Considering what a big family they grew up in, we'd say that few people have as much experience with children before actually becoming a parent themselves than the oldest Duggar sisters. Though Jill Duggar was the first to have a baby, Jessa Duggar was soon to follow, and not long after, Joy-Anna and Jinger had their own kids, too. So far, the Counting On stars seem to be awesome parents to their little ones, but people on the internet have their own opinions on that, and seem to constantly call them out on social media for their parenting decisions, big and small.
No matter who we are, if we're a mom, we're going to deal with mom-shamers at some point, and the Duggar ladies are well aware of that fact. But there's only so much criticism they can actually ignore, and that means that once in a while, they clap back — some more than others (looking at Jessa, the sassiest Duggar!).
Read on for the times the Duggars stood up to mom-shamers. It can't be easy having their every parenting move judged, but so far, it seems like these ladies are taking it all in stride and being the best moms they can be through it all.
Israel's Teeth
After Jill's followers were calling her out for not paying enough attention to her son, Israel — and his teeth — Jill had enough. She finally responded to the haters in her Instagram comments in September 2019, letting them know that they'd been to the dentist and that the issues with Israel's baby teeth had probably been caused by a fall … not that she wasn't properly caring for him. Go, Jill!
Jessa's Pregnancy Rumors
Though Jessa has since deleted the snarky comment, she wasn't afraid to get a little sassy when fans asked her if she was pregnant on Facebook in February. She was just posting a video of her daughter, Ivy, learning to crawl, and people felt the need to ask her if she was expecting. Jessa replied, "Yes, and it's triplets this time!"
Parenting Boys & Girls
When Anna Duggar posted a photo of her sons playing with Lego and Nerf guns — and her daughters simply posing for a pic — she got a lot of backlash from fans wondering if she let her girls take part in the Nerf gun wars she'd mentioned in her caption. But Anna wasted no time defending herself, writing, "My girls played in the Nerf wars yesterday, they are super competitive and have a good aim — so look out!"
Being a Stay-at-Home Mom
In early 2020, a fan posted a long comment on Jill's Instagram, telling her that she shouldn't be a stay-at-home mom, and that she seemed unhappy — advising her to put her boys in day care. Jill was quick to tell it like it is with her own response.
"Thanks for being concerned," she wrote. "I do love my current job at home with the boys tho and totally get that there will be crazy times for everyone, no matter if you work at home or outside of the home."
Gideon's Milk Incident
When Joy-Anna shared a picture of Gideon pouring a gallon of milk out onto the kitchen counter (typical rambunctious toddler behavior), some fans were shocked that Joy would take a photo of the moment instead of stopping it from happening. She didn't care what they thought, though. Instead, she responded, "He had already poured out most of the jug so why not?"
Getting Ahead of the Shaming
Before Jessa could even get any rude comments about this one, she went ahead and nipped the mom-shamers in the bud. When she posted this pic of Henry and Spurgeon playing in the bed of a truck (barefoot, no less), she wrote, "P.S. Yes, we’re barefoot, and we kept away from the roll of barbed wire, and he didn't get to keep the prized nail that he found. There. Beat ya to it." That's one way to keep the people quiet!
Felicity's Bare Feet
When Jinger Duggar and her sisters went to visit cousin Amy's new boutique when it opened, Felicity was in tow — and in one of the photos posted that day, she was seen hanging out with Aunt Jana in the store, barefoot. Jinger got called out for not having shoes on her, but Jessa saved the day, responding for her. "And she was let outside to run in the snow like that. So terrible," she wrote.
Gideon & His Heavy Machinery
After Joy shared photos of Gideon "learning" how to clear land with dad Austin, she got called out big time by mom-shamers who claimed that she was endangering him by letting him be so close to a chainsaw. Don't worry, though, because Joy was on it. "It wasn't running. I just wanted to get a picture of Gideon with Austin!" she replied.
Keeping Spurgeon in Diapers
Somehow, Jessa's 2018 Instagram post about Spurgeon's love of tractors ended up in a debate about potty training. One of her followers used the comments of the post to shame her for 2-year-old Spurgeon not being out of diapers quite yet, but Jessa had a calm, well thought out response at the ready.
"My philosophy is that if they aren't able to do the whole thing from pulling their pants down and getting themselves on the toilet to pulling their pants back up and washing their hands, then they aren't ready," Jessa explained. "I've been around kids, and I'm aware of the signs of readiness. My 2 1/2 year old is getting close, but not quite there, so we're not rushing it."
Putting Evelyn in Danger
After Joy posted this photo of her family going to church, one of her followers said that she looked like she was about to drop her new baby, Evelyn. This obviously wasn't the case, though, and Joy quickly defended herself. "Thank you for your concern!" she wrote. "I was holding Evy and then Gideon was trying to hold my hand! I wasn't about to drop her tho!"
Too Much Training
When Jessa mentioned "training moments" in the caption of one of her Instagram posts about doing parenthood with Ben Seewald, fans took issue with it, saying she shouldn't be training her children "like dogs." But Jessa had the perfect response ready to defend the way she chooses to parent her kids … with a little sass thrown in.
"We train for occupations, we train for jobs, we hire personal trainers for fitness … and we train/teach our kiddos for right behavior in the hopes that they will grow up to be caring, thoughtful and responsible adults," she said. "But I agree — dogs are not humans. Thank you for making that distinction."
Nope, Not Pregnant
After Joy shared sweet photos from a recent family photo shoot, she was hit with a question that she was not amused by. A fan asked her if she was pregnant again, and Joy made sure to respond, leaving no room for speculation. "I have a nine week old," she wrote. Joy's not pulling any punches here!
Henry's Birthday Gifts
After Jessa shared that she was giving her son, Henry, gifts every day for a week to celebrate his birthday in February 2020, fans took such an issue with it that she had no choice but to defend herself. "We chose gifts that the whole family can enjoy — not just him — though he gets the joy of opening and ownership," she wrote in reply. "Classic books, bird feeder, etc. There was one gift not for sharing: new underwear. Ha! We try to keep it practical and educational."
Spurgeon's Bottle
When fans were upset to see that Jessa's oldest son, Spurgeon, was still drinking from a bottle at almost 2 years old, she shared her response to them right in the caption of her photo.
"Yes, he's 22 months old. Yes, he drinks water from a sippy cup, and yes, he still prefers to drink much of his milk/kefir from his bottle — especially before nap/bedtime. (TBH, I wish he wouldn't have weaned himself early, and would've bf till 2. There, I said it.)," she wrote. "So there ya have it. If you are experiencing anxiety over this, please share all your wisdom and perfect parenting advice in the comments section below."
Missing Gideon's First Birthday
When Joy posted that she and Austin had a getaway while leaving Gideon behind with his grandparents, fans questioned her for leaving town so close to her son's first birthday and wondered if she'd be back in time. Joy didn't respond, but big sister Jessa was there to defend her, commenting, "All these people acting like you wouldn't remember it's the 1 year anniversary of the most physically exhausting and simultaneously most joyous day of your life. ??? Really?? Girl, I know y'all are heading back to celebrate Gideon's bday, but seriously, even if you did stay away one more day it's not like he'd know you were celebrating late."
