page_title: 19 Kids and Counting
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: 19 Kids and Counting / Background
caption_attribution_description: The family of Jim Bob Duggar.
context_page_description: 19 Kids and Counting is an American reality television show that aired on the cable channel TLC for seven years until its cancellation in 2015. The show features the Duggar family: parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their 19 children: nine girls and ten boys, all of whose names begin with the letter "J". During the life of the show, two children were born, three children were married, and four grandchildren were born.
  The show focuses on the life of the Duggar family, who are devout Baptists, and frequently discusses values of purity, modesty, and faith in God. The Duggars avoid birth control saying they have decided to allow God to determine the number of children they have. All of the children are homeschooled, and access to entertainment such as movies and television is limited. They practice chaperoned courtship, in which a couple becomes acquainted only in a group setting. The values presented on the show have been associated with the Quiverfull movement, which has been described as promoting strict family conformity, male hierarchies, and subservient roles for women. The Duggars have stated they are not associated with the Quiverfull movement.
context_section_description: The Duggars live in Tontitown, Arkansas, near Springdale, and originally appeared in several TLC and Discovery Health one-hour specials, mostly focused on four of Michelle's last five deliveries. Jim Bob Duggar has an older sister, Deanna, who occasionally appears on the show. Michelle Duggar (née Ruark) has six older siblings (Pamela Ethel, Kathie Ann, Evelyn Alice, Carolyn Jeannite, Freda Louise, and Garrett Floyd Jr.). The couple met in the early 1980s when Duggar and a fellow church member were sent for a follow-up visit after Michelle experienced a religious conversion. The Duggars were married on July 21, 1984, just after Michelle's high school graduation. When they married, she was 17 and he was 19; neither attended college. Together they first launched a used-car business, then towing and real estate businesses, and both are licensed real estate agents.
  The Duggars initially chose to wait before having children and used birth control pills in the early years of their marriage. Their eldest child, Joshua, was born in 1988. They resumed using oral contraceptives after his birth but conceived again despite this precaution; however, Michelle miscarried. She has mentioned that they named that child Caleb, despite not knowing the baby's gender. After consulting a doctor, the Duggars were told that birth control can in some cases allow conception but cause miscarriage. As a result, they decided to stop using birth control and allow God to determine the number of children they would have. Michelle soon became pregnant again, this time with her first set of twins, Jana and John-David. Michelle gave birth 17 times (twice with twins) over a period of 21​¹⁄₂ years, approximately one birth every 15 months on average.
  The Duggars are devout independent Baptists. They only watch programs they consider to be wholesome family television and various historical events. Their Internet service is filtered. They adhere to certain standards of modesty in clothing in accordance with their religious beliefs. Shorts and tank tops are prohibited, and the women do not wear skirts that go above the knee. According to Michelle Duggar, such standards are mandated by scripture. They believe that baring the thigh is "nakedness and shame", and runs the risk of "defrauding" others—or stirring up and arousing "desires in someone else that cannot be righteously fulfilled." They avoid beaches and public swimming areas "because it's just too hard for the guys to try to keep their eyes averted in those situations." Female family members keep their hair long, and males are clean-shaven and short-haired. They practice chaperoned courtship, where the couple gets to know each other in a group setting. The Duggars describe this as "dating with a purpose".
  Jim Bob Duggar served as a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002. He was defeated for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate by incumbent Tim Hutchinson in 2002 by a vote of 71,576 to 20,546. He later became a real estate agent and investor. The Duggars' income is derived from rental proceeds of commercial properties they own. Prior to the scandal surrounding son Josh, they lived debt-free.
  Construction of their 7,000-square-foot (650 m²) house began in 2000 when they bought the lot and ordered two steel frames. One of the frames was not drilled correctly, so the Duggars received a third frame which was used to make the girls' room and the industrial kitchen. Discovery Networks completed it, finding local Arkansas construction workers to donate their skills and time. The home was completed on January 20, 2006. Some of the painting, decorating, furnishings, appliances, and other finishing touches—such as a stocked pantry—were provided by Discovery Networks and corporate sponsors as part of the one-hour television special entitled 16 Children and Moving In.
caption: The Duggars in 2007
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