Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!

[Is Everyone Gone]

6 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Some of them are but others like JD and Abbie aren't. And Jinger is on her third. I think she is upset as many parents would be upset over the loss of a little one. 

I'm sure grieving the loss is part of it. I'm not denying her that. Just wondering if she feels doubly sad because fertility is so highly prized in her social circle and upbringing.

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

I'm sure grieving the loss is part of it. I'm not denying her that. Just wondering if she feels doubly sad because fertility is so highly prized in her social circle and upbringing.

Well that is true. 

[crazy8s]

Other than Jessa, (who also has had problems during delivery) none of the oldest Duggar sisters has been popping out the babies.

Besides the m kids. really only Jessa, Joe, Josiah and Jed seem to want to have a bunch of kids. Maybe Jer and Jason will follow that path. but it seems the DIL are popping out most of the Duggar babies out these days.

 

[Salacious Kitty]

54 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

I'm sure grieving the loss is part of it. I'm not denying her that. Just wondering if she feels doubly sad because fertility is so highly prized in her social circle and upbringing.

I also wonder if the ruptured uterus Jill suffered with Sam's birth has limited the number of children she can have? Maybe the doctor told her one more, but she tested fate with the Isla pregnancy, and it ended badly. Perhaps she knows she can't have more. 

All speculation, of course. Who knows, she may go on to have several more. 

[oliviabenson]

she is lucky she has 3 kids. plenty of women have 0 and want kids.

[Notabug]

12 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I also wonder if the ruptured uterus Jill suffered with Sam's birth has limited the number of children she can have? Maybe the doctor told her one more, but she tested fate with the Isla pregnancy, and it ended badly. Perhaps she knows she can't have more. 

All speculation, of course. Who knows, she may go on to have several more. 

Jill would've been warned not to risk going into labor again and to have a scheduled cesarean but I don't think her loss with Isla was related to the history of uterine rupture.  She had another healthy term pregnancy after Sam.

 

7 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

she is lucky she has 3 kids. plenty of women have 0 and want kids.

Kids are not interchangeable. Just because a parent has other kids doesn't mean they don't miss and mourn for the child that they've lost.  If one of your parents died, no one would think to say to you, 'Well, at least both of them didn't die at once.  Your other parent can step right in and you'll forget about the one who died'.  I don't doubt that even Michelle Duggar mourns the loss of Jubilee.

 

[BetyBee]

While Jill has every right to mourn the loss of Isla and to wish for another baby, I don't think @oliviabensonwas saying that kids are interchangeable or that there is no reason to mourn the loss of a parent. Being thankful for what you have been blessed with is a valid pov, imo. I have a soft spot for Jill and I hope she is able to have another child if that's what she wants. Her back pain may be more on her mind at the moment. 

[oliviabenson]

39 minutes ago, Notabug said:

Jill would've been warned not to risk going into labor again and to have a scheduled cesarean but I don't think her loss with Isla was related to the history of uterine rupture.  She had another healthy term pregnancy after Sam.

 

Kids are not interchangeable. Just because a parent has other kids doesn't mean they don't miss and mourn for the child that they've lost.  If one of your parents died, no one would think to say to you, 'Well, at least both of them didn't die at once.  Your other parent can step right in and you'll forget about the one who died'.  I don't doubt that even Michelle Duggar mourns the loss of Jubilee.

 

where did I say she can't mourn her kids? or they are interchangeable? do not put words in my statement. read carefully what I said. I said she has 3 children while some have 0. and why put dead parents in there? please find in my statement anything about dead parents. stop putting words in my statement that are not there. 

 

she is blessed to be a mother. yeah maybe she wants to be like her mom and pop out 29 kids with no problems. but apparently Jill isn't Michelle 2.0

Edited March 20 by oliviabenson

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, oliviabenson said:

where did I say she can't mourn her kids? or they are interchangeable? do not put words in my statement. read carefully what I said. I said she has 3 children while some have 0. and why put dead parents in there? please find in my statement anything about dead parents. stop putting words in my statement that are not there. 

 

she is blessed to be a mother. yeah maybe she wants to be like her mom and pop out 29 kids with no problems. but apparently Jill isn't Michelle 2.0

I'm sorry, but this is a sensitive topic for me.  And, yes, while Jill has other children she undoubtedly loves, it doesn't mean she isn't mourning the loss of her daughter.  Anyone going through a hard time could probably find others who have it worse; but that really doesn't ease their pain to know that something even more devastating could've happened.  I'm sure Jill feels lucky to have her boys, but thinking of people who can't have kids isn't going to prevent her from being sad that Isla died.

