Michelle Duggar and husband Jim Bob Duggar are reportedly shocked by the latest Josh Duggar scandal. Not only is their 27-year-old son an admitted child molester, he now admits to having accounts with Ashley Madison, an addiction to pornography, and even cheating on his wife, Anna Duggar.
The former 19 Kids and Counting matriarch and patriarch are astonished because they limited Josh Duggar’s–and the rest of their 19 children’s–exposure to what they call “outside influences.”
“This wasn’t something they ever imagined was possible,” the source tells People magazine. “They so strictly limit their exposure to these sorts of outside influences–from websites to even the sort of television they watch, if they turn on the TV at all–that they were absolutely baffled by how this could have been possible.”
Might that be part of the problem? Sometimes people are even more enticed by things they never knew existed. Why not allow kids to learn for themselves that inappropriate things–like pornography–are out there, but teach them that such things aren’t for their viewing? Certainly no parent will advocate their kids viewing porn, but when they see a title of a show or a magazine in a store with inappropriate content–why not let that be a teachable moment between parent and child?
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar react to Josh Duggar's cheating confession: http://t.co/Yhb54JLe0J pic.twitter.com/duVcd1IJL4
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) August 20, 2015
Michelle Duggar has her kids so busy raising the younger kids that it’s truly a wonder they have time for anything else at all. Between their home and their church activities–times 16 (the number of Duggar children left at home), it doesn’t look like TV or much else is enjoyed on a daily basis.
And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing either. It just seems like prohibition leads to an innate curiosity that might be curbed initially by allowing one or more of the aforementioned teachable moments.
The People source goes on to say that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are “feeling more devout than ever because they are turning 100 percent to God and prayer and their church community to help them through this.”
“Their faith is in no way rocked by this.”
“They just don’t know who this person is who could have done this,” the source says of Josh Duggar’s admission via a statement on Thursday. “It’s like he’s a completely different person from who they thought he was, and they’re still trying to reconcile all that they know is good about Josh, whom they will always love and adore, with what they’ve learned now.”
Josh Duggar speaks out after Ashley Madison scandal, says he has shameful "secret addiction" http://t.co/QYMj8l9pLj pic.twitter.com/jF78OLtJtz
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 20, 2015
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have, unfortunately enclosed themselves and their children in a bubble. Raising kids in a strict Christian home is admirable, however it appears like the Duggars have crossed a very serious line. Years ago when Josh Duggar admitted to molesting four of his sisters and one non-family member, he clearly didn’t get the help he very desperately needed and no doubt still needs. Sisters Jill Duggar Dillard and Jessa Duggar Seewald admit they are two of their brother’s victims. Given their ages at the time of the molestations, it is likely that Jana Duggar and Jinger Duggar are the other two sisters, although they have chosen to stay mum on the topic.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar need to do more than pray. They need to prevent Josh Duggar from coming into contact with any of the children in their 19 Kids and Counting family. Anna Duggar should question whether it’s safe for him to be around his own children. It’s clear the man is a sexual deviant, and he needs more help than his family and his church can provide.