Season 6 of 19 Kids and Counting. God help us all!

[Witsec7]

I think basically everything is conspiring against these kids acting in an age-appropriate way. The older Duggars are probably behind the curve in a lot of ways emotionally/intellectually, but at least they were raised (however badly) to behave mostly appropriately. The younger kids are barely being "raised" at all. Probably the only time they get attention is when TLC films them, and TLC loves filming them most of all when they're being childish and rowdy. That would mean childish and rowdy behaviour is reinforced, while behaving properly is pointless and possibly unfathomable. Feral is right. I really fear for them when they reach adulthood.

I raised a free range hippy kid, so my house often had roving bands of free range hippy kids by the time my DD was ten. These children all had far better manners and social skills than any of the feral duggar kids.

[Naga Viper]

Ha, the pop-up while Josh and Anna were at the store: "When the Duggars go grocery shopping, the receipt is often longer than a yardstick." But how long is it when Josh isn't doing the shopping? :eusa-think:

I love that his French chef accent was more German than anything.

The title for next week's episode is "Fencing & Fireworks." I wonder how they are going to spin the "4th of July celebration that happened in June and got the fire marshal called on them" situation. Also, I hope they are talking about building a fence, because the thought of the Howlers learning the sport of fencing terrifies me.

If they go jabbing at each other without the gear on, yes, and Lord knows that would be a possibility with this crew. But suited up, I think they'd be likelier to pull a hamstring in a lunge than anything else. A fencing suit's pretty heavily padded and the mask is no thin mesh—a sword will bend and snap before it penetrates. They might take a bruise if they get hit in the right spot, but that's about it.

That said, I'm sure it won't be the sport. Way too mince-y for them Duggar boys and all. :violence-duel:

[JenniferJuniper]

I agree that TLC plays some role in encouraging the worst from the kids when they're filming, but I don't think kids are really capable of turning manners completely on and off and most of the time they are not being filmed. I'm pretty sure the ice cream scene took place during the visit with the huge family with the adopted disabled kids, which makes it that much worse. Ice cream must be a pretty rare treat for those kids.

The kids from Jason on down are doomed. Their parents checked out before they were born and the J-slaves were never equipped to raise or educate them. And even they seem to be out of the picture most of the time with Joy being left to corral brothers who aren't much younger than herself. (I will be sincerely shocked if that girl doesn't leave when she's 18.) The mute little girls might be the saddest of all. Every time MacKenzie utters a coherent sentence, the audience should wonder why we never hear anything from her older Aunts Jenny and Jordyn.

Which makes me wonder what Anna really thinks about having her kids spending time on the compound. If she didn't have to go there for the TV show, would she avoid the place as much as possible? God knows I wouldn't want my little ones subjected to that on a regular basis and I'd keep my visits as short as possible. Hell, I'd be insisting we move back to Florida to get away from them all.

[Sola]

He turned 10 this year.

Here are the feral boys pushing away their guests and generally acting like wild animals over some ice cream, with bonus footage of Hannie eating ice cream that had landed on a floor which had probably been walked on by at least 50 people that day.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/19-kids ... -party.htm

It's also time for the Duggars to stop calling these kids "the little boys". Only Jackson qualifies as a "little boy" still. The next three are 10, 11, and 12. They are middle school aged tweens. Pre-adolescents in the real world.

What is happening at 1.05? To me it looks like Joy pinches one of the howlers. I can't hear what is being said as my sound card is buggered. I'll look on Little Miss Sola's laptop later but it looks to me as though he is expressing pain.

[ahnfamily]

Did anyone notice the birds while they were baking. Is that unhealthy? I have no idea if droppings would end up in the house?

Also I'm curious about Josh's secret spice. On another episode it looked darker. The one the other night looked white. Was my screen broke? If it is white what on earth would that be? Garlic and parmesean? I know to much seasoning will make stuff gross.

[Buzzard]

The title for next week's episode is "Fencing & Fireworks." I wonder how they are going to spin the "4th of July celebration that happened in June and got the fire marshal called on them" situation. Also, I hope they are talking about building a fence, because the thought of the Howlers learning the sport of fencing terrifies me.

I predict a FU FJ moment where there is a shot of some sort of firetruck, fireman, or local official present (which may or may not have been edited in) to pretend like they had permission to violate the burn ban.

[thoughtful]

What is happening at 1.05? To me it looks like Joy pinches one of the howlers. I can't hear what is being said as my sound card is buggered. I'll look on Little Miss Sola's laptop later but it looks to me as though he is expressing pain.

It does look like she applies several Spock-worthy Vulcan neck pinches.

From :53-:58, she says, "Boys, really?" and one of them barks back "Yes! Really!" and she starts to herd them away from the ice cream, reminding them that guests go first. It's being filmed from behind them, and there are clearly no camera people at the other end of the counter.

Then there's a talking head of Joy Anna talking about how she "had to" wrangle the boys (because, of course, her parents were nowhere nearby).

Then it's back to the shooing of the boys, and the pinches, filmed from the front. Did a cameraman get into place that fast, did the boys try again, or did they re-stage the wild ice-cream-attacking boys?

Whichever it is, none of it makes the Duggars look very good.