I tell patients that it's like being stabbed with a 6 inch knife or a 12 inch knife.  Which one is worse?  Well, both are pretty awful and I'd rather be stabbed with neither, thanks.  Comparing someone's pain to that of someone who has perhaps had a worse experience is not really helpful.

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

she is lucky she has 3 kids. plenty of women have 0 and want kids.

Like Michael Bates. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

9 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

she is blessed to be a mother. yeah maybe she wants to be like her mom and pop out 29 kids with no problems. but apparently Jill isn't Michelle 2.0

I think actually, she really wants a daughter.

[Gemma Violet]

Video below.  It's been a few months since Jill posted a video.  She mentioned that she's home schooling her kids.

 

[Salacious Kitty]

I think she's been homeschooling since they moved to Siloam Springs. The boys would be in different schools due to the way the schools group by grades. 

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, Gemma Violet said:

Video below.  It's been a few months since Jill posted a video.  She mentioned that she's home schooling her kids.

 

Well, that's unfortunate.

[andromeda331]

8 minutes ago, Notabug said:

Well, that's unfortunate.

Yes it is.

[Salacious Kitty]

So she's plinking them down in front of screens while she entertains Freddie in the living room. I hope that Derick at least put his foot down and decided on an accredited curriculum. 

Edited March 22 by Salacious Kitty

[Is Everyone Gone]

It's really weird why the Duggars don't just send their kids to a private Christian school. There are a bunch of them down South.

[oliviabenson]

They probably can’t afford the private school tuition. And I guess home school is easier since you don’t need to go anywhere in the morning.

[Salacious Kitty]

Gah, I just heard that Jill fairly recently posted delusional stuff about public schools. I doubt the boys ever go back. 

Good luck getting another Dillard Pistol Pete, Derick. Your kids will never get into a decent college as long as Jill teaches them. 

[EmeraldGirl]

Yeah, what were they doing on the screens for so long with no intervention? I was surprised because it seemed like they were doing independent things for HOURS. Granted, I don’t know anything about homeschooling, but I thought there was more parent involvement.

I always assumed they were in school because we would see her alone with Freddie all the time. Now we know they’re just stuck in a tiny room with headphones and screens. WTF, Derick?

It kind of feels like old Jill again. Hopefully Derick was home because he was getting his own chiropractic treatment or something. But it was sounding like he had to be there to take the kids, as well as the next day’s dentist appointment that she made sound like he was going along again.

By The way, my kids were never in the same school and we managed. They took buses, or I would take one and the other would take the bus depending on who wanted what that day. It wouldn’t be that hard for her to do that and have Freddie with her. Right after that I would go shopping for the day and do errands. I got a lot done in the morning, and a baby could’ve taken a nap then. Eh, it’s just seeming like laziness right now.

Edited March 23 by EmeraldGirl
I always think of more things to complain about

[Salacious Kitty]

With all the regression, I am starting to think that any changes Jill made were cosmetic and done to sell books. I had hoped she was for real, but alas, I was fooled. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

I am dispirited about this. First of all, looks like the kids were simply plopped in front of a screen and doing online school. Reminds me of the awful zoom lessons I "taught" during the pandemic. She mostly takes care of Fred and does her own thing. She's not even "teaching" them. 

Second of all, I noticed a HUGE dependency on Derick to do everything for her. I'm not saying she's going to show up unannounced to his office during lunchtime, but I had hoped that with the boys in school, she could be her own person and develop her own interests.

[Madtown]

So disappointed that she is homeschooling. Most of these Duggar women, should never home school, as they lack education. Unless the schools are far from each other, I don't see an issue to have them in different schools. I went to the same schools as my siblings(I'm the youngest), but I was never in them when they were.

There is a family on Instagram that I follow. The mom is homeschooling her two young sons. The oldest is either in kindergarten or 1st grade. The youngest is in preschool, but does do some homeschooling as well. She is in some homeschooling group with moms that are near her. They take field trips, have special parties, have park time together and other activities. So her kids are still around other kids probably 3 times a week.

I think it would be beneficial for Jill, Jessa(though she's does a lot of Jesus teaching) and Joy to find something like this, if there is any in their area. Though, from what we see, neither of them seem to do much teaching. It's all about having more babies and tending to the youngest.

[emma675]

I wonder if the homeschooling and renewed attachment/dependency on Derrick is a reaction to losing the baby? Add in the recent car accident and I can see Jill reverting back to old habits to feel safe or normal again. Hopefully the boys go back to public or private school again, I feel like they really enjoyed it. Derrick seems to value good education so maybe he'll encourage better schooling than whatever Jill is trying to do.

[Zella]

I have suspected they were homeschooling ever since they moved to Siloam due to her silence when people would ask her about the boys' schools. She'd respond to every comment but that. 

[Salacious Kitty]

59 minutes ago, Zella said:

I have suspected they were homeschooling ever since they moved to Siloam due to her silence when people would ask her about the boys' schools. She'd respond to every comment but that. 

As I noted above, it probably started when she didn't want to take her kids to two different schools. Then they justified their decision with rhetoric popular in fundie circles. 

[Lisa418722]

I feel sorry for the kids, especially Izzy after his excitement over going to school.  But this doesn't surprise me.  Jill cannot handle being alone, even with one child.  Using the school situation is just an excuse IMHO.  Derick can kiss third-generation Pistol Pete goodbye.  But then again, didn't he say that Jill had more education (or was smarter) than most other people who have gone to college?  So maybe he thinks the boys could get into Oklahoma State University just because of his name (RME).  

[StPatricksDay]

I wonder if Derick's job as a prosecutor made them fear having the kids in public school.

[AstridM]

14 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

They probably can’t afford the private school tuition. And I guess home school is easier since you don’t need to go anywhere in the morning.

They can afford it. 

[satrunrose]

It's Derick's job that makes this weird for me. He's fine enough with law-related state-run institutions to work in enforcing those laws, but put off enough by state-run education to allow his wife with her highly dysfunctional upbringing to have sole responsibility for the education of their children. 

[StPatricksDay]

24 minutes ago, satrunrose said:

It's Derick's job that makes this weird for me. He's fine enough with law-related state-run institutions to work in enforcing those laws, but put off enough by state-run education to allow his wife with her highly dysfunctional upbringing to have sole responsibility for the education of their children. 

Home court is only popular on TV.

[BetyBee]

I finally watched the video about a typical Dillard day. It seems like Jill is still not a morning person and Derick helps with that by bringing her coffee! It always surprises me how the Duggar girls all sound so much alike! I do feel sorry for the older boys having such isolated schooling. I wonder if the home schooling is more like remote learning through their school system? At least they're really doing schooling, unlike the Rodrigues family. It doesn't seem like Finna is in the house much, at least not the day she filmed. I wonder if the car accident and her subsequent pain is the reason Derick does a lot of the driving? It may even be the reason for home schooling. I hope she's happy. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

I don't know this for sure, but I have the feeling Derick found Jill's clinginess stifling when he got the job in the DA's office, so he had the boys stay home with her? She just seems exhaustingly clingy with him. I couldn't deal with someone in her mid-30s having so few coping skills for being alone.

Edited March 23 by Is Everyone Gone

[Zella]

4 hours ago, Lisa418722 said:

But then again, didn't he say that Jill had more education (or was smarter) than most other people who have gone to college? 

Yes he was clapping back at snarkers and saying that Jill was better educated than most of them. LOL 

[Zella]

Actually I think I identified the Ur moment. It may have been one particular snarker he was saying that to rather than snarkers at large. But yes they were bickering in Instagram comments about Jill's college education, and Derrick claimed she'd taken several college theology courses and when it continued to go downhill from there, he said Jill probably had more college credits than the snarker.

https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/derick-dillard-slams-claims-that-jill-doesnt-have-a-higher-education/

Edited March 23 by Zella

[GeeGolly]

Unless they're twins, siblings will always have times when they're in different schools.

I'm only a little surprised the kids are homeschooled only because Izzy did attend a couple years of public school.

It seems any activities they do are scheduled when Derick is around, but at least they do some.

 

[LilJen]

On 3/23/2025 at 12:06 PM, Is Everyone Gone said:

I don't know this for sure, but I have the feeling Derick found Jill's clinginess stifling when he got the job in the DA's office, so he had the boys stay home with her? She just seems exhaustingly clingy with him. I couldn't deal with someone in her mid-30s having so few coping skills for being alone.

Jeeze. All she needs to do is make some friends in her area. Even a moms' group with moms with other babies would be a start. Making your kids your "friends" is a bad idea.

[CalicoKitty]

1 minute ago, LilJen said:

Jeeze. All she needs to do is make some friends in her area. Even a moms' group with moms with other babies would be a start. Making your kids your "friends" is a bad idea.

 Making friends in a group and socializing children is obvious to us, but sadly Jill has been forever marred by her upbringing and living in an isolated society.  Only her siblings and a few close like-mined families were allowed to be "friends".  She does not understand the meaning of outside friendships.  Jill has made a lot of progress, but I don't think she will ever feel at all comfortable being alone.  I think she is trying, but it is just too much for her.  More and more kids are being homeschooled these days, and I hope she is using a very good curriculum that is better than the one she used as a child.  Maybe she will explore home school groups or co-ops in her area.  I think being brought up on "Duggar time" is not helping her at all.  I really feel sorry for her kids.

[crazy8s]

43 minutes ago, leighdear said:

There are about 1.3 MILLION attorneys in the US, and I imagine a very large percentage have children.

If they all hid from social media so the "bad people" didn't know anything about them, none would have any presence anywhere.  And that's laughable.

Probably not very many of the 1.3 million lawyers have a spouse that was seen on a TV show for many years, or who wrote a book and went on a press tour, been on GMA, has thousands and thousands of followers on SM etc, had a brother who made news for court case involving what his involved.

I get your point but the lawyers that live on my street are for the most part unknown to "bad people". Derrick and Jill would not be so anonymous as your average lawyer's family.

[AstridM]

1 hour ago, leighdear said:

There are about 1.3 MILLION attorneys in the US, and I imagine a very large percentage have children.

If they all hid from social media so the "bad people" didn't know anything about them, none would have any presence anywhere.  And that's laughable. 

Dillweed is a Z-list entity, and I guarantee the check bouncers, petty thieves and bar brawlers he prosecutes don't give a happy crap about him or his family.  
He's a cheap suit that's going to continue their probation, or maybe give them a couple of more weeks in the pokey.  No big deal.

Dullard isn't prosecuting Mob bosses, drug kingpins or rich celebrities.  Nobody in Ass-End Oklahoma would bother with him, as he & his family are essentially nobodies. 

And random people on the Internet have known everything about Jill's family since she learned to use social media.  She's always put it all out there and advertises their whereabouts regularly.  Safety is her last concern. 

I’m positive that Jill and Derrick are very concerned about their children’s safety, as most parents are. 

[CalicoKitty]

2 minutes ago, AstridM said:

I’m positive that Jill and Derrick are very concerned about their children’s safety, as most parents are. 

I agree.  I'm guessing that there are not very many attorneys that are married to someone who has had their entire life displayed openly on TV since childhood.  I'm sure they are concerned about the safety of their children.  It only takes one nut-job to cause problems.

[AstridM]

1 minute ago, CalicoKitty said:

I agree.  I'm guessing that there are not very many attorneys that are married to someone who has had their entire life displayed openly on TV since childhood.  I'm sure they are concerned about the safety of their children.  It only takes one nut-job to cause problems.

I don’t agree with their choice to homeschool, but I don’t doubt for a second their concern for their children’s safety. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

I don't think Jill did all that just to sell books. I think she WANTED to change, to lead a more open, less fundie life. I just think she has a limited emotional toolbox, and when there were a few changes (Derick getting a demanding full-time job and being away from home more often, losing Isla-Marie, maybe becoming more estranged from her siblings), she retreated back to what was easier and more comfortable (keeping her kids at home).

It is REALLY difficult to break patterns from childhood. I feel like Jill tried, she just doesn't have the mental resilience to follow through.

[GeeGolly]

Derick, like many lawyers, participate in community activities and often bring their families. Also, I doubt a newbie lawyer is taking on any super dangerous criminals.

IIRC, both Derick and Jill mocked public schools in the documentary. We know they're anti LGBTQ+. We also know they're pro Kirk Cameron and anti trans story time. And of course they're anti inclusive BSA.

IMO, the kids are homeschooled because Jill very much believes in the way she was raised. Her book was about a grievance with money and her learning to use boundaries to basically choose Derick over her parents.

[ginger90]

[Absolom]

Sadly the house, the decorating, and the food look like the "big house" and the parties held there. 

[GeeGolly]

Looks like the Seewald kids are there.

[lookeyloo]

Doesn't look like the "big house" to me.  A TV mounted on the wall?  Plus the kitchen is different.  But, glad they are getting together, as despicable their beliefs are.  Poor Israel doesn't know the difference yet, I think.

[Salacious Kitty]

12 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

Doesn't look like the "big house" to me.  A TV mounted on the wall?  Plus the kitchen is different.  But, glad they are getting together, as despicable their beliefs are.  Poor Israel doesn't know the difference yet, I think.

That's Jill's house.

[EmeraldGirl]

Is that macaroni and cheese or Cheetos in the big bowl? It’s got a spoon so I hope not Cheetos.

She talks about having a church community, so I don’t think she’s alone and sad by herself at home. I think that must be Spurgeon, the big kid, and maybe Ivy. But also a couple more unfamiliar backs.

My husband was in federal law-enforcement and we actually did have problems at school with safety. Someone on his case list had a child in the same school, and we had to talk to the principal about making sure that our son was always in sight, as well as being escorted to either the bus, or I would pick him up in the car. It can happen, even to a lowly lawyer like Derick. 

Edited April 7 by EmeraldGirl