I used to think that too, but I don't know it does seem to work for them. Part of it seems kind of silly though.

I did see where the girl and the young man that was on the mission has announced their engagement.

I haven't seen the show, but this does sound creepy & just plain weird. I wonder how THEIR parents (the kids' g'parents) supervised the parents courtship? This is strange.

For all the chastity that takes place before the wedding, they sure make up for it...and then some!....afterwards!

I watch the show from to time to time and am impressed by the kids. I have not seen one yet in the headlines for doing something bad. They are respectful, caring and responsible. They all seem happy.

When my dad and mom were dating, they were not allowed to go out as a couple. One of her brothers, aunts or uncles would always have to chaperone. No kissing or touching allowed. Their parents had to meet first to approve of each other.

I see it as a positive that dad is going along to meet the boy. Dating online has become the norm, so being resposible is key. Often many are not.

For all the chastity that takes place before the wedding, they sure make up for it...and then some!....afterwards!

BEST comment EVER!

LOL - thanks for the chuckle :)

I can understand how this idea of "courting" is not sitting well with many. We have allowed our society to move so far from the values this concept respects. The question is does it work? Will these "children" find partners that they can make happy lasting marriages with? Will they look back at the process and feel the world was offering so much more? I am guessing the fruits of their process will far out weight any temporary "fun" modern society thinks they are missing out on.

I think the parents are not giving their children enough credit. They have been raised in a religious and respectful home yet parents have the final authority to approve who they date. That attitude is fine for a 14 year old, but she is 20. When I think of the word "dating", it means time to get to know someone,their values as well as their family. This process should also be teaching you about yourself--what YOU require in a boyfriend and later spouse.

This program does creep me out and for that reason I rarely watch it anymore. This on line dating thing might have come around to boost ratings.

I'll be happy to see the day come around when one of the females in that family rebels against Mr. Man (Jim Bob) and cut their hair and put on a pair of skacks or even jeans! And Michelle says, "Not tonight, honey " to JB. She believes in, and preaches, complete submissiveness to her husband.

Joanie, you crack me up.

Eventually some of those kids are going to say "enough of this". I don't think any of the older kids are going to college (not sure) and that is a shame. First home schooling all their lives and then directly to marriage and kids. The oldest son is kind of a loser. I forget how many kids he and his wife have already. Just checked -- three kids, all with names starting with M. The nightmare continues.

On the other hand, so far no druggies, so maybe I shouldn't criticize. The whole thing is weird to me. I always felt bad for the second youngest little girl. She was no sooner born than the last one, a preemie, came along and took up all of her mother's time. The second littlest never seemed to get any mom time. Sad.

I wish there was a "love" button for best comment here. (For all the chastity that takes place before the wedding, they sure make up for it...and then some!....afterwards!

My son met his girlfriend online. There's nothing wrong with it. My co-worker met her husband online. She came from South Africa to Canada to meet him. They've been married now for over 10 years. And neither my husband nor myself, or my co-workers parents were involved in the meeting of our kids to their SO. I find it very creepy and controlling that the parents of these grown adults are so involved in their kids personal lives. These kids don't know what real life is, they've all been raised in a bubble. I feel so sorry for all of them.

I met my husband online, but not through a dating site. It was an online forum, much like this one, where it was general chatter, but about cars. We've been married 15 wonderful years. :)

Jim Bob was online friends with the guy in Dubai first and he introduced that guy and the daughter.

They all seem pleased with their lifestyle.

When they 1st came on, I watched and then got tired of hearing the mother's "sweet, little"voice...And what really got me, was when building their new house, they kept saying they were doing it all themselves but then ran into snags and HGTV or someone stepped in and completely furnished it...When the parents were looking at the master bedroom, he made the remark, perfect to start the next one! I think they are a bunch of gorgeous, well behaved kids but, we only see what they want us to see...In a family that large, there has to be bickering, those girls have to be getting tired of taking of the mother's job or mothering the youngest when a new baby is born....I've read where they are self sufficient and if so, that's great...But, if it wasn't for the series, what then? I just don't get a good feeling with the whole thing...But, then it's them and not me.....To each his own.

I haven't watched the show, wouldn't be interested anyway, and maybe if we ignore people like this they'll go away.

People denounce fundamentalists-extremists in other countries, forgetting that we have the very same thing here. I feel sorry for kids who are stuck in situations like this. .

A couple of centuries ago, the population of the world was 1 or 2 billion ...

... now it's 7 billion! And going on 10, some say.

We've worked some of the good soils to lower productivity (and North American soils have been in heavy production for less than 300 years, quite a large proportion of them for less than a hundred, let's not forget) and largely fished out the seas - remember when cod were so numerous along our east coast? ... how do we propose to feed all of them?

Glad that not every family, or even a substantial proportion, may choose to follow their system!

ole joyful

It doesn't bother me if people choose the lifestyle for themselves, but the kids don't get a choice. Granted, they are far better off than many kids, but still, I think at 18 they should be allowed to make their own decisions.

It worries me that the kids are way too sheltered to be able to deal with the real world. I'm worried they will be herded into a life of getting married young and having lots and lots of babies without having any opportunity to experience a different life. If they choose that life of early marriage/babies, and it makes them happy, then that's great. But not being allowed any alternatives, or at least the chance to explore them, is sad to me.

I would like seeing some of the older girls go off to college and maybe have a career and be a different sort of role model for the younger kids.

I'd be interested to see what would happen if any of the kids choose an alternative lifestyle.

I just don't understand her hair. Doesn't she watch TV or look at magazines or at what other women have for hairdo's?
She looks like a pioneer woman who stuck her finger in a socket when electricity was discovered...
I truly believe these people are mentally ill hoarders.

Hard to believe that out of 19 kids, at least one hasn't rebelled and become a black sheep. Of course many of them are still very young, so maybe that scenario will play out later.

I don't think the kids will question their lifestyle until they are placed in a situation where it doesn't work for them. For now, they have been able to surround themselves with like minded people. At some point when the J-kids can't make a living because of their lack of education or abilities and they discover they don't fit in with other people, then it will get ugly.

The kids don't seem to have basic skills that you need if you aren't going to have an education. They have had a lot of stuff given to them by the show and have been given a bunch of handouts. I would expect a family like this to have some set of skills like farming. They don't. When the gravy train is over, real life lessons are going to kick in.

I totally agree with adellabedella I think when reality hits and they are faced with the real world with no education they are going to be up the creek without a paddle. That is when (hopefully) they will start to question the lifestyle.

Once TLC leaves and takes the cameras and all the handouts away I wonder how they will survive...

It isn't a life style that I could live or expect of my family but when I compare those girls to some I see I don't understand why so many find fault. Go to the mall and you will find most of the young girls dress and act like hookers. Way too young women in this day and age don't even think you need to be married to start your family....I'm not prude enough to think that kids don't or shouldn't have premarital sex but honestly today it goes way beyond that..it is recreational sex...

Creepy or not..if it works for them, so be it...I doubt the girls will be any worse off than the girls I see that have full reign on their social life.

I like the morals of the kids not doing drugs, drinking, or sleeping around. I wish more people were like that. In this society, you pay certain prices to keep those morals particularly if you are a female not willing to sleep around or any young person not into drinking or drugs. You may be ostracized in work and social circles for your choices. It's certainly harder to get to the top. These kids aren't being taught how to keep their morals and interact with others or how to be independent.

This family has a narrow focus and is isolated. They don't appear to have any sort of back up plan to be able to remove themselves from a bad situation and into a better situation if the need should arise. They depend on each other which is great, but at some point the family dynamics will change just because of how large a group of people they are. At some point they need to learn some new tricks.These kids aren't going to be young and cute forever. People may cut them some slack for now. That will change as they age.

I see them all living in a colony in the near future as their children marry and have children of their own. Their own little hutterite colony. One big kitchen where all the women cook and clean. One big tv room where the men sit and watch tv while the women cater to them. I've never watched the show, but through talk shows and magazines have seen their lifestyle and it completely creeps me out. The kids are all little robots.

They don't watch television... :)

But other than that, I think debby_ab may be onto something. :)

Hutterite people are up-to-date and innovative when it comes to their business: they have big tractors and use modern methods of farming.

It's in the cultural aspects where they part company from the surrounding communities, building more traditional lifestyles in self-contained colonies.

ole joyful