Entertainment

All the Times the Duggars Were Accused of Being Bad Parents

EntertainmentPublished Jul 6, 2023
By Kayla Boyd & Nicole Pomarico
Joy-Anna Duggar, Jessa Duggar@joy4site/Instagram, @jessaseewald/Instagram

The Duggars are always caught in some kind of controversy or internet backlash, and with so many kids and grandkids, of course parenting styles are going to come into play. People are not always so fond of the way the 19 Kids and Counting family chooses to raise their children — and now that Jim Bob and Michelle's oldest kids have families of their own, they're getting the brunt of the heat. At this point, it doesn't seem like any of them can post a photo or video on social media without getting a slew of criticism for something

From messy houses to pawning off their kids on other family members to child abuse, they have been accused of it all. Especially Jessa Duggar — it seems like people especially like to come down hard on her. Sometimes it's truly the littlest things (like what kind of fork her son is using). 

But no matter what decisions they make, we all know that parenting is a challenge and everyone has different ways of doing things. Hopefully, as their kids get older and more siblings have kids, they can all learn from one another. 

Here are the times that people ripped the Duggars to shreds for their parenting choices.

More from CafeMom: 15 Biggest Bombshells We Learned From the 'Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets' Doc

1/20

When People Called Jessa a 'Slob'

One time when Jessa was trying to keep it real on social media by sharing photos of her messy house, instead of people relating to the struggle, they totally attacked her. She was called a "slob" multiple times in the comments — and those were just the nice ones.

2/20

When People Were Upset Jessa Still Let Her Son Have a Bottle

Jessa was shamed multiple times for sharing photos of Spurgeon with a bottle at almost 2 years old — not that she cared.

"That's my boy! Yes, he's 22 months old. Yes, he drinks water from a sippy cup, and yes, he still prefers to drink much of his milk/kefir from his bottle--especially before nap/bedtime. (TBH, I wish he wouldn't have weaned himself early, and would've bf till 2. There, I said it.)," she wrote. "So there ya have it. If you are experiencing anxiety over this, please share all your wisdom and perfect parenting advice in the comments section below."

3/20

When Jessa & Ben Let Their Kids Be Barefoot

When Jessa posted this cute family photo, people had a big problem with the babies (who definitely aren't babies anymore!) not wearing shoes.

Someone commented: "Why do they not have shoes on? The ground is not clean. Use your head Jessa. The boys need to wear shoes when outside."

4/20
When Jill Put a Tortilla on Her Baby's Head-placeholder
When Jill Put a Tortilla on Her Baby's Head
jillmdillard/Instagram

When Jill Put a Tortilla on Her Baby's Head

People were NOT happy with Jill Dillard when she posted a photo of her youngest son, Samuel, with a tortilla hat on.

Someone commented: "Sorry but a tortilla? Really? Imagine how hot that would get, his head would be fried."

5/20

When People Said Jessa Doesn't Discipline Her Kids

Fans once called out Jessa after she posted a video of her two sons having a play wrestling match.

One person commented: "Any chance Jessa will start disciplining [Spurgeon] and get him off the bottle? Or he gonna be allowed to have meltdowns and chew on his bottle until age 5."

Ouch!

6/20

When Reports Said Jana Was Raising Josh & Anna's Kids

Rumors once spread that Josh and Anna Duggar would rely on Jana Duggar to help raise their kids after they were outnumbered by children. Apparently, she shouldn't be helping her siblings with their kids? In any event, Josh being behind bars for a decade likely means that Anna does need some extra help from family while raising seven children by herself!

More from CafeMom: See What Duggar Critics Are Calling the 'Most Disturbing' Moment From the Family's History

7/20

When Jessa Got Shamed for Using Disposable Dishes

There were comments on social media about Jessa giving her son disposable dishes and flatware … mostly because of the environmental impact.

One person wrote: "Please try and use reusable eco friendly plates. Styrofoam is detrimental to the environment."

8/20

When Josh & Jessa Were 'Training' Their Kids To Do Housework

One of their many parenting tactics that stirred up controversy was when they "trained" their young kids to do chores. People felt that the kids were too young to be shown cleaning the floors like that — but at that age, the kids likely just thought they were playing.

9/20

When Jessa Posted a Photo of Henry in a 'Stained' Onesie

Some people called out Jessa for posting a picture of Henry in what they believe to be a stained onesie — as if most babies don't have plenty of stains on their onesies!

