Duggars adopting another baby

[Imagine20]

I agree it's probably just a way for them to get (what they think is) positive publicity by just talking about it. 

I also agree with the pets. When I got my cats, I promised them I'd always take them with me wherever I go (why, yes, I talk to my cats as if they were people).   13 years and 7 moves later and I'm still keeping my word. My husband was not too keen on pets when he first moved in, but he now cuddles with them when they demand it.

[Gossamer1]

9 hours ago, EmCatlyn said:

Granted that some people just don't take their responsibilities to their pets seriously, I have to say that I also know of cases where the family really couldn't take the pet.  In one case, the neighbors of a good friend lost their house and had to move to an apartment complex where no pets were allowed.  Another case involved a former student ended up homeless after she broke up with her boyfriend.  Her parents took her in, but wouldn't let her bring the dog, so this one was rehomed through Craigslist.  People like these are not being selfish.

 

I fostered 3 Saints before I caved, fell in love and turned into a foster failure. The first lost their home but Bemson had been very well cared for before their illness and financial problems. The second -"I didn't realize how big she would get"  was a behavioral train wreck but still young and was well on her way to proper dog behavior when we sent her off to her furever home. The third - his owner died. He had never been trained and was very sick when he arrived on my doorstep.  After a year and a half he's healthy and his behavior is improving, but  still needs work. 

Can you imagine what would happen to a rehomed child left in the Duggars care?  Many of those kids have significant issues because of their early life. 

[sj3339sta]

Well, Duggar's "train" their kids like we train our dogs.....  I'm sure there is sufficient blanket training and prayer closet time involved.

[SassyPants]

Jon and Kate were also adopting

[Cleopatra7]

1 hour ago, sj3339sta said:

Well, Duggar's "train" their kids like we train our dogs.....  I'm sure there is sufficient blanket training and prayer closet time involved.

I think most people train their dogs better than the Duggars train their children. Most dogs are still allowed to have their own personalities and preferences, friendships with people and dogs outside the home, and don't have to raise other people's puppies.

[sj3339sta]

11 minutes ago, Cleopatra7 said:

I think most people train their dogs better than the Duggars train their children. Most dogs are still allowed to have their own personalities and preferences, friendships with people and dogs outside the home, and don't have to raise other people's puppies.

There is a lot of truth to that, which makes the state of the Duggar children that much sadder.

[nomoxian]

On Friday, December 18, 2015 at 2:19 AM, Artemesia said:

Bizarre that they would want to adopt. J'Chelle seems to enjoy pregnancy but not raising her children. Most were raised by the older siblings. So they want to give an orphan the gift of life long ignorance? Does Jana know that she will be raising another blessing? Is there a specific unplanned fundie baby that they are considering?

Michelle enjoys attention.

Having 20 kids is also a milestone she wants to reach, whether the kids are from her uterus or not.

[fundiefan]

On 12/18/2015 at 6:52 PM, goldfishgoddess said:

Didn't they already adopt Ben Seewald as a teenager?  They keep that child busy mowing lawns and pottering around in the garage for pocket money. 

Yes. They adopted Ben as a teenager. They've also successfully assimilated their daughter in law and grand children and just absorbed them into the fold. Sleeping in the dorms, living the Duggar life. 

If ya can't make 'em anymore, just start collecting living specimens. 

[VixenToast]

On Friday, December 18, 2015 at 2:19 AM, Artemesia said: Bizarre that they would want to adopt. J'Chelle seems to enjoy pregnancy but not raising her children. Most were raised by the older siblings. So they want to give an orphan the gift of life long ignorance? Does Jana know that she will be raising another blessing? Is there a specific unplanned fundie baby that they are considering?

Michelle enjoys attention.

Having 20 kids is also a milestone she wants to reach, whether the kids are from her uterus or not.

Though if Michelle was like other women I know who've fad pregnancy loss, she'd count 21. But it's Michelle.

[smittykins]

NM, I miscounted (19+J'Caleb+Jubilee =21).

[EmCatlyn]

7 hours ago, Gossamer1 said:

I fostered 3 Saints before I caved, fell in love and turned into a foster failure. The first lost their home but Bemson had been very well cared for before their illness and financial problems. The second -"I didn't realize how big she would get"  was a behavioral train wreck but still young and was well on her way to proper dog behavior when we sent her off to her furever home. The third - his owner died. He had never been trained and was very sick when he arrived on my doorstep.  After a year and a half he's healthy and his behavior is improving, but  still needs work. 

