‘Counting On’: Jill Duggar Just Acknowledged an Emotion That Family Followers Largely Believe the Duggar Family Stifled in Their Children
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard are raising their children differently than Jill, herself, was raised. In fact, family followers have noticed that Jill has completely changed in recent months. Not only is she benefiting, but her young sons, Israel and Sam Dillard, seem to be benefiting, too. Most recently, Jill took to her family’s blog to offer parents tips for handling tattling. The blog post acknowledges anger as a healthy and understandable emotion. Anger is an emotion that family critics largely believe Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar discouraged in their own supersized clan.
Jill Duggar has made it clear: Her children can express anger
Jill and Derick have made some significant changes since they left Counting On in 2017. Not only did Derick enroll in law school, but Jill also started counseling with a licensed therapist. To further distance themselves from the Duggars, they moved into a house that was not provided by Jim Bob Duggar.
Jill has even took to her blog to suggest anger is an acceptable and healthy emotion. In the post about tattling, she stated that she doesn’t expect her children to get along perfectly all the time, nor does she expect them never to express anger and frustration. Jill noted that the process of allowing them to work out their own disagreements would help them problem solve later in life. Jill’s outlook, which followers have described as surprisingly healthy, seems different from the way she was raised.
The Duggar family focuses on ‘keeping sweet’
While Jill may be completely OK with her children expressing anger, that’s not the way she was raised. Her blog post mostly suggested she grew up in a home that expected the kids to work out their own problems, but TV viewers may remember that the Duggar kids were discouraged from expressing feelings of anger.
The ultra-conservative Christian ministry the family belongs to places a heavy emphasis on the “sweetness” of a woman. In short, the Duggar girls, in specific, were expected to remain cheery and sweet at all times. The concept of “keeping sweet” is commonly used in the FLDS, according to FreeJinger. While the Duggars do not belong to the FLDS, many family followers believe the Institute of Basic Life Principles, the ministry the Duggars do belong to, may have adopted the concept, too.
While the concept of sweetness is assigned to the female members of the family, it appears as though expressions of anger were also discouraged for the Duggar boys. Rumors have swirled that disobedience may have led to Josiah Duggar being forced into his current marriage.
Jill has been the target of mom-shaming in the past
Even though many Duggar family followers are applauding Jill’s new outlook on life and parenting, she isn’t immune to criticism. The mother of two has been heavily criticized for her parenting in the past, and still gets her fair share of hate on Instagram. Mainstream followers have criticized Jill for not cleaning her house enough, allowing her children to climb on unstable structures, and for leaving them mostly unattended in the family’s backyard.
Her ultra-conservative Christian followers have taken issue with some of the recent changes Jill has instituted in her home, too. In February 2020, Jill announced that her son, Israel, would be attending public school for kindergarten. While the decision received mostly positive comments, several people who appear to be within the family’s ultra-conservative circle were concerned about the decision. Several commenters warned Jill against exposing her child to public education.
