The creepiest reality family ever

We all know reality television can sometimes feel like a cult, but little did we know that the Duggars of 19 kids and counting were part of a true cult.

We all thought the Duggars were a little odd, given that they, you know, have 19 kids. Do you know the reason behind the fact that they have 19 kids?  Did you know it has something to do with the family being apart of a cult? Well, it does.

The show 19 kids and counting, portrayed Father Jim Bob, Mother Michelle and their 19 kids as happy and wholesome family, which ended up being far from the truth. The Duggars were part of a cult run by Bill Gothard called, ‘The Institute in Basic Life Principles’ also know as IBLP.

Michelle Duggar, the matriarch of the Duggar family, the crazy religious lady, is fiercely against the LGBTQ community. No surprise there, huh? In 2010 she preached many times to try and make sure no right was passed for people within the community.

Blanket training, which is when you put the baby on a blanket with a toy just out of reach, as the baby moves closer to the toy, they move the toy away, is one of the many bizarre ways that the Duggars chose to raise their children. This is apparently teaching them not to give into bad temptations. 

The buddy system was another strange practise that the Duggars were fully invested in. The buddy system was assigning one of the older children to raise the baby after he/she has weaned off their mother. This is a form of invisible childhood trauma and abuse referred to as Parentification. Parentification involves a role reversal between a parent and a child. This

The Duggars followed strict rules within their faith on how to raise children, how to behave in public, what they considered acceptable clothing, and many more bizarre controlling factors.

The Duggars believed that women should never show their shoulders and knees, they should be saving their first kiss and any sexual intimacy for marriage. It was also believed women were only good for bearing children and taking care of the house and family.

Even while his children were engaged to be married Jim Bob would chaperone their outings with their significant other. Awkward, right?

The Duggar children were home-schooled by Bill Gothard, the IBLP leader, who was accused of molestation by more than 30children. Speaking of molestation, it was not uncommon within the family. Josh Duggar, one of the children in the Duggar family, admitted to molesting his sisters growing up. This came to light after he was found guilty of possessing child pornography.

Two of the oldest sisters within the family, were forced to keep to themselves that their brother was molesting them. Jim Bob and Michelle, both knew it was going on. Instead of supporting their daughters, they denied repeatedly that it had happened. Instead, they sent Josh away to a cult camp to clean him of his sins and pretend he was off on a mission, building houses for the less fortunate.

Hi, I’m Amy Claire Lawford. I am a Professional Writing student at Algonquin College. I am the resident disabled history buff. History in high school was rather boring, all they talked about was WW1 and WW2. Let’s be honest though, the interesting side of history is the dark side. I can’t wait to show you all the dark and twisted things, that I have in store for you. Brace yourselves. Let’s hope that you don’t get nightmares.