Ben and Jessa's interview!

Ben and Jessa were asked how many kids would they like to have. Jessa has revealed that they will love to have as many kids that God will blessed them with. Jessa still wants to adopt as many kids as she can.
Jessa has revealed that she has been craving ice cream and has had a few smoothies.
When asked if they would return to TV, Ben and Jessa have revealed that they are not sure about returning to TV.

Michelle Duggar on Raising a Strong-Willed Child

FAMILY MATTERS on 10.18.13

Michelle Duggar19 Kids and CountingBIO

 

Question from a "19 Kids and Counting" fan on Facebook: How do you handle particularly strong-willed children?

Well, I’ve had a couple of strong-willed ones go through here! I had one that really gave us a lot of challenges. We felt like we going back and forth saying, “Don’t do that,” and they would say, “Why?” They would just push it again and again and I’d think, “They’re never going to get it. It’s just not getting through.”

But we were consistent; that’s really important for parents with young children. If you’ve got a young child and they’re strong-willed, just be consistent -- lovingly consistent. Don’t get bent out of shape. Don’t get upset in the situation. They may push the limit, but they need to know what the boundaries are and they need to understand that those boundaries are not to restrict their fun. Jim Bob would always give this example: He would say, “We have always told you children don’t play in the street. Are we saying that to ruin your fun? Is that to spoil your life? Why would we say don’t play in the street? We put those boundaries in your life for a good reason. It’s to protect you because we love you.” Oftentimes as parents, we can see things that are a danger. And that’s why when we say it, the first time we’ll say, you obey it. There’s not a question of arguing with us about it. It’s just, yes, Ma’am, I will obey you.

Training a strong-willed one to obey was probably the greatest challenge I faced as a mom. I could train three others and they would quickly learn what I meant. But that strong-willed one, we’d go through these training opportunities over and over. Sometimes I would think, “Oh, they’re never going to get it. It’s not getting through.” But I knew I had seen a few of my others go through this and it was beneficial and did work in their lives, so I just didn’t give up. Even though they would butt heads with us, I would be fun but loving and say: “Mommy loves you so much that I’m not going to let you act that way. You cannot talk disrespectful to Momma, and you will obey, and hopefully, you will eventually obey joyfully.” But either way, they need to obey. I won’t budge.

They know I mean business because I just stand firm in what I say. Remember, you’re going to make it as a parent, and they’re going to catch on eventually. Jim Bob told me that he was not strong-willed as a child, but he struggled with dyslexia and it just took two or three times for things to connect for him as a child. He would remind me, don’t give up -- that could be a little Jim Bob that we’re looking at. That gave me hope!

Learning how to be tactful

How Michelle Duggar Teaches Her Kids to Be Tactful

FAMILY TRAVEL on 08.16.13

Michelle Duggar19 Kids and CountingBIO

 

Photo: DCL

Question from a "19 Kids and Counting" fan: As you travel with your family and meet people from different cultural backgrounds, how do you teach your children to be polite and open-minded about foreign cultures and experiences?

It really is all about teaching them tact. When we are in a public place, the kids need to show respect for others, and that means that we’re not loud and boisterous with our behavior. We don’t want to loudly draw attention to ourselves and we want it to be a pleasant experience for everyone involved. I try to teach them to be tactful and not to blurt out questions or statements about people or situations that might be new or different to them. We want them to come and ask questions, to whisper in my ear or daddy’s ear, and ask the questions they might have. Because they do have questions and want to know about things that are new to them.

Jim Bob and I try to explain that some cultures are different than ours, and that’s ok. When we travel to other countries, I want to give the kids the freedom to ask questions of myself and our family members. It’s important not to hurt the feelings of people that aren’t exactly the same as us, so I want them to come to me first. I’ve explained to them that others may wonder why they are asking a certain question because it’s about something that is common for their culture. It’s important for them to be sensitive to the feelings of others.

We are happy to talk with the kids about whatever questions are on their minds. If we can’t talk immediately when a question arises, we ask them to remember the question, remind us later, and we’ll talk about it privately, when we’re able. We’ve got a ways to go to train our kids in the proper etiquette of being around other people in public places. Believe me, ours aren’t angels!

When we travel, we’ll sometimes have a situation where our children aren’t behaving in the correct way; they’ll be climbing on something they aren’t supposed to, or making noise or something like that. If that happens, I’ll have them go back and ask for forgiveness and apologize for their inappropriate behavior. So believe me, we are still in the learning phases of all of that with a number of our younger ones!

With children, they just speak (and do) what’s on their mind -- often. They don’t even think about it, they just have the simplicity and curiosity of a child. We’ve learned the importance of being tactful and gracious to others and want them to learn, too.

Have a burning question for Michelle Duggar? Send it to her and it could appear in an upcoming post!

New blog from Michelle Duggar on TLC!

Meal Plans and Involving the Kids

CHOW on 01.18.13

Michelle Duggar19 Kids and CountingBIO

 

Image: DCL

In our house, organization is very important in everything we do and that of course includes meal planning. Our family works with a large master menu to plan our food for the week. Whoever is going to cook for that week gets to pick what meals they want to prepare. Usually, we plan two weeks at a time: that way we're not going to duplicate the same recipe too often. It also helps us when we plan our shopping list so we can make sure that we get all the ingredients that we’re going to need. Menus and lists are a huge help with that.

Because we're cooking for a lot of children, we tend to make the same family favorites a lot. We’re not going to try out too many crazy recipes that young palates won't be interested in. We eat a lot of green salads and veggie trays. Of course, ours are giant trays! A lot of times we’ll slice up a big tray of tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and top with a spritz of vinegar. That’s a favorite snack around here.

All of the kids take turns in the kitchen. I always let each one of them take a turn at learning how to prepare a meal. Usually, they'll start off with breakfast or lunch before diving into dinner. And it's not just for the girls! Some of the boys are really good cooks. They have lots of fun getting in there and being creative. Jason and Justin are particularly enjoying being in the kitchen lately. Of course, the little ones love to help, too. Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn all love lending a hand. They’re always in the kitchen asking, "What can I do? Can I open this? Can I help?"

We usually have teams of three or four kids that’ll work together on the cooking. If you get more than that, there are really just too many cooks in the kitchen! There’s a leader and then the rest of them follow the instructions of the leader. We label everything so that whoever is in there can find things and know where they belong when they're doing cleanup. The kids truly enjoy their time in the kitchen and it’s a huge help to the family. It really works out well for everyone.