Raising a child is never an easy feat but it appears that Jim Bob Duggar and wife Michelle Duggar of "19 Kids and Counting" fame have it all under control. Responding to the fans and followers of the Duggar family in their official website, Josh Duggar's mom and dad share interesting parenting tips to those who seek guidance on how to raise a family.
As anyone familiar with the "19 Kids and Counting" family would know, the Duggar clan is composed of a lot of children. Hence, the question of knowing how to work with a limited budget while accommodating the needs of everyone in the family naturally comes up. In response to this query, the "19 Kids and Counting" family heads have one answer: "Live frugally."
"We have lived very frugally," Jim Bob Duggar and his wife shared in The Duggar Family website. The couple further stated, "Our family motto is to "Buy used and saved the difference!" We shop at thrift stores and garage sales."
Another interesting tidbit about the "19 Kids and Counting" family is that neither Jim Bob nor Michelle expected a humongous family. Sharing this personal info with the readers, the couple disclosed that Jill Duggar's dad only has one sibling while her mom is the youngest of seven kids from her family. Upon marriage, both Jim Bob and Michelle initially thought they would only be blessed with two or three children. Needless to say, that was not the case for the Duggars - as aptly shown in "19 Kids and Counting."
So, what is the best parenting tip Jim Bob and Michelle could share to the fans of the Duggar family? "Teach our children to love God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength," the "19 Kids and Counting" patriarch and matriarch revealed. They added, "And memorize God's word together as a family."
While it may look like the Duggar family have it all figured out, it was not like this in the beginning. In a blog post by Jessa Duggar's mother, titled "Note to Mothers," Michelle shared how much she struggled to keep up with her family's needs and her responsibilities. She wrote, "It was 1:00 AM in the morning as I stood folding laundry with tears streaming down my cheeks." Jim Bob's wife added, "Feelings of being overwhelmed flooded my mind. I cried aloud, "LORD I NEED YOUR HELP, I can't do it all! I feel so inadequate! Diapers, dishes, laundry, meals, cleanup, school lessons, baths, hugs, kisses, correction..." My list seemed to go on and on."
Despite the outburst, Michelle resolved to simply lift up her worries to God and follow His will. Surprisingly, the response to her concern came days later in the form of the Duggar's piano teacher. She stated, "As we talked more she said that she actually enjoyed doing laundry and that she would be glad to come and help me!" Michelle further admitted, "That weekend when she arrived we had mountains of dirty laundry, and when she left we had nice, neat, orderly stacks of clean laundry!"
"He is faithful to hear the humble cries of his children," Michelle wrote, referring to her initial breakdown regarding her responsibilities. She added, "Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. God lifted my burden (literally mountains of laundry!) and freed me to meet the more urgent needs of my family."