Can you imagine what would happen to a rehomed child left in the Duggars care?  Many of those kids have significant issues because of their early life. 

No one should leave a child with the Duggars to raise.  But maybe each of the younger Duggar kids should get a trained St Bernard to care for them. (This is an allusion to Nana, the dog in Peter Pan.)

[Furbabies]

On 12/18/2015 at 8:42 AM, PennySycamore said:

They can get one of these to go with the Reborn doll:  

http://joyforall.hasbro.com/en-us/companion-pets

Finally a pet perfect for the Duggars! A cat they can't kill or otherwise harm -only let the batteries wear out.

What in the name of the Sweet Raptor Jesus????  That's creepy AF.

[Toothfairy]

As a foster/adoptive parent, no way in hell will a foster care/adoption agency approve them. Unless its a shady agency only caring about publicity and getting sued. Besides Jimchelle hates children, they love infants under 6months. Children legally freed for adoption are older(8+) sibling groups,or have severe physical/emotional problems. Infants in foster care might be drug exposed, delayed, and abused. They're not legally freed. Which  means Jimchelle would have to foster. That means supporting reunification and having to deal with a whole group of people including the bio family. There's also rules they must follow. Plus  have too kids living at home.

 

International adoption I'm not sure about. But it costs $$$$ and a whole heap of time. Plus the home study process. Can't see them getting approval. 

Domestic adoption,  yeah right.  There are already waiting lists for infants.  Especially white infants. For every baby born there's a hundred couples waiting. Can't s birth mom or agency placing with these fools. Unless she's a thumper.

Fundie adoption a thumper girl with unplanned pregnancy gives her child to the duggars. Michelle and Bob makes the child the poster child for abortion. Replacing baby Josie. After 6months the baby will be raised by Jana, Joy, Jinger

[Jingerbread]

On 12/18/2015 at 5:10 PM, goldfishgoddess said:

I think they could swing a private fundie adoption or maybe some sort of private big money overseas adoption. 

 

But a judge still has to sign to finalize it.  Someone could sign over guardianship, which is what those informal rehoming "adoptions" are, but there's no real adoption without a judge.  Would the Duggars accept just guardianship that could be revoked?

[scribble]

I posted this in another thread, not realizing there was a dedicated topic there... reposting since this is really where it belongs. (Sorry, mods if that causes a problem.)

 

I've adopted three children from foster care, so I know a little bit about the process.

Adoption from foster care probably won't get them what they want, which is a baby. At least in my state, they generally don't want more than a 40 year gap between parents and children.  (Waived if due to birth of a new sibling who has already been adopted by family, or a kinship situation.) Their parenting practices would also be a hurdle here (no homeschooling is allowed, no corporal punishment is allowed, etc.) until adoption is finalized. Arkansas social services may be very different though.

Here, any one over the age of 18 living in the home would have to have a background check and be fingerprinted if they are living in the home. I'm not sure what Josh Duggar's background check would turn up since the police report has been destroyed. (And I'm not sure if he is technically living there either.)

Foster care adoption isn't the right route for them.

I think what the Duggars really want is to "save" babies from poor countries. However, international adoption is really, really difficult right now. A lot of countries have closed adoptions to the U.S. and the few that remain have really long waits or older, special needs kids. 

I think their only avenue would be domestic infant adoption-- though how that is  going to fit in with their "savoir" motivation is beyond me. They are a wealthy and have enough fans that I can totally see a private adoption happening -- all that is needed is two lawyers and a pile of cash. Social services wouldn't be involved at all. This would also give them the opportunity to craft their own savior story, which I have no doubt will happen. "She would have been aborted if we didn't step in."

My point is that their ability to adopt, either through an unethical re-homing situation, or through a private adoption wouldn't be as much of a challenge as you'd think. There isn't a strong correlation between ethics and the adoption industry... (not that all agencies are bad, but if you want to find a bad one and have plenty of resources to do it, it's not that much of a stretch.)

I really hope they never pursue this, just as I hope Jessa and Ben don't. M & JB are horrible parents... and would be absolutely dreadful parents to a child who is adopted and has to deal with the issues that brings along with it.

