Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House

[floridamom]

I still remember my son doing the "Fifty-Nifty" song in elementary school. Heck,, that's how I could recite all 50 states to this day. I thought it was a great educational and fun little song for the kids. 

Little Spurgie can't pee pee in the toilet yet, but he has to recite babble he can't understand for some years to come....that is IF his own parents understand that passage themselves and can explain it to him. Teach him his alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes FIRST, please.  The "there is a God" concept should be age appropriate and NOT to scare the living daylights out of a small child about being a sinner and going to a 'bad place' after this one. Jessa is wasting her time and Spurge's time with this pointless task.  CLEAN YOUR HOUSE, instead, girl.

[Lunera]

Ben and Jessa spent the day with the Seewalds.

[Spencer Hastings]

Really nice to see that Ben was allowed to go see his family! 

[Westiepeach]

8 hours ago, floridamom said:

I still remember my son doing the "Fifty-Nifty" song in elementary school. Heck,, that's how I could recite all 50 states to this day. I thought it was a great educational and fun little song for the kids. 

Little Spurgie can't pee pee in the toilet yet, but he has to recite babble he can't understand for some years to come....that is IF his own parents understand that passage themselves and can explain it to him. Teach him his alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes FIRST, please.  The "there is a God" concept should be age appropriate and NOT to scare the living daylights out of a small child about being a sinner and going to a 'bad place' after this one. Jessa is wasting her time and Spurge's time with this pointless task.  CLEAN YOUR HOUSE, instead, girl.

And cut your damn hair!

Ok. I’m done. 

[BitterApple]

That was nice of Jessa to remove the electric collar so Ben could venture beyond the yard and visit his family for a change. Too bad Danielle couldn't talk Jessa into getting a badly needed trim while she was there. 

[Madtown]

2 hours ago, Westiepeach said:

And cut your damn hair!

Ok. I’m done. 

Hey Jessa,
Go see Josie Bates new haircut and see that you can wear your fundie ass hair shorter and look nice!

[QuinnInND]

They'll never cut their crowning glory! And besides, Jim Blob likes their hair long.  Gag. 

[Totally]

On 21/11/2018 at 5:31 AM, Brown eyed girl said:

Whhhhhy do they make them recite anything in that stupid sing song way ... It destroys any possible comprehension that might be possible of getting from the verse.

*Although it’s so age inappropriate that those kids couldn’t comprehend it anyway

[Temperance]

On 11/22/2018 at 11:43 AM, doodlebug said:

Absolutely.  If they must keep the religious focus, teach the kids to sing 'Jesus Loves Me' or 'This Little Light of Mine'.  Something simple that they can understand is going to be far more effective in teaching them about faith.  Of course, neither one of those songs emphasizes the inherent sinfulness of toddlers and God's wrath raining down on pre-schoolers, so I suppose the Duggars don't consider them appropriate.

Except Michelle used to sing Jesus Loves Me although through the years on 19 K and C with her children and this was while their girls were all unmarried and in floor lengths skirts. 

[GeeGolly]

Jessa seems as determined with her boys as Michelle was with Josie for them to have curly hair. I'm not particularly fond of the short sides and the messy mohawk look.

[PradaKitty]

At least she isn’t pouring lotion on their hair to “style” it like Michelle did with Josie! 

[Lunera]

It's nice to see Ben with his siblings. 2nd picture is his sister and her boyfriend. 

[PikaScrewChu]

Hussy! Nary an engagement ring in sight and she dare holds his arm like that?

[BitterApple]

I can't believe her boyfriend's a cop. He looks like he's in eighth grade.

[louannems]

Is she the cop sister?   Hopefully, the matching shirts are only a coincidence.

[mynextmistake]

2 minutes ago, louannems said:

Is she the cop sister?   Hopefully, the matching shirts are only a coincidence.

Yeah that’s Jessica. I wonder if Jessa ever feels frumpy wearing her shapeless swing dresses while her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law are wearing normal tops and skinny jeans. 

[Sew Sumi]

I also think Jessica and her guy are shacking up. 

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎11‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 2:25 PM, Jynnan tonnix said:

Yes, but what is the possible point of getting a kid to recite something when he obviously has less than no idea of what pretty much any of it means?

Indoctrination. 

[GeeGolly]

I'm curious about Ben's family. They seemed Fundy when he and Jessa were courting and the parents encouraged the relationship. Now the Seewalds appear like a typical family. It's almost like the Seewald girls looked at the Duggar girls, saw a true example of their futures and were like, hell no.

[Churchhoney]

6 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I'm curious about Ben's family. They seemed Fundy when he and Jessa were courting and the parents encouraged the relationship. Now the Seewalds appear like a typical family. It's almost like the Seewald girls looked at the Duggar girls, saw a true example of their futures and were like, hell no.

Does seem a little odd. And the only specific religious influence I remember hearing about for them (although I expect there were others) was Doug Phillips' Vision Forum, which was notoriously patriarchy-focused, just like Gothard.....

One difference, though, was that Vision Forum people seemed to dress better and try to look more mainstream and upscale -- maybe the Seewald girls took their cue from that facade and not the underlying male-centric reality! ....

Or maybe Mike S's reported difficulties supporting his family (especially tough to do if you think of yourself as upscale and try to look that way, as I expect he has) finally just made him say, Heck, we need those women to get out there and earn some cash. ....After all, he never had TeeVee show bucks to fall back on.... or a four-generation family real-estate business either, for that matter. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Churchhoney

[GeeGolly]

5 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Does seem a little odd. And the only specific religious influence I remember hearing about for them (although I expect there were others) was Doug Phillips' Vision Forum, which was notoriously patriarchy-focused, just like Gothard.....

One difference, though, was that Vision Forum people seemed to dress better and try to look more mainstream and upscale -- maybe the Seewald girls took their cue from that facade and not the underlying male-centric reality! ....

Or maybe Mike S's reported difficulties supporting his family (especially tough to do if you think of yourself as upscale and try to look that way, as I expect he has) finally just made him say, Heck, we need those women to get out there and earn some cash. ....After all, he never had TeeVee show bucks to fall back on.... or a four-generation family real-estate business either, for that matter. 

I thought those things as well. But the only box any check in regard to Jessica, is income. If her dad is calling the shots I wouldn't think he'd push his daughter into becoming a cop. A dispatcher maybe, but not a cop. I'm also thinking he wouldn't want her posting risque (rather normal) posts on IG. And she may be living with her boyfriend. From the outside looking in it appears Jessica is running her own life.

[BitterApple]

I think the financial difficulties were a huge eye-opener. They went from a family who pushed their 17 year-old son into marriage to a family where one daughter has a real career, another is in cosmetology school and the teenager is working at Chik Fil A. 

Jessica has to be a strong-willed person. Law enforcement is a tough profession. Zach Bates was crying every night during his stint in the Police Academy, so Jessica sticking it out and getting her badge at such a young age is pretty impressive. Now she has a salary, benefits and opportunity for advancement. It sure beats sitting around the house waiting for Daddy to arrange a marriage. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by BitterApple

[GeeGolly]

6 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I think the financial difficulties were a huge eye-opener. They went from a family who pushed their 17 year-old son into marriage to a family where one daughter has a real career, another is in cosmetology school and the teenager is working at Chik Fil A. 

Jessica has to be a strong-willed person. Law enforcement is a tough profession. Zach Bates was crying every night during his stint in the Police Academy, so Jessica sticking it out and getting her badge at such a young age is pretty impressive. Now she has a salary, benefits and opportunity for advancement. It sure beats sitting around the house waiting for Daddy to arrange a marriage. 

In addition to money maybe Mrs Seewald woke-up and and stood up for her daughters. From what I've read and from things Mr Seewald posted, he seems like a controlling, sexist jerk. 

I wonder if Jessa looks at the Seewald girls with envy or pity.

[Churchhoney]

19 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I thought those things as well. But the only box any check in regard to Jessica, is income. If her dad is calling the shots I wouldn't think he'd push his daughter into becoming a cop. A dispatcher maybe, but not a cop. I'm also thinking he wouldn't want her posting risque (rather normal) posts on IG. And she may be living with her boyfriend. From the outside looking in it appears Jessica is running her own life.

ITA. To whatever extent Mike supports her -- and there's photo evidence that he does support her, at least to some degree -- he's abandoned Vision Forum/patriarchy principles, I'd say. Under that philosophy, women are not supposed to take any positions of authority, at all....no positions in which they might tell men what to do. So "cop" would be out. And Mike was part of a congratulatory photo at her academy graduation. So it seems to me that he's on board with her choice to abandon that major VF principle. 

I still think "money" is the most likely reason why he's bailed on it, though, whether or not it's a reason he would acknowledge! Unlike JB, Mike doesn't have any easy sources of money and, also unlike JB, he likes nice suits. Seems to me he may well have decided, somewhere inside, that looking like a relatively prosperous citizen in this economy requires having the women in your life take jobs, and not just the menial ones at the bottom of the pay scale, either! 

I don't know why, exactly, but I've always gotten an "I want to be kinda upper crust" vibe from Mike Seewald. And if he does kind of yearn for that, patriarchy was never going to work for him without an inheritance or some other lucky money tree. 

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, Churchhoney said:

ITA. To whatever extent Mike supports her -- and there's photo evidence that he does support her, at least to some degree -- he's abandoned Vision Forum/patriarchy principles, I'd say. Under that philosophy, women are not supposed to take any positions of authority, at all....no positions in which they might tell men what to do. So "cop" would be out. And Mike was part of a congratulatory photo at her academy graduation. So it seems to me that he's on board with her choice to abandon that major VF principle. 

I still think "money" is the most likely reason why he's bailed on it, though, whether or not it's a reason he would acknowledge! Unlike JB, Mike doesn't have any easy sources of money and, also unlike JB, he likes nice suits. Seems to me he may well have decided, somewhere inside, that looking like a relatively prosperous citizen in this economy requires having the women in your life take jobs, and not just the menial ones at the bottom of the pay scale, either! 

I don't know why, exactly, but I've always gotten an "I want to be kinda upper crust" vibe from Mike Seewald. And if he does kind of yearn for that, patriarchy was never going to work for him without an inheritance or some other lucky money tree. 

So did I. I do think that when Ben courted and then married Jessa Mike was expecting the spotlight to fall on him too. That he could get fame or piggy back it off his son and Duggars. Seeing how the Bates got a show, he was probably expecting the same thing. Or to become more important in their world. Neither happened. Instead he ended up with financial problems. 

[graefin]

Are their financial problems documented? I know they sold their house and moved to Little Rock, but what info do we have aside from that?

[Churchhoney]

43 minutes ago, graefin said:

Are their financial problems documented? I know they sold their house and moved to Little Rock, but what info do we have aside from that?

I don't know. I was just talking about the old information about Mike having two jobs to support them and having trouble keeping at least one of his mini-businesses going and so on. I remember him fretting about that at one point. For all I know, he's doing great financially now! But it seemed clear that at least at times it's been a bit of a struggle. That's all I was referring to. 

ETA: My point was just that not everybody likes to struggle! Even if it is for Jesus..... And Mike clearly wanted to send some of his kids to college, too. See: Seewald, Bin. .... So that's a level of aspiration beyond that of Jim Bob, for example, I think..... Mike's writings suggest that kind of aspiration to me, too. Just suggesting the ways in which his circumstances seem a bit different from those of hardline patriarch Jim Bob. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Churchhoney

[PikaScrewChu]

2 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

Or maybe Mike S's reported difficulties supporting his family (especially tough to do if you think of yourself as upscale and try to look that way, as I expect he has) finally just made him say, Heck, we need those women to get out there and earn some cash. ....After all, he never had TeeVee show bucks to fall back on.... or a four-generation family real-estate business either, for that matter. 

I think more of them have financial difficulties with having lots of children than they let on. The Bateses' daughters got some sort of education that could lead to employment but have been pushed to marry early (with the exception of Michael and Carlin). We know Alyssa works in the evenings and Erin used to teach piano. Abbie is/was a practicing LPN. I expect Abbie to quit nursing now she's married, but I have a feeling that JB and TLC might push her to keep a few shifts a month as a "STFU internets, the womenfolk can work too" storyline.

Had the Duggars not had the TeeVee money, they may have had to give in and find a way to have their daughters bring in some money to the household too.

[Temperance]

They were talking on FJ about Vision Forum has fallen/falling apart and there hasn't been anything to take it's place. I'm not sure what happened to VF and how IBLP is still surviving after all their scandals. It could be the fall of VF has something to do with the change in many of the families that followed it. 

I think the Seewalds have always been a little moderate than the Duggars. I wouldn't be surprised if they deliberately stopped having kids so young. 

I agree the money probably is a good reason for change. It's good to have a fallback option in case one plan doesn't work out.

[JoanArc]

Quote

It could be the fall of VF has something to do with the change in many of the families that followed it. 

I believe the founder was banging his nanny (or another similar scenario). Yet all is forgiven with Gothard.

 

2 hours ago, PikaScrewChu said:

Had the Duggars not had the TeeVee money, they may have had to give in and find a way to have their daughters bring in some money to the household too.

Without TV money I think there's be a lot more 17-18yo marriages, with leaving and cleaving for realz. They might have gotten desperate and pulled the out-of-this-house ejections the FLDS types do to boys at 14, too.

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, Temperance said:

They were talking on FJ about Vision Forum has fallen/falling apart and there hasn't been anything to take it's place. I'm not sure what happened to VF and how IBLP is still surviving after all their scandals. It could be the fall of VF has something to do with the change in many of the families that followed it. 

I think the Seewalds have always been a little moderate than the Duggars. I wouldn't be surprised if they deliberately stopped having kids so young. 

I agree the money probably is a good reason for change. It's good to have a fallback option in case one plan doesn't work out.

Vision Forum boss Doug Phillips first slowly (for years) groomed the teenage daughter of some members to see him as a godly authority figure who considered her special, 'hired" her in his house as a nanny, and then, after she'd reached the age of consent, repeatedly performed non-consensual sex acts on her, ignored her requests to stop and repeatedly told her he'd marry her. She eventually called the law on him. The case was reportedly settled out of court with a gag order in place, I believe.....

Phillips' various minions kind of ran like the wind from him when this came out. Unlike the IBLP board and so on, they didn't seem to try to hold the organization itself together, it seems.

Gothard probably left the door open for his minions to try to continue his group by practicing nonconsensual foot rubbing and the like rather than pulling out his penis or actually masturbating on people. His brother did have actual sexual congress with some of the Gothard faithful back in the day, but since that was the brother and not the man himself, I guess they could just shove him out the door and move on. 

[Temperance]

Thanks for the info @Churchhoney. I knew FJ was trying to follow where fugitive Doug Phillips is/was (not in the US anymore). That's horrible about IBLP considering around 34 women accused Gothard of misconduct. Also Gothard and his brother aren't the only scandal in IBLP. There's the Duggars, who were the most famous. Then the Tabitha Paine's husband, which seems like a scandal  for IBLP since her father is on the IBLP board.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Temperance

[Churchhoney]

27 minutes ago, Temperance said:

Thanks for the info @Churchhoney. I knew FJ was trying to follow where fugitive Doug Phillips is/was (not in the US anymore). That's horrible about IBLP considering around 34 women accused Gothard of misconduct. Also Gothard and his brother aren't the only scandal in IBLP. There's the Duggars, who were the most famous. Then the Tabitha Paine's husband, which seems like a scandal  for IBLP since her father is on the IBLP board.

Yep, that's it all right. And actually TWO Gothard brothers did crap. His other brother used the church connection to scam a bunch of people out of their life savings. ....So all three Gothard brothers have used people's faith to attack them. .... That's who I want founding my religious philosophy. 

[GeeGolly]

7 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Yep, that's it all right. And actually TWO Gothard brothers did crap. His other brother used the church connection to scam a bunch of people out of their life savings. ....So all three Gothard brothers have used people's faith to attack them. .... That's who I want founding my religious philosophy. 

I'll share with you the secret to happiness. Just send me your credit card info and SS# so I can verify who you are. The secret is free though.

[Nysha]

17 hours ago, mynextmistake said:

I wonder if Jessa ever feels frumpy wearing her shapeless swing dresses while her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law are wearing normal tops and skinny jeans. 

Given her MIL & all but one of her SILs are wearing oversized, frumpy shapeless sweaters, I don't see any reason why she should feel bad.

[Christina87]

I really do wonder if Jessa wishes she'd had some of the opportunities that the seewald girls do. She would have been great at cosmetology, and could have made money even while being a godly helpmeet! Jessa strikes me as the type who would never have wanted to be a SAHM if she'd grown up normally. She would have been out in the world, seeking power, for sure. Now, of course motherhood rocks peoples' worlds, as it seemed to rock hers, and I could see her being one of those moms who thought they wanted to work outside the home, but are shocked to realize they want to stay home with their babies! That was totally my mom. She worked a corporate job for ten years, and quit temporarily to move where my dad had his business and get married. She got pregnant with me pretty quickly, so she chose not to work during her pregnancy, but was planning to take a few months with me after I was born, and then find a new corporate job. As soon as she saw me, all those plans went out the window. The thing is, though, she got to follow her dreams! She worked an important job, made valuable contributions to her field, and never regretted becoming a SAHM because she had already accomplished so many things. Jessa never got that opportunity to see what she could have been. It makes me really sad to think about the more motivated duggars, even jill and Josh! Pa and Ma really took a lot away from them by ensuring their education was so low. I would have loved to see another world where Josh became a lawyer, JD a real pilot or policeman, jana a teacher, Jill a nurse, Jessa a businesswoman, and Jinger an artist or photographer. 

[libgirl2]

23 minutes ago, Christina87 said:

I really do wonder if Jessa wishes she'd had some of the opportunities that the seewald girls do. She would have been great at cosmetology, and could have made money even while being a godly helpmeet! Jessa strikes me as the type who would never have wanted to be a SAHM if she'd grown up normally. She would have been out in the world, seeking power, for sure. Now, of course motherhood rocks peoples' worlds, as it seemed to rock hers, and I could see her being one of those moms who thought they wanted to work outside the home, but are shocked to realize they want to stay home with their babies! That was totally my mom. She worked a corporate job for ten years, and quit temporarily to move where my dad had his business and get married. She got pregnant with me pretty quickly, so she chose not to work during her pregnancy, but was planning to take a few months with me after I was born, and then find a new corporate job. As soon as she saw me, all those plans went out the window. The thing is, though, she got to follow her dreams! She worked an important job, made valuable contributions to her field, and never regretted becoming a SAHM because she had already accomplished so many things. Jessa never got that opportunity to see what she could have been. It makes me really sad to think about the more motivated duggars, even jill and Josh! Pa and Ma really took a lot away from them by ensuring their education was so low. I would have loved to see another world where Josh became a lawyer, JD a real pilot or policeman, jana a teacher, Jill a nurse, Jessa a businesswoman, and Jinger an artist or photographer. 

How different things could have been for those kids (except Josh, yuck). 

[Christina87]

10 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

How different things could have been for those kids (except Josh, yuck). 

I'm hooooooping that Josh could have been your garden variety jerk if not raised in that cult...like the douchebag everyone has had a date with, not a molestor. One can only hope!

[Scarlett45]

On 11/27/2018 at 4:28 PM, Christina87 said:

I'm hooooooping that Josh could have been your garden variety jerk if not raised in that cult...like the douchebag everyone has had a date with, not a molestor. One can only hope!

If not raised in the cult Josh may not have molested his sisters, but another available woman/girl and I firmly believe he’d get a reputation for being a guy you did not want to date as something would get slipped in your drink, or he’d get “angry” if you didn’t “put out” after a date. Ummmhmmm.

 

I think Jessa would’ve loved having a career and meeting/marrying a guy who would’ve wanted to be a stay at home Dad. I think she and Ben love each other and all but DAMN he was young when they got married (same thing with Kendra and Joe). 

[Christina87]

On 11/29/2018 at 1:55 PM, Scarlett45 said:

If not raised in the cult Josh may not have molested his sisters, but another available woman/girl and I firmly believe he’d get a reputation for being a guy you did not want to date as something would get slipped in your drink, or he’d get “angry” if you didn’t “put out” after a date. Ummmhmmm.

 

I think Jessa would’ve loved having a career and meeting/marrying a guy who would’ve wanted to be a stay at home Dad. I think she and Ben love each other and all but DAMN he was young when they got married (same thing with Kendra and Joe). 

I agree! I really do wish Jessa could have had a career, and Bin could have stayed home. I think that would suit their personalities so well. I wonder what JB would say if they announced they were doing that and gave him a well thought out explanation. His head would explode, but he couldn't stop them! The trouble is, Jessa isn't qualified for much. Was she one of the ones who got a GED? With her fame, she might have some options in that case, but still not a lot. 

[Gemma Violet]

Jessa and Ben are/were sitting on a gold mine.  All they had to do was hook up with some manufacturer and promoter to sell Jessa handbags, Jessa cologne, Jessa make-up, Jessa hair accessories, etc.  She had/has thousands of young Facebook & Instagram fundie followers who would gobble up anything she pushed.  She could have been the fundy Kim Kardashian, with a steady flow of income for years.  A real missed opportunity.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Gemma Violet

[GeeGolly]

27 minutes ago, Gemma Violet said:

Jessa and Ben are/were sitting on a gold mine.  All they had to do was hook up with some manufacturer and promoter to sell Jessa handbags, Jessa cologne, Jessa make-up, Jessa hair accessories, etc.  She had/has thousands of young Facebook & Instagram fundie followers who would gobble up anything she pushed.  She could have been the fundy Kim Kardashian, with a steady flow of income for years.  A real missed opportunity.

Because Jessa's skills are packing and sitting on a couch. Jill's skills are watching babies be born and making posters. Her attempt at recipes is failing badly. I'm guessing Jessa wouldn't fair much better at pushing goods. And I wonder if anyone beyond Hobby Lobby or Chick Fil A would consider partnering with a Duggar.

[Scarlett45]

2 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

Jessa and Ben are/were sitting on a gold mine.  All they had to do was hook up with some manufacturer and promoter to sell Jessa handbags, Jessa cologne, Jessa make-up, Jessa hair accessories, etc.  She had/has thousands of young Facebook & Instagram fundie followers who would gobble up anything she pushed.  She could have been the fundy Kim Kardashian, with a steady flow of income for years.  A real missed opportunity.

I agree with you @Gemma Violet, had Jessa had an ounce of humility and a tiny bit more ambition she could’ve had a great brand. If she had been able to laugh at herself she could’ve started a cooking blog or fitness or sold fabfit fun boxes- the fundy set would’ve ate it up. Jill at least is trying to do these things, failing but trying. 

[lookeyloo]

Jessa can only be haughty and arrogant from her couch.  I think we've seen her turn intimidated in groups of outside people.  While a nice idea, she'd have to broaden her horizons considerably and I don't think she has the inner whatever it is, to step out of her comfort zone.  

[PikaScrewChu]

22 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Because Jessa's skills are packing and sitting on a couch. Jill's skills are watching babies be born and making posters. Her attempt at recipes is failing badly. I'm guessing Jessa wouldn't fair much better at pushing goods. And I wonder if anyone beyond Hobby Lobby or Chick Fil A would consider partnering with a Duggar.

Jessa has/had a captive audience on Instagram. Businesses of any type are willing to pay for ad space if you have a certain number of followers, so there is a market. There was an article recently about businesses starting to aim to get ad space on Instagram accounts with as little as a thousand followers now. It's just about who the Seewalds would be willing to work with. I'm not sure Jessa would be happily promoting sex toys or lube like some of the accounts I used to follow.

It's odd JB hasn't tapped into the Seewald market, knowing what we know about Instagram and social media in general.

[graefin]

23 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

had Jessa had an ounce of humility and a tiny bit more ambition she could’ve had a great brand

Jessa's brand is the show. She doesn't seem to have ambition at doing anything outside of it.

[xwordfanatik]

For whatever reason, I agree that the show is as far as Jessa is willing to go.  She looks like she adores the camera, on her terms.  

[Madtown]

Not gonna lie, I laughed at this. I have so been there with the kids I've watched. Their boys are adorable.

[Brown eyed girl]

[PradaKitty]

Good for Jess’s! I’m glad to see she’s seeing that her kids get dental care early. (She was probably much older when she made her first visit to the dentist...)