantly and they allow the kids to just run around making it worse. No seem to be enforced in that house about taking care of things at all and the younger kids just seem to be feral when it comes to their behaviour.

I'm afraid they are beyond help. I have no patience for them any more.

Watching Art sort through each and every nut/bolt/nail/washer/screw from his work bench area a few months ago almost threw me over the edge. How much time do you spend on that? Why are they a strewn about? They really have this “when the house is done we’ll be all finished” attitude. 1. It’s an entire lifelong process to continually declutter and make things right again. 2. They don’t seem to be getting rid of enough to make a big enough difference. They are hoarding consumers (albeit used/free/cheap). They seem to WANT to make a huge difference but it doesn’t seem to be working.

[DoodleBop2]

From the video where Janelle talked about Art being on the ASD spectrum and or having ADHD, it skeeved me out. The way she talked about him it almost seems like she banked on this for him putting up with her. I dread to think if she uses it against him. They also fully plan on not getting their children properly diagnosed and they can just putter along like Dad and hope for the best. I mention this because of exceutive functioning and wonder if that's something they both struggle with. I mention they because in all the talk of possible autism Janelle kept up with the whole -practically perfect in every way- mindset it was all about Art.

Maybe if they sought help instead of relying on essential oils or cutting out evil chemical filled breakfast cereal they might actually make process. Instead, they are Sisyphus but instead they push clutter from room to room for all eternity.

Even if the kids did want to put things away where would they put them? How can those parents teach those kids about putting things away? Where would they put things every corner is crammed with stuff.

[weed]

None of the kids seem to have their own space at all for their private things, except for Charity who used to have a small area on the thread floor for her craft (but that wasn't mentioned when Art was cleaning up there so who knows if she still has it?) They really aren't considered to be individuals at all, but seemed to be just lumped together always doing the same things. Charity does NOT need to be sharing that teeny tiny bedroom with her four very young sisters. She needs her own space, but it doesn't seem that she will ever get it.

[DoodleBop2]

That's one thing I've noticed about large families on youtube there seems to be the ones who don't think their kids need ANY space or privacy. One family has 9 kids living on a camper I bet if they could do hot racking they would. Another puts two triple bunk beds in 1 tiny room. A few years ago another popular large family actually went away for a few months. They'd been using actual shelving units and egg crate style foam as beds. They took time away and when they came back all the children had real beds with actual mattresses so it was suspected child services stepped in.
So yeah I don't think Charity will get her own space. Children with their own space might have an independent thought.

[inquisitive_mind]

That's one thing I've noticed about large families on youtube there seems to be the ones who don't think their kids need ANY space or privacy. One family has 9 kids living on a camper I bet if they could do hot racking they would. Another puts two triple bunk beds in 1 tiny room. A few years ago another popular large family actually went away for a few months. They'd been using actual shelving units and egg crate style foam as beds. They took time away and when they came back all the children had real beds with actual mattresses so it was suspected child services stepped in.
So yeah I don't think Charity will get her own space. Children with their own space might have an independent thought.

what in the world!! who would do something like that to their kids?! And to then have the audacity to film it. I'm wondering if you remember their name

[weed]

That fish that Janelle cooked looked gross. I eat a lot of fish because it is a very healthy source of protein, but she absolutely smothered it with mayonnaise and then cheese to make it look so gross and unhealthy. Why would you cook something like that for your kids? I also noticed that she chopped up apples for dessert ... only two apples for nine people? I've noticed so many times that they don't eat enough fruit.

That family really need a good lesson in healthy eating.

And why couldn't Janelle just walk to the hardware shop by herself to pick out seeds? Why did she have to drag Art away from his work to go with her? there was absolutely no need to involve him in that excursion, but she did anyway. I admire the patience of that man.

[Guest]

I waffle on whether or not I love this family. They certainly love their kids, and are committed to frugality, but they’re also downright strange at times.
They love their garden of non-gmo seeds, and brag about the huge haul it provides (200lbs this year! And only 153lbs was peaches!) yet they have pizza in some form or another four times per week. Their income comes from ~10 hours per week at Art’s store, 31, Youtube, eBay, Watkins, and Etsy. Do they just hate work? Janelle is always buying something “classy,” and the kids are dressed like a 90’s thrift store exploded on them.
What will we see this week? More cornbread made by Charity? A trip to the hardware store, accompanied by comments relating to the cost of a shovel? Browsing at Kohl’s at 8pm? Maybe we’ll be treated to a trip to...Grandma and Grandpa’s house! Or, goodie gumdrops, we can have a visit from Aunt Laura, who will tell us how she bought a bun warmer for $1.75, and is selling it on Etsy for $35?
Rant aside, what incentive is their to watch, other than curiosity?

