A family the duggers can't even begin to be.

[doggie]

the duggers can't even begin to hold a candle to this family.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/fa ... ner/ngLnM/

Jerome Adkins was treated to an Italian dinner at the Italian Oven in Stockbridge by his wife and 13 of his 15 children Sunday.

Adkins is the proud father to Brenndon, 24, Taylor, 21, Christian, 21, Jonathan, 19, Alexandria, 18, Mackenzie, 16, Victoria, 15, Elisabeth, 13, Olivia, 11, Danielle, 9, Jeremiah, 7, Joshua, 5, Jordan, 4, Faith, 2, and Hope, 3 months.

He said he works tirelessly to provide for them all and his wife LaChelle of 21 years.

"I always knew I wanted a lot of children and was fortunate to find a wife who could bless me with that desire,†Jerome said. “My mission is to provide for them all and be available to support them in as many activities that I can. Our arrangement with my wife as a homemaker makes it possible and is a sacrifice financially because our income would be double if she worked because she has a marketing degree from Indiana University."

"He has an amazing personality and makes parenthood a joy and his insight helps us solve our parenting dilemmas successfully," LaChelle said.

"We are so excited to take him out and show our appreciation for such a great father. We usually are unable to go out because of his work schedule or military training but he retired from military in March 2013 and has the day off on Sunday (only after we attend church, of which he is the pastor)," LaChelle said. "He sacrifices so much for our family being the only breadwinner and our love for him is infinite."

"Our father has always told us that it is important to do your best in all that you do and strive for excellence. He has also told us that we can do anything we set our mind to. This philosophy has given me the confidence to step out and start my own disc jockey business," said the couple's son Jonathan.

"We are used to our father working constantly so this is a nice change to celebrate as a family," said the Adkins’ oldest daughter Taylor, who is a senior at the University of Georgia.

[neuroticcat]

I don't know. Except for the higher education bit, it sound like pretty familiar fundie-speak. Blessings. Home-making. Provider. Father-worship by all the kids.

Maybe I'm missing something. What did you see that was different?

[doggie]

They let their children be children and be educated and work towards that. I think having 15 kids mom would never be able to work outside the home but it is there if needed and maybe later I don't see the obsession with them really.

[SPHASH]

They have been married for 21 years, but the oldest one is 24 and the next 2 are 21. Doesn't sound fundie to me.

[applejack]

thegrio.com/2013/07/10/family-to-welcome-15th-child-seeks-reality-tv-show/

That's an article about them from when she was pregnant with the 15th. It says they're "deeply religious" but the girls are wearing jeans, skinny jeans in some cases it looks like, and LaChelle says she's involved in the PTA, which means they send their kids to public school. They do mention that they "totally submitted to God in terms of motherhood and parenting" so, fundie lite?

[terranova]

There's an article about them here: http://issuu.com/crossroadsnews/docs/oct2211 page 12. It's from 2011, and states they are/were planning a reality show.

[terranova]

thegrio.com/2013/07/10/family-to-welcome-15th-child-seeks-reality-tv-show/

That's an article about them from when she was pregnant with the 15th. It says they're "deeply religious" but the girls are wearing jeans, skinny jeans in some cases it looks like, and LaChelle says she's involved in the PTA, which means they send their kids to public school. They do mention that they "totally submitted to God in terms of motherhood and parenting" so, fundie lite?

So they were still seeking a reality show, two years later? Money must be tight.

[Jana814]

I also think they r Fundie-light.

[artdecades]

The kids are still too young for us to see if their methods work. Its all good to say you want the best for your kids, but will they become productive adults? I have a colleague who is 1 of 17 children in her family and they are all adults. Many of them have advanced degrees (she is in her early 30s and has two masters, she has a prominent physician brother, etc) and are very successful in their fields. If these kids go on to carve niches out for themselves, than that is great, but who is to say they won't all end up stay at home children like some fundie families.

[Georgiana]

Personally, I think we still have several years before we can commend these parents. I believe that the mega-family model is actually easiest on the eldest (who have more of their parents' resources during their formative years) and next easiest on the youngest (who are perpetually babied and have grown siblings who can offset the lack of parental care). While both have pitfalls like elders becoming sister-moms and youngers getting completely lost, I think the real losers here are the middle children who grow up with a lack of parental resources and elder siblings who are still too young to bridge the gap.

Basically, just because your eldest kids turned out OK doesn't mean your middle children were adequately cared for. I don't think it's fair to say that any family turned out good or OK until you have a majority of kids in adulthood. For families like this and for the Bates and the Duggars, I'm waiting until we have 10 kids who are living adult lives before I really make that call.

[doggie]

Duggers bates adult children? Hard to think they are related.

[Coco]

Personally, I think we still have several years before we can commend these parents. I believe that the mega-family model is actually easiest on the eldest (who have more of their parents' resources during their formative years) and next easiest on the youngest (who are perpetually babied and have grown siblings who can offset the lack of parental care). While both have pitfalls like elders becoming sister-moms and youngers getting completely lost, I think the real losers here are the middle children who grow up with a lack of parental resources and elder siblings who are still too young to bridge the gap.

Basically, just because your eldest kids turned out OK doesn't mean your middle children were adequately cared for. I don't think it's fair to say that any family turned out good or OK until you have a majority of kids in adulthood. For families like this and for the Bates and the Duggars, I'm waiting until we have 10 kids who are living adult lives before I really make that call.

This is very true. Coming from a family with only a third as many kids as the Duggars have, as the oldest i got to play sports, travel alone to visit out of state friends, go to a college-prep camp, and work several part time jobs before my family jumped whole-heart into the fundie world. My youngest sibs have worked jobs and enjoyed relaxed standards about things like clothing, music, and getting to hang out with friends unchaperoned. The middle ones have struggled. Our parents failed to prepare us for the unexpected because they didn't face the fact that real life could happen once we were adults. One of my middle sisters' marriage fell apart, and it's been very rough for her having to hold down a full time job and raise her children without the experience of being out on her own. Another sibling worries that she'll be helpless if her hubby can't make ends meet for whatever reason, because she was a SAHD with no outside experiences before marriage. I feel guilty that all of my sibs didn't get to experience what we have as oldest and youngest. Those experiences as a kid/teen are life skills and building blocks that just can't be replaced. That's why i only want two children. They will always be able to do whatever they want to do.

These fundies that brag about babies being cheap usually neglect to mention that later childhood activities require gas, money, TIME.... stuff isn't cheap. Bikes, lessons... it takes much more than freebies to nourish a young adult. And crap second-hand things or gimmes from sympathetic church people just don't cut it.

That's a very true observation about big families, unfortunately.

[freedomjesusfootball]

More impressed by these guys:

http://www.today.com/news/meet-family-w ... -1C9316706

they have 10 kids, and 6 of those kids had started college by the age of 12. They have a Physician, a rocket scientist, a computer scientist, and from what I can tell the reason only 6/10 of the kids have started college by 12 is because the other ones are still younger than 12.

Those are some kids who ate their freaking Wheaties growing up.

[Coco]

More impressed by these guys:

http://www.today.com/news/meet-family-w ... -1C9316706

they have 10 kids, and 6 of those kids had started college by the age of 12. They have a Physician, a rocket scientist, a computer scientist, and from what I can tell the reason only 6/10 of the kids have started college by 12 is because the other ones are still younger than 12.

Those are some kids who ate their freaking Wheaties growing up.

sweet! they need to be doing a show :lol:

[slickcat79]

I'm just really amused that their names are Jerome and LaChelle. It just sounds like an SNL skit or something trying to mock the Duggars :lol: