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

[Absolom]

Children's learning ability in kindergarten has been linked to the number of books in the home.   They need more than 5 to 10 around them.

[ginger90]

22 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Children's learning ability in kindergarten has been linked to the number of books in the home.   They need more than 5 to 10 around them.

And not just sitting on shelves to collect dust. Books were always the easiest thing to bring somewhere, portable fun. 

[Dehumidifier]

20 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Children's learning ability in kindergarten has been linked to the number of books in the home.   They need more than 5 to 10 around them.

I know that's what they say but, realistically, children learned for eons without tons of books in the house. 

[Absolom]

Jessa's children have no reason to be deprived of optimal learning opportunities except her blind adherence to following her parents and her own short sighted view of living life.  Her children will learn some basic facts and skills, but unless something changes none of them will reach their full potential.

[farmgal4]

7 hours ago, Totally said:

That desk Spurgeon uses is tiny, no room for creative learning, just enough space for his boring workbooks 

When we homeschooled for almost 1 1/2 years due to pandemic lockdowns, we often had our table, full of ideas being explored with things from around the house. I was far from being a great home teacher, but I did give the kids space to learn 

Spurgeon’s desk is exactly like the school desks that I used in grades 1 through 8.  A new high school was built, with all new furnishings, so I had slightly larger desks in grades 9 through 12.  I don’t see Jessa doing much more than handing Spurgie a workbook and saying, “Get busy”, so the small desk probably serves him well.

[farmgal4]

46 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Jessa's children have no reason to be deprived of optimal learning opportunities except her blind adherence to following her parents and her own short sighted view of living life.  Her children will learn some basic facts and skills, but unless something changes none of them will reach their full potential.

What infuriates me most about fundies and their many children is that the parents don’t want better for their kids.  They truly don’t give a damn about their children having a better life, and I just don’t understand that.  I don’t understand that at all.  

[Suzn]

1 hour ago, Dehumidifier said:

I know that's what they say but, realistically, children learned for eons without tons of books in the house. 

I kind of doubt that the things learned eons ago was anything that would look like what we would call education.

Kids who are read to and have books are a lot more likely to like to read.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Suzn

[Dehumidifier]

At 16:52 in the video Jessa walks into the boys room. First to appear is the school desk and a bookcase with 30-40 books in it. At 17:14 there is a large table where she says they do their "special (Lego) creations" and their "art stuff." She says they both got art kits for their birthdays last year. At 17:32 there is a better view of the bookcase. At 17:35 there is a world map on the wall.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Dehumidifier

[Cinnabon]

43 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

What infuriates me most about fundies and their many children is that the parents don’t want better for their kids.  They truly don’t give a damn about their children having a better life, and I just don’t understand that.  I don’t understand that at all.  

They just want to tell others what they can and can’t do with THEIR own kids. 🤬

[lookeyloo]

5 hours ago, Absolom said:

Jessa's children have no reason to be deprived of optimal learning opportunities except her blind adherence to following her parents and her own short sighted view of living life.  Her children will learn some basic facts and skills, but unless something changes none of them will reach their full potential.

I think it might be partly that they don't want their children to be "smarter" or more knowledgeable than they are.  Danger zone.

[xwordfanatik]

I will never understand parents that limit their child's knowledge and don't encourage critical thinking.  Memorizing bible verses doesn't cut it, for me.  YMMV.

[Lady Whistleup]

I wish they had other photos up besides those oatmeal field grass photos. Those look so contrived and no one looks good. Do they not have any cute family photos?

[Cinnabon]

9 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

I know that's what they say but, realistically, children learned for eons without tons of books in the house. 

When you know better, you do better. 🤦‍♀️

[Salacious Kitty]

20 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I wish they had other photos up besides those oatmeal field grass photos. Those look so contrived and no one looks good. Do they not have any cute family photos?

No. I don't think there's much happiness in that house.

[satrunrose]

10 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

I know that's what they say but, realistically, children learned for eons without tons of books in the house. 

Enh, it was normal then for large swaths of the population to be either illiterate or barely litterate and books were wildly expensive until both paper and books could be mass produced in the last 150 years or so. It's true that kids learned lots with no books, but lots of them also never learned to read at all. Today's society requires literacy (heck, we're using it now unless you're doing voice-to-text) and paperback picture books are about the cheapest kid-entertaining/child development devices available.

Edited November 22, 2022 by satrunrose

[Salacious Kitty]

Here's a good shot of Jessa's colorless rug.

[Dehumidifier]

At 17.32 in the video I counted 51 books and pamphlets or small paperbacks. on the bottom shelf. I counted 30 of the same on the top shelf. There are 7 books on top of the bookcase.

Titles I was able to make out: Fairy Tales and Fables / Madeline /  Bugs - Creatures That Glow / Paddington / James Herriot's Treasury for Children / Monster Machines on the Construction Site / Blueberries for Sal / Up in the Tree / Little Blue Truck Leads the Way / two called Big  Picture / something with Maine in the title / I Love You Even When / God Bless Our Christmas / Jesus Storybook Bible / Grandma's Kitchen / Farm Animals / Make Way For Ducklings / Trees Have Leaves / Burt Dow Deepwater Man / Baby Bear Baby Bear What Do You See / Alone on a Hilltop / Home In the Woods / The Person I Marry.

[sagittarius sue]

45 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Here's a good shot of Jessa's colorless rug.

Yes, the rug that serves to camouflage dirt and stains.

[Gemma Violet]

I was impressed with Ivy's speaking skills in the IG video of her wearing the apron (her "cookie dough maker." 😊 )

[Salacious Kitty]

19 minutes ago, Gemma Violet said:

I was impressed with Ivy's speaking skills in the IG video of her wearing the apron (her "cookie dough maker." 😊 )

Ivy talked early. The opposite of poor Henry. I wonder if Jessa,ever follow-up on his speech therapy, or if that was all for show and no go?

[farmgal4]

12 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Here's a good shot of Jessa's colorless rug.

She probably chose that rug because it doesn’t show dirt.  She could’ve brought a lot of color into the room just by choosing a colorful rug, but we know that Jessa doesn’t like cleaning so… 🙁

[skatelady]

On 11/21/2022 at 10:37 AM, farmgal4 said:

Spurgeon’s desk is exactly like the school desks that I used in grades 1 through 8.  A new high school was built, with all new furnishings, so I had slightly larger desks in grades 9 through 12.  I don’t see Jessa doing much more than handing Spurgie a workbook and saying, “Get busy”, so the small desk probably serves him well.

That's what I used to say to my dog when it was poop time! Awww. Good memories. 

Oops, sorry. Back to Jessa! Guess I got sidetracked because of the phrase.... and because she's so full of it......

[Notabug]

On 11/21/2022 at 9:43 AM, Dehumidifier said:

I know that's what they say but, realistically, children learned for eons without tons of books in the house. 

True, but wouldn't most parents want the best for their kids?  Wouldn't they want to help their kids do as well as they can?  Children survived for eons without vaccines, antibiotics or formal schooling; but that doesn't mean that we should go back there, either.

My parents weren't well educated.  My dad finished high school, my mom quit after her sophomore year.  But, they were both readers and they passed it along to their kids.  There were 2 daily papers in our town back in the day and we got both delivered at home and my parents read both from cover to cover.  I remember being in first grade, lying on the living room floor and reading the newspaper including stuff on the front page and asking my mom about words I didn't know or events I didn't understand.  Today is the anniversary of the shooting of JFK back in '63.  I was in first grade and I remember sitting on the sofa with my mom as she read the newspaper aloud to me and my sister and pointed out pictures of the President's children and the horses drawing the carriage and the eternal flame.  We also had an aunt who gave us a lot of children's classic literature when we were kids including all the Winnie the Pooh books, some poetry, a huge book of fairy tales with beautiful pictures.  My mother read them all to us again and again.  I will always be grateful that we got the gift of reading from my parents.

As for colors, why not ask the kid?  Most kids do not prefer white.  I grew up in a lower middle class home with 6 kids and shared a bedroom with 3 of my sisters for much of it.  Our bedroom furniture was all second hand, much of it passed along from other family members.  But, when it came time to paint the walls in our room,  my mother sought our input and we picked the paint.  Same thing with bedspreads and things to hang on the walls.  When I was around 14, my sister and I wanted to refinish the bookcase headboard on our bed (we shared a double bed-the horrors).  We asked my mom, she said ok and we went to the hardware store, bought the stuff and did it in a color that we picked out ourselves.  It wasn't the greatest job ever, but it was ours and we did it and we were proud of it.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Notabug

[Scarlett45]

Let's keep the thread focused on the Seewald family, theories about child-rearing in general terms are better suited to Small Talk.

[farmgal4]

4 hours ago, skatelady said:

That's what I used to say to my dog when it was poop time! Awww. Good memories. 

Oops, sorry. Back to Jessa! Guess I got sidetracked because of the phrase.... and because she's so full of it......

I just got a really good chuckle from your comment, because that’s exactly what I say to my cat when I let him out to potty in the winter!  Thank you; I needed a good laugh today. ❤️ (Sorry, Mods, for getting off-topic.)

[Salacious Kitty]

6 hours ago, farmgal4 said:

She probably chose that rug because it doesn’t show dirt.  She could’ve brought a lot of color into the room just by choosing a colorful rug, but we know that Jessa doesn’t like cleaning so… 🙁

Doesn't show dirt? It's off white with gray highlights. A colored, patterned rug would show far less dirt.

And back to that picture...Henry looks like he was playing with his foot. He's a bit old to be just discovering that. 😀 Jessa, lighten up and let the kids play with some toys. Fern seems to be wandering aimlessly. Sit her down with something age appropriate to keep her occupied.

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, Notabug said:

True, but wouldn't most parents want the best for their kids?  Wouldn't they want to help their kids do as well as they can?  Children survived for eons without vaccines, antibiotics or formal schooling; but that doesn't mean that we should go back there, either.

My parents weren't well educated.  My dad finished high school, my mom quit after her sophomore year.  But, they were both readers and they passed it along to their kids.  There were 2 daily papers in our town back in the day and we got both delivered at home and my parents read both from cover to cover.  I remember being in first grade, lying on the living room floor and reading the newspaper including stuff on the front page and asking my mom about words I didn't know or events I didn't understand.  Today is the anniversary of the shooting of JFK back in '63.  I was in first grade and I remember sitting on the sofa with my mom as she read the newspaper aloud to me and my sister and pointed out pictures of the President's children and the horses drawing the carriage and the eternal flame.  We also had an aunt who gave us a lot of children's classic literature when we were kids including all the Winnie the Pooh books, some poetry, a huge book of fairy tales with beautiful pictures.  My mother read them all to us again and again.  I will always be grateful that we got the gift of reading from my parents.

As for colors, why not ask the kid?  Most kids do not prefer white.  I grew up in a lower middle class home with 6 kids and shared a bedroom with 3 of my sisters for much of it.  Our bedroom furniture was all second hand, much of it passed along from other family members.  But, when it came time to paint the walls in our room,  my mother sought our input and we picked the paint.  Same thing with bedspreads and things to hang on the walls.  When I was around 14, my sister and I wanted to refinish the bookcase headboard on our bed (we shared a double bed-the horrors).  We asked my mom, she said ok and we went to the hardware store, bought the stuff and did it in a color that we picked out ourselves.  It wasn't the greatest job ever, but it was ours and we did it and we were proud of it.

My opinion is folks with views similar to the Seewalds and maybe various others, don't want their children to be more educated or informed than they are. It is easier they think to control them.  And again, my opinion, they wouldn't give the kids that much power by asking them any choices.  Not the way most of us on this board would do it, but, maybe that's the way they do it.

[SMama]

27 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

And back to that picture...Henry looks like he was playing with his foot. He's a bit old to be just discovering that. 😀 Jessa, lighten up and let the kids play with some toys. Fern seems to be wandering aimlessly. Sit her down with something age appropriate to keep her occupied.

It reminds me of the time Jessa filmed Spurgeon playing with an ant. She thought it was so clever and indicative of her awesome parenting. 🙄

[ozziemom]

39 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Doesn't show dirt? It's off white with gray highlights. A colored, patterned rug would show far less dirt.

And back to that picture...Henry looks like he was playing with his foot. He's a bit old to be just discovering that. 😀 Jessa, lighten up and let the kids play with some toys. Fern seems to be wandering aimlessly. Sit her down with something age appropriate to keep her occupied.

It looked like Fern had a marker in her hand as she wandered around, probably looking for a cabinet door or wall to color on. That will be Jessa’s next video. And Henry seemed to be hanging around whatever Spurg was doing, probably what their schooling consists of.

[Salacious Kitty]

16 minutes ago, ozziemom said:

It looked like Fern had a marker in her hand as she wandered around, probably looking for a cabinet door or wall to color on. That will be Jessa’s next video. And Henry seemed to be hanging around whatever Spurg was doing, probably what their schooling consists of.

Thanks. I'm blocked and only saw some screenshots that didn't include Spurge. But they still should have been playing with *something.* There's nothing in front of Henry to indicate that he's playing with, well, anything. 

It also looks like Jessa has instituted a no shoes rule inside. That will probably save the rug. 😀

[crazy8s]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

And back to that picture...Henry looks like he was playing with his foot. He's a bit old to be just discovering that. 😀

this really made me laugh - I have 2 grandsons older than Henry and there is always someone telling them stop picking at your feet, leave your feet alone, go put on socks, etc. I say it many, many times when I am with them. 🤪

difference of course is no picture of them doing this anywhere on s

[Dehumidifier]

2 hours ago, Notabug said:

True, but wouldn't most parents want the best for their kids?  Wouldn't they want to help their kids do as well as they can?  Children survived for eons without vaccines, antibiotics or formal schooling; but that doesn't mean that we should go back there, either.

As documented above*, they have plenty of books and they are on topics that young boys are typically interested in -- animals, nature, construction, vehicles. 

*I figured out how to get a screenshot but not how to downsize it so that it will be allowed to paste here. 

[Joan of Argh]

On 11/21/2022 at 6:17 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

Here's a good shot of Jessa's colorless rug.

Henry picking his toes looking for snacks, Ivy rambling on about her “cookie dough maker” (apron) and as usual Fern wandering around aimlessly…

Everyone in bare feet

It makes me ill to see Spurge at his desk with another work book that’s meant for a much younger child, no desk for Henry and the girls just wander around with their baby dolls learning how to be a mommy.

Let Spurge and Henry go to school!!!!  🙄

[Ljohnson1987]

Jessa would have to stop documenting every moment for  YouTube and actually read to her kids, for them to get any benefits from the books they have. 

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, Ljohnson1987 said:

Jessa would have to stop documenting every moment for  YouTube and actually read to her kids, for them to get any benefits from the books they have. 

The thing is, we see snippets.  Not that they are stellar parents by any means, but, none of them are wearing a "go pro" and there are a lot of hours in the day.  It is just slightly possible that Jessa breaks out a book now and then.  I still despise the beliefs of these people

[Salacious Kitty]

2 hours ago, Ljohnson1987 said:

Jessa would have to stop documenting every moment for  YouTube and actually read to her kids, for them to get any benefits from the books they have. 

They've occasionally shown Ben reading to the kids. Whether Jessa does off-camera is anyone's best guess.

[LilJen]

On 11/22/2022 at 5:49 PM, Dehumidifier said:

As documented above*, they have plenty of books and they are on topics that young boys are typically interested in -- animals, nature, construction, vehicles. 

*I figured out how to get a screenshot but not how to downsize it so that it will be allowed to paste here. 

Yeah, The Person I Marry is a real page turner for any young kid…. (the other books are mostly pretty decent)

Edited November 26, 2022 by LilJen

[Dehumidifier]

11 hours ago, LilJen said:

Yeah, The Person I Marry is a real page turner for any young kid…. (the other books are mostly pretty decent)

Strangely, I think that actually did pique his interest at one time. I seem to recall Jessa reporting that he was talking about that very subject. It must have been when the book was new. Doubt it's one he pulls out now.

[GeeGolly]

3 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

Strangely, I think that actually did pique his interest at one time. I seem to recall Jessa reporting that he was talking about that very subject. It must have been when the book was new. Doubt it's one he pulls out now.

And how sad was that? A 6 year old losing sleep over if he will ever find an appropriate wife. I'm pretty sure most 6 year old boys' biggest worries are more about when their next tooth will fall out.

Edited November 26, 2022 by GeeGolly

[Dehumidifier]

I thought it might have been a church publication but there is a book by that title on Amazon and it has good reviews. Supposedly good for all ages (!) but the person who said late teens makes more sense.

https://www.amazon.com/Person-Marry-Things-Before-Saying/dp/0970462174/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BUPK7CX0BILT&keywords=the+person+i+marry&qid=1669468070&sprefix=the+person+%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-1

[madpsych78]

I am watching Wednesday on Netflix, and I couldn't help thinking that Jenna Ortega looks a lot like Jessa. Even the delivery of her lines as Wednesday reminds me a lot of Jessa LOL. 

[GeeGolly]

5 hours ago, madpsych78 said:

I am watching Wednesday on Netflix, and I couldn't help thinking that Jenna Ortega looks a lot like Jessa. Even the delivery of her lines as Wednesday reminds me a lot of Jessa LOL. 

I had to Google her, but she does look like a younger, maybe prettier version of Jessa.

[Scarlett45]

On 11/29/2022 at 10:54 PM, madpsych78 said:

I am watching Wednesday on Netflix, and I couldn't help thinking that Jenna Ortega looks a lot like Jessa. Even the delivery of her lines as Wednesday reminds me a lot of Jessa LOL. 

They do favor. I thought that too. 

[leighdear]

Caught this on Reddit & immediately thought of Jessa, and the "aesthetic" of her children's wardrobe.  If they had any money, that is....

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ckvj09wPcFO/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

(Actually, the whole account is pretty damn hilarious)

Edited December 4, 2022 by leighdear

[Nysha]

That account is so funny and now I think I really, really need a frog toilet paper holder! 😂😂

[kaleidoscope]

Is Jessa being really low key lately?  I'm wondering how things are going with Jinger's book about to come out and Ben being named as the person who opened Jinger's eyes to a new way to view faith.   It must be quite tense all around.

[Salacious Kitty]

1 minute ago, kaleidoscope said:

Is Jessa being really low key lately?  I'm wondering how things are going with Jinger's book about to come out and Ben being named as the person who opened Jinger's eyes to a new way to view faith.   It must be quite tense all around.

Maybe she really is gestating #29 and keeping a low profile before her big announcement on her terms. 🙄

[dargosmydaddy]

I think she's the best bet for #29. I also wonder if Spurgeon is still having health issues?

Edited December 18, 2022 by dargosmydaddy

[BigBingerBro]

She;s probably busy buying excessive Amazon Christmas gifts and pillow cases.   She'll probably do a huge photo and video dump next week.

[ozziemom]

10 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Maybe she really is gestating #29 and keeping a low profile before her big announcement on her terms. 🙄

Or maybe no companies are begging for her to promote their products.