[weed]

I think curiosity is the key to it. I keep watching because I can't believe how they live and am always hoping to see something different happen. It is like watching paint dry at times, but I just can't seem to look away.

[dahell]

I waffle on whether or not I love this family. They certainly love their kids, and are committed to frugality, but they’re also downright strange at times.
They love their garden of non-gmo seeds, and brag about the huge haul it provides (200lbs this year! And only 153lbs was peaches!) yet they have pizza in some form or another four times per week. Their income comes from ~10 hours per week at Art’s store, 31, Youtube, eBay, Watkins, and Etsy. Do they just hate work? Janelle is always buying something “classy,” and the kids are dressed like a 90’s thrift store exploded on them.
What will we see this week? More cornbread made by Charity? A trip to the hardware store, accompanied by comments relating to the cost of a shovel? Browsing at Kohl’s at 8pm? Maybe we’ll be treated to a trip to...Grandma and Grandpa’s house! Or, goodie gumdrops, we can have a visit from Aunt Laura, who will tell us how she bought a bun warmer for $1.75, and is selling it on Etsy for $35?
Rant aside, what incentive is their to watch, other than curiosity?

Oh man, this is the best. You summed it up for me. Everything you wrote was dead on. Lol.

[dahell]

That fish that Janelle cooked looked gross. I eat a lot of fish because it is a very healthy source of protein, but she absolutely smothered it with mayonnaise and then cheese to make it look so gross and unhealthy. Why would you cook something like that for your kids? I also noticed that she chopped up apples for dessert ... only two apples for nine people? I've noticed so many times that they don't eat enough fruit.

That family really need a good lesson in healthy eating.

And why couldn't Janelle just walk to the hardware shop by herself to pick out seeds? Why did she have to drag Art away from his work to go with her? there was absolutely no need to involve him in that excursion, but she did anyway. I admire the patience of that man.

Did she ever say why she was getting seeds? I always thought she ordered seeds and used up the ones she’s had for the last 10 yrs? I really don’t understand how they make it on the music store income. He’s never there except for right before school starts.

[DoodleBop2]

I wonder if they get assistance. She volunteers, he barely works, they have so many children. Even with YouTube and eBay it seems unlikely that they don't qualify even for WIC if not food stamps too.

[dahell]

From the video where Janelle talked about Art being on the ASD spectrum and or having ADHD, it skeeved me out. The way she talked about him it almost seems like she banked on this for him putting up with her. I dread to think if she uses it against him. They also fully plan on not getting their children properly diagnosed and they can just putter along like Dad and hope for the best. I mention this because of exceutive functioning and wonder if that's something they both struggle with. I mention they because in all the talk of possible autism Janelle kept up with the whole -practically perfect in every way- mindset it was all about Art.

Maybe if they sought help instead of relying on essential oils or cutting out evil chemical filled breakfast cereal they might actually make process. Instead, they are Sisyphus but instead they push clutter from room to room for all eternity.

Even if the kids did want to put things away where would they put them? How can those parents teach those kids about putting things away? Where would they put things every corner is crammed with stuff.

I’m not picking on them (SOOO not their fault) and I’m not mentioning names or discussing it in details (so I hope it’s okay to say) but some of the children seem to be doing odd things with their eyes when talking and shown on camera. I think they need intervention.

[dahell]

From the video where Janelle talked about Art being on the ASD spectrum and or having ADHD, it skeeved me out. The way she talked about him it almost seems like she banked on this for him putting up with her. I dread to think if she uses it against him. They also fully plan on not getting their children properly diagnosed and they can just putter along like Dad and hope for the best. I mention this because of exceutive functioning and wonder if that's something they both struggle with. I mention they because in all the talk of possible autism Janelle kept up with the whole -practically perfect in every way- mindset it was all about Art.

Maybe if they sought help instead of relying on essential oils or cutting out evil chemical filled breakfast cereal they might actually make process. Instead, they are Sisyphus but instead they push clutter from room to room for all eternity.

Even if the kids did want to put things away where would they put them? How can those parents teach those kids about putting things away? Where would they put things every corner is crammed with stuff.

I’m not picking on them (SOOO not their fault) and I’m not mentioning names or discussing it in details (so I hope it’s okay to say) but some of the children seem to be doing odd things with their eyes when talking and shown on camera. I think they need intervention.

[DoodleBop2]

I've noticed behavior too. I'm not diagnosing a kid with ASD or anything else over the internet. I do wonder how much of it is simply lack of socialization. Yes, homeschool groups and church are great but for the most part, the only people they see and interact with are their siblings. I also think they picked up on their parents' habits and considering how in denial Janelle and Art seem to be about their issues I doubt they'll address them with their kids.