[snickerz]

JD did a similar arm grab/pinch type thing to Jackson? (I think?) in an episode a year or two ago where the boys went with JB to clear out a building, and of course we know about JimBoob arm-twisting Josiah... I have no doubts they "blanket train" babies and toddlers, and for older kids, it's the pinch/grab/twist. Hey TLC, how about an episode where J'chelle & JB teach us evil heathens how to get our children to behave? Let's see the blanket training step by step with Mikey and Josie. Make sure you spell it out exactly so we can see exactly how it's done. Then have JB & J'chelle explain how to give the arm-pull. I'm sure that would go over real well with your viewers.

[Maggie Mae]

Did anyone notice the birds while they were baking. Is that unhealthy? I have no idea if droppings would end up in the house?

Also I'm curious about Josh's secret spice. On another episode it looked darker. The one the other night looked white. Was my screen broke? If it is white what on earth would that be? Garlic and parmesean? I know to much seasoning will make stuff gross.

I didn't notice, but were the birds in the kitchen? That makes me sad, birds should not be kept in kitchens for their own safety.

[whirlygirly]

They're not pet birds, they're wild birds that have moved in and are nesting in the rafters. It's like living in a Sam's Club.

[Coconut Flan]

The birds seemed to have a nest in the stove hood vent system.

[ahnfamily]

Yes, I wonder if anything germy can fall down the hood vent. I couldn't think of what it was called. Thanks

[Maggie Mae]

They're not pet birds, they're wild birds that have moved in and are nesting in the rafters. It's like living in a Sam's Club.

Oh gross.

[JenniferJuniper]

They're not pet birds, they're wild birds that have moved in and are nesting in the rafters. It's like living in a Sam's Club.

My thoughts exactly. And birds nesting in the kitchen rafters is not a good thing.

A pantry in the garage? The only place I have a problem with rodents is in the garage where chipmunks and mice seem to always find a way in. Maybe they have it sealed off exceptionally well, but something tells me that isn't likely.

[B5SnowDog]

The birds seemed to have a nest in the stove hood vent system.

That's quite a fire hazard.

[shesinsane]

That's quite a fire hazard.

Only if they were to cook in their industrial kitchen and need to actually use the vent/fan. :D

I'm no ornithologist, but I think if they actually used the fume hood on a regular basis, the birds would never have moved in. The Best Nest was one of my favorite books as a kid, and those birds would have fled as soon as the vent system was turned on.

[Mela99]

Oh gross.

I laughed a lot harder at this than necessary. This is just too funny.

[Witsec7]

Only if they were to cook in their industrial kitchen and need to actually use the vent/fan. :D

I'm no ornithologist, but I think if they actually used the fume hood on a regular basis, the birds would never have moved in. The Best Nest was one of my favorite books as a kid, and those birds would have fled as soon as the vent system was turned on.

In areas where birds and bats could nest, you simply install a hardware wire screen that keeps them out. It's done all the time. When my larger than average vent was installed in my last house that's just what we did. Same with the exhaust from the dryer. It's not a big deal.

I did just catch up on the episodes and I must say those boys were positively feral when it came to the ice cream. The birthday girl kept on giving them some stabby looks, I don't think their behavior would be acceptable in her family. And who was the girl climbing on the counter? Those Duggar girls are certainly slacking off when it comes to teaching the howlers acceptable behavior.

[ILoveJellybeans]

WHAT? Now they have wild birds nesting in their house?? What a wonderful environment for a feral child.

Im sure they would be better off raised by wolves as this point.

[Naga Viper]

I think historically, acculturated wolf-children have tended to develop more expansive vocabularies than the younger Duggars.

Birds roosting in the house. That is just...fucking hell, these people. :doh:

[luckystone]

Seriously? How can you keep living with birds in your stove, don't you have to get rid of them? They always seem to want to have "projects" to show the audience, getting rid of birds should be one.

[B5SnowDog]

Only if they were to cook in their industrial kitchen and need to actually use the vent/fan. :D

:lol:

[NjoyingNsanity]

The birds in the vent system kind of reminds me of my grandparent's house and me and my first husband's old house. The big difference being my grandparent's house was a pre-civil war farmhouse and the fact that they got bats in their attic was just one of the quirks that came with owning a house that old. My husband and I moved into a house built in the 1950's that had been vacant for several years in the process of moving in and remodeling we somehow got a bat in the house. Watching my big manly headship hide under the kitchen table screaming like a little girl while his brother and I took care of the bat was hilarious though. Thing is both of those houses were considerably older than the TTH, and one had been vacant for almost 8 years when we moved in, it makes me wonder how well the TTH is maintained.

[Daisy]

They were so casual about the birds too. Just like oh yeah, we have birds in the stove vent. They said it like it was no big deal. WTH?

[Kitty]

I've been in houses much older than the TTH that had no bats, birds, or anything else living in it. Except for snakes and rodents in the crawlspaces. Occasionally my parents' house gets a bird's nest in the chimney, but the fireplace is almost never used. The birds do not stay long, they get chased out and certainly never get into the house.

Then again those houses were taken care of, not just simply occupied. Quite frankly, I would never rent.a house from the Duggars. If they can't take care of their own...

Wild animals do not belong in kitchens, period. I'd do what I could to get them out. That cant possibly be sanitary. Given the gambles Jim Bob and Michelle have taken with the health and safety of their kids I'm surprised they still have 19.