[Bad Wolf]

I worked for a private adoption agency, and the prospective parents had to go through all the same background checks, home studies and classes as if they'd gone through the state. Then when the baby's placed, there's 6 months of home visits with reports from tne pediatrician and the social worker. Arkansas has similar laws to my state. I checked.

[Nikedagain?]

16 hours ago, Imagine20 said:

I agree it's probably just a way for them to get (what they think is) positive publicity by just talking about it. 

I also agree with the pets. When I got my cats, I promised them I'd always take them with me wherever I go (why, yes, I talk to my cats as if they were people).   13 years and 7 moves later and I'm still keeping my word. My husband was not too keen on pets when he first moved in, but he now cuddles with them when they demand it.

cats are AWESOME.

[singsingsing]

I'm sure this is happening, right after Jana marries Tim Tebow.

[Mercer]

2 hours ago, Toothfairy said:

...Infants in foster care might be drug exposed, delayed, and abused. They're not legally freed. Which  means Jimchelle would have to foster. That means supporting reunification and having to deal with a whole group of people including the bio family. There's also rules they must follow. Plus  have too kids living at home.

Additionally, they would not be able to show the foster child or give identifying information in any of their publicity because of confidentiality rules. I can't imagine the Duggars turning down the possibility of TV or magazine appearances for the sake of having a foster child in their home, or putting in the work it takes to be a foster parent without getting brownie points for it in the media. I don't think they'd be foster parents in a million years.

[Inky]

I think if it was possible for Jim-Bob and Michelle to adopt a healthy infant they definitely would do it. I have no doubt that they are looking into it. It brings more attention to the family. Michelle reaches that elusive #20 (if you don't count miscarriages) and they still have enough sister-moms at home to do the hard work.

I've heard that it's quite possible for an adoptive mother to breastfeed an infant if she's done so in the past, or at least been pregnant. Think what a joy that would be for Michelle.

I shudder to think of them doing that, but it really would not surprise me. Jessa on the other hand, I could see changing her mind about adoption once she has 2 or 3 small children under 5 running around.

[countressrascal]

Are they so desperate to stay in the spotlight to try to adopt

[sophie10130]

On 12/19/2015 at 6:16 PM, JenniferJuniper said:

Suggest a ? at the end of this topic heading.

I don't think it would actually happen. Michelle only likes the incubating, birthing and breastfeeding bits.  Precious B. aside, she's barely interested in the young kids she has now and losing her tagline "And I gave birth to every one of them!" would be a blow to her ego.  

They definitely want attention once the Not So Special episodes are over, attention that doesn't involve Josh in any way.  So while I suspect they'll be doing and saying whatever they can to stay in the news on the internets, I don't seem them actually getting to the point of adopting someone else's child.

I always thought this was so snotty because who the fuck cares if they are yours biologically or not? Just fundies. She's not even a mom to the kids she gave birth to.

This line to me says she will never ever adopt. If they do adopt, they'll be seen as second class kids. Not her "real" kids. 

[roddma]

In agreement with others, I too hope they never adopt. and I think it is just talk. They have 19 bio kids and 6 grandkids, whereas some couples cannot even have one. Why not help them adopt instead of only thinking about your own selves? Furthermore, you have kids in the single digits who need your attention. Odds are the child won't be a baby they can mold. I know not all Fundie QUiverfull women have baby hunger, but I see it with Michelle and also Kelly Bates, though she tries to hide it.

[Cerealgirl]

When I did some googling, In Touch (which granted... broke the Joshley story), cited Life&Style as the original source. I am not sure how credible this story is, and I feel like it has been floating around for a while.

This is a quote from the In Touch article:

The source adds they’re open to anything, explaining, “Michelle says she doesn’t care if they adopt a boy or a girl, or what ethnicity the child is. She says she just wants to help a child’s life.”

I think she'd be more help, if she didn't adopt the child.

http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/jim-bob-michelle-duggar-baby-adoption-80955

I've never even seen Michelle take a photo opp with someone of another ethnicity.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

On the subject of pets, I remember a great t-shirt from back a few years. It showed a cute cat sitting amongst children's toys. It said, "We got rid of the children. The cat was allergic."