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19 Kids and Counting

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19 Kids and Counting
Created byFigure 8 Films
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes11 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerSean Overbeeke
Running timeapprox. 23 minutes; specials approximately 46 minutes.
Original release
NetworkTLC (2008-present)
ReleaseSeptember 29, 2008

17 Kids and Counting, also known as 17 Children and Counting, is a reality television show produced in the United States by Figure 8 Films about the Duggar family, consisting of parents Jim Bob and Michelle and their 18 children; eight girls and ten boys,[1][2][3][4] all having names starting with the letter "J".[1] The childrens' names are Joshua, Jana and John-David (twins), Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah and Jeremiah (twins), Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer and new baby Jordyn-Grace.

The show aired on TLC, which helped the Duggar family build the large house in which they now live.

Season two premiered on Sunday, January 25 at 8:30 followed by the hour long A Very Duggar Wedding on TLC. Two more new episodes aired back to back on Tuesday, January 27 at 9:00p.m. also on TLC

The family (who lives in Tontitown, Arkansas) previously appeared in several TLC and Discovery Health Channel one-hour specials, most of which focused on Michelle's last three births.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Family history

Michelle Duggar (née Ruark) is the youngest of seven children (she has one brother and five sisters). Originally from Ohio, Michelle moved to Arkansas in her childhood. Jim Bob Duggar is one of two children. The couple met in the early 1980s, when Michelle had experienced a religious conversion and Jim Bob (along with other church members) was sent for follow-up visits. They were married on July 21, 1984.

The Duggars elected to wait before having children, and practiced birth control during that time. It would be four years before Joshua, their eldest, was born. The Duggars then returned to birth control; however, Michelle conceived again, but suffered a miscarriage. Believing the miscarriage was due to the birth control, the Duggars decided to no longer practice birth control, electing instead to allow God to determine the number of children they would have. Shortly thereafter, Michelle became pregnant again, this time with the first of her two sets of twins, Jana and John-David. Thereafter, approximately once every year-and-a-half, Michelle would again become pregnant and give birth (including another set of twins).

The Duggars are conservative Baptists who endorse the Quiverfull movement.[11] The children watch very little television and their internet usage is strictly monitored. The children are home schooled using a mix of materials, including those of Switched On Schoolhouse, IBLP (produced by controversial Christian teacher Bill Gothard), and Accelerated Christian Education (ACE). Casual dating is forbidden; instead, the older children are taught that a marriage partner should be sought through a form of courtship (which requires the young man to seek permission from the girl's father to begin the relationship, even if both parties are adults). All meetings between the engaged couple have a chaperone to accompany them and they believe in saving their affections and intimacy, up to and including kissing, for marriage.

The Duggars raise their children using the buddy system, in which an older sibling assists the younger sibling in daily tasks. According to Michelle, "They help them with their little phonics lessons and games during the day and help them practice their music lessons. They will play with them or help them pick out the color of their outfit that they want to wear that day, and just all of those types of things." [12] In 2004, Michelle Duggar won the "Young Mother of the Year Award" in Arkansas, which is sponsored by American Mothers Incorporated.[13]

Jim Bob Duggar is a former state legislator who served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002. The Duggars now say their income is derived from the commercial properties they own.[14][15] The Duggars claim they live debt-free [16][17] which Jim Bob has said is "the fruit of Jim Sammons' Financial Freedom Seminar" he attended years ago. However, charity and donations of food and household appliances provides in large part for their lifestyle [15]. Their large house was completed on January 20, 2006 with aid from Discovery Networks and corporate sponsors.

Cast

Parents

Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar

Children

Names Date of Birth Notes[18]
1 Joshua James (1988-03-03) March 3, 1988 (age 36) Married Anna Keller on September 26, 2008.
2 Jana Marie (1990-01-12) January 12, 1990 (age 34) Twin to John-David.
3 John-David (1990-01-12) January 12, 1990 (age 34) Twin to Jana.
4 Jill Michelle (1991-05-17) May 17, 1991 (age 33)
5 Jessa Lauren (1992-11-04) November 4, 1992 (age 31)
6 Jinger Nicole (1993-12-21) December 21, 1993 (age 30) Pronounced like "Ginger."
7 Joseph Garrett (1995-01-20) January 20, 1995 (age 29)
8 Josiah Matthew (1996-08-28) August 28, 1996 (age 27)
9 Joy-Anna (1997-10-28) October 28, 1997 (age 26)
10 Jedidiah Robert (1998-12-30) December 30, 1998 (age 25) Twin to Jeremiah.
11 Jeremiah Robert (1998-12-30) December 30, 1998 (age 25) Twin to Jedidiah.
12 Jason Michael (2000-04-21) April 21, 2000 (age 24)
13 James Andrew (2001-07-07) July 7, 2001 (age 23)
14 Justin Samuel (2002-11-15) November 15, 2002 (age 21)
15 Jackson Levi (2004-05-23) May 23, 2004 (age 20) Birth featured in a Discovery Health Channel special.
16 Johannah Faith (2005-10-08) October 8, 2005 (age 18) Birth featured in a Discovery Health Channel special.
17 Jennifer Danielle (2007-08-02)August 2, 2007 (17 years) Birth featured in a Discovery Health Channel special.
18 Jordyn-Grace Makiya (2008-12-18)December 18, 2008 (15 years) Birth (via C-section) featured in a TLC special.

Other family members

  • Grandpa Duggar - Jim Bob's father (died Feb. 9, 2009).
  • Amy Duggar - Jim Bob's niece. Amy is one year older than Josh (Episode 10). Though she respects Jim Bob and Michelle's right to have and raise their large family, in several episodes she openly admits she has different views on life, including insisting that, if she marries, she will not have as many children as Michelle.
  • Anna Duggar (Anna Renée Keller) - Josh's wife, originally from Florida, featured in Episode 3 where Josh proposed to her and Episode 4 where she and Josh date with chaperones.
  • Jasmine - the family dog (appears briefly in episodes, not credited). As with the children the "J" trend is continued.[citation needed]

Prior TV specials

All of the TV specials have aired on both TLC and its sister network Discovery Health Channel.

  • 14 Children and Pregnant Again (featured Jackson's birth)
  • Raising 16 Children (featured the move from their original house into a rental while they were building their current house, as well as Johannah's birth)
  • 16 Children and Moving In (featured the move to their current house)
  • On the Road with 16 Children (featured the family making a road trip across the Western United States; the only show thus far that Michelle wasn't pregnant during taping)
  • Duggars Big Family Album (featured Jennifer's birth and recaps from previous specials)

Books

  • The Duggars released their first book, titled The Duggars: 20 and Counting, on December 2, 2008.[19]

Episodes

Further information: List of 17 Kids and Counting episodes

Special guest appearances

References

  1. ^ a b "And baby makes ... 18?". Associated Press. 14 October 2008.
  2. ^ Duggar Family at the Internet Movie Database.
  3. ^ Jim Bob Duggar (October 2006). "Duggar Family Portrait Gallery" (SWF file). JimBob.info website.
  4. ^ Associated Press (August 2, 2007). "Duggars welcome 17th child". WMC-TV.
  5. ^ The Learning Channel (6 September 2004]). "14 Children and Pregnant Again!". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Home & Garden News (12 March 2006). "Dream Home for Family of 18 on Learning Channel".
  7. ^ The Learning Channel (15 March 2006). "Raising 16 Children" (html).
  8. ^ The Learning Channel (11 June 2006). "On the Road With 16 Children".
  9. ^ "The Duggars: Countdown to Baby 18". Discovery Health Channel.
  10. ^ Associated Press (2 August 2007). "Couple welcomes 17th child — and wants more". MSNBC. The Duggars have been featured on several programs on cable television's Discovery Health Network. The next special, the Duggar Family Album, is scheduled to air next month, Jim Bob Duggar said.
  11. ^ Carrie Renegers. "13 Children Add Up to Asset for Challenger. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (September 91999) reprinted in Quiverfull website. Retrieved September 222007.
  12. ^ American MorningCNN October 15, 2005, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0510/14/ltm.02.html
  13. ^ Associated Press (25 May2004). "(The Duggar family with Governor Huckabee)". MSNBC. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Carrie Rengers (September 92001). "13 Children Add Up To Asset For Challenger". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b Arnold Hamilton (December 19 2005). "For Arkansas family, 18's not a crowd". The Dallas Morning News. The Duggars are an anomaly, attracting worldwide media attention. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Prill Boyle. "Eating an Elephant". National Association of Baby Boomer Women.
  17. ^ Michelle Duggar (September 2003). "Raising 14 Kids". Parents Magazine.
  18. ^ Discovery Health :: The Duggars
  19. ^ "How do the Duggars discipline 17 kids?. MSNBC (November 17, 2008) Retrieved January 31, 2009.
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