Someone wrote, "Maybe an unstained onesie for a photo documenting age progression ..."

10/20

When Michelle Was Accused of Having Jana Raise Her Kids

There have been many times that fans have slammed Michelle's parenting skills, but one of the big issues people take with her is that they feel like Jana pretty much raised all of the younger kids in her family — and that she's still staying home now, as an adult, to keep looking out for the little ones.

11/20

When Jill Was Accused of Child Abuse for 'Blanket Training' Her Son

One time, Facebook got a hold of a photo of baby Israel wrapped tightly in a blanket, appearing to be very upset. Although there was no evidence that it was any form of child abuse, people began debating if Jill was using the controversial method of "blanket training."

12/20

When It Was Revealed Michelle & Jim Bob Use Physical Methods of Discipline

A couple of years ago, reports circulated that in a police interview with one of the Duggar kids, the child admitted to an investigator that their parents spank their children and "they have a rod." Michelle and Jim Bob were also accused of "blanket training" their kids.

13/20
Evelyn Forsyth-placeholder
Evelyn Forsyth
joy4site/Instagram

When Joy-Anna Let Evelyn Put Her Mouth on a Fence

Babies put their mouths on everything, but people weren't impressed when Joy shared a photo from a family night at the baseball field, when she let her daughter, Evelyn, put her mouth on a fence while watching her parents play softball. Many people thought it was dangerous and too dirty, but Joy didn't seem bothered.

14/20

When Jinger Posted Instagram Ads After Citing Privacy

After Jinger made the choice to stop showing her daughters' faces on Instagram, fans were upset they couldn't see Felicity and Evangeline anymore, but they understood. But after they saw Jinger use the girls in an ad, well, they were a bit less understanding.

"If you want to keep your children out of the public [then] do so," one commenter admonished her. "But don’t use them as a prop to be an influencer."

More from CafeMom: 15 of the Weirdest Duggar Family Traditions

15/20

When Kendra & Joe Ignored the Rules of Water Safety

Swipe over on this photo from Joe and Kendra's day out on the water, and you can see that baby Addison is sitting inside a plastic container on a boat — no lifejacket to be seen. Fans immediately flocked to the comments to point out how unsafe that was.

"As a boater, you ABSOLUTELY NEVER HAVE anyone go on a boat without a lifejacket especially your precious baby girl," one follower wrote. "How did you not think about that? It’s one of the cardinal rules of boating."

16/20

When Joy's Weapon Wasn't Secured

In a YouTube video that Joy shared at the end of 2022, fans spotted a rifle laying on a chair in the family's house, supposedly unsupervised and obviously not locked up while their young children were home. This led many critics on Reddit to question if they practice gun safety at all, and plenty were worried about it becoming a danger to the kids.

17/20

When Jana Was Left in Charge

Not too long ago, a scene from 19 Kids & Counting resurfaced online, making fans question a parenting choice that Jim Bob and Michelle made years ago. While they were away in another state, Josie had a seizure, and Jana was in charge of all of the children and was visibly panicking in the video. Many didn't believe that they should have left a medically fragile child behind at all — especially not in the care of one of her older siblings who may not have been prepared for an emergency like this.

18/20

When Joy Didn't Wear a Seatbelt

While Joy was still pregnant with her youngest child, Gunner, fans noticed that she wasn't wearing a seatbelt in the car in one of her YouTube vlogs, which made people concerned she was putting her unborn baby's life at risk.

One Reddit critic wrote: "It’s a seatbelt. It’s the simplest thing you can possibly do to prevent grievous bodily harm and death. It’s just a seatbelt. Why is it so difficult for them?"

19/20

When Michelle Banned Cabbage Patch Kids

Jim Bob and Michelle made a lot of seemingly harmless toys off limits to their children, but this one was a bit odd. According to a TikTok video shared by Amy Duggar, her cousins were never allowed to play with Cabbage Patch dolls because they were supposedly "filled with demons." Hmm …

More from CafeMom: 28 Controversial Duggar Quotes That Totally Freaked People Out

20/20

When Joy Gave Evelyn a Balloon

Fans weren't impressed with Joy when they saw her 2-year-old daughter playing with a balloon in a video. Evelyn had her face pressed up against the balloon, mouth included, leaving some critics worried that she was going to end up suffocating or choking on the balloon.

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