On the Road with 16 Kids

Dillipop

Well-known member
The Duggar's are going on a family trip Thursday at 10 (eastern time) on Discovery Health. Looks like they are taking a huge RV. Thought some of you might like to watch!
 
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Splash

New member
No really. You don't. It's horrid.

I dont see why they even bother with car seats honestly. Most of them are ancient and the straps look like cornrows and the kids can crawl right out of them without ever being unbuckled.
 

Maggie

New member
Ugh. I just saw a commercial for that. We have DVR so I put it in slow motion and watched as 3 of the kids(younger ones) tossed the infant carrier (which looked to be ancient) around, almost dropping it down the steps. While mommy and daddy Duggar gracefully held hands and walked down the steps together. I shudder to think of where there would be 18 SAFE seating places in that RV. :shudder:
 

kelly

New member
Splash said:
No really. You don't. It's horrid.

I dont see why they even bother with car seats honestly. Most of them are ancient and the straps look like cornrows and the kids can crawl right out of them without ever being unbuckled.


If its the most recent one (to Disney), the Discovery Channel must have ponied up for new seats b/c I heard they all matched and were shiny and new. I didn't see it, just what I read elsewhere.
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
I think this show was on a month or so ago, or at least I saw something where the whole family traveled by RV on a road trip out west to California. It was quite an example of exactly what not to do when traveling by RV in terms of passenger safety, but fortunately there was no actual crash.

The Duggars moved bench seats from their van (the actual vehicle seats from the van) and bolted them into their RV somehow so they would have seatbelts for everyone to ride in. I remember they proudly announced their seating solution to the camera as if it solved any question of them safely riding in the RV. I can't imagine how it would have been safe or truly compatible to swap seats from a van into an RV, but this was exactly what they did. It looked like the younger kids were riding in carseats on the bench seats in the RV but they looked potentially ancient/expired, and harnesses and chest clips weren't properly positioned either.

The RV was so loaded down with all of them, plus it was towing another full sized camper trailer behind it (the boy's sleeping quarters, IIRC). After a short distance on the road being buffeted around by the wind and unable to maintain much speed, they decided to summon grandparents to drive the Duggar's van out to meet them. Then they hitched the van up to tow the camper trailer for the rest of their trip. Their RV and trailer were also heavily loaded down with clothing, food, supplies, etc., possibly even beyond their maximum weight load capacities. It also seemed extremely dangerous to me to tow such a big camper trailer behind such a heavily loaded RV in the first place, oy. It was not a small pop up trailer, it was a large one nearly the same length as their large RV. :eek:

I realize the logistics of traveling with such a large family are quite challenging, but there are safer options than overloading their RV with questionable improvised seating. They have/had at least one van and some minibus (like a shuttle) shown on past shows about their family. I also thought why not fly, but they wanted the educational experience of the road trip and I certainly can understand the value of that. Plus judging by how many of them became airsick while they went on an aerial tour of the Grand Canyon, I'm guessing they are not big fans of air travel in general. :rolleyes:

So safety geeks be warned, if this is the same show, it will definitely be cringeworthy to watch from a passenger safety standpoint. :mad:
 

kelly

New member
Wow. That's bad. I guess my source was wrong.

Like I said, I did not see it. I knew I'd not be able to stand it!
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
I debated to myself whether or not to watch it myself. DH decided he wasn't go to watch with me out of concern over how I would react, lol. Maybe the kids had newer seats this time vs. past shows but I only caught a few glimpses of their seats and didn't see anything that struck me as newish. I hope I'm wrong for their sakes.
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I saw this show a few weeks ago. Or maybe a few months ago. I can't remember! :)

Anyway...

You are right that the infant seat the Duggars use looks OLD and well used. I think it is either a Century (pre-SmartFit) or an Arriva or an Assura. It looks pretty old. That whole pastel teal, pink, blue, and yellow thing in children's products was popular in the mid 1990s. I think it may have been from that era.

I don't remember the other kids being in carseats! Maybe they were, but I just don't remember. They CERTAINLY should be- at least the youngest ones!!

The Duggar children are (the ages are from when the youngest was born, so maybe they are a year older now):

Joshua- 17
John David- 15
Janna-15
Jill-14
Jessa- 12
Jinger- 11
Joseph- 10
Josiah-9
Joy-Anna-8
Jeremiah-6
Jedidih-6
Jason-5
James-4
Justin-2
Jackson-1
Johannah- baby


I don't know these children's sizes, but they all appear to be about average. I would think that AT THE VERY LEAST, Johannah, Jackson, and Justin should be RF; James, Jason, Jedidiah, and Jeremiah should be harnessed FF, and Joy-Anna, Josiah, and Joseph should be in boosters. That is at the very least!!
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I just found their ages:

Joshua-- born 3/88
Janna- born 1/90
John-David-- born 1/90
Jill-- born 5/91
Jessa-- born 11/92
Jinger-- born 21/93
Joseph-- born 1/95
Josiah-- born 8/96
Joy-Anna-- born 10/97
Jedidiah-- born 12/98
Jeremiah-- born 12/98
Jason-- born 4/00
James-- born 7/01
Justin-- born 11/02
Jackson-- born 5/04
Johannah-- born 10/05


So, I think:

Johannah and Jackson should definitely be RF
Justin should be RF, if possible
James and Jason should be harnessed FF (but if they can be RF still, that's great!)
Jeremiah and Jedidiah should be harnessed FF, if possible. If not possible, they should be in boosters.
Joy-Anna should be in a booster.
Josiah needs to do the 5-point test to see if he is big enough to sit without a booster.
The other children APPEAR to be large enough to not need a booster, but it is hard to tell from TV!
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Oh, I do hope the seats are all "shiney & new" -- at least not expired & are PROPERLY fitting.... I'm glad I don't have TV :p :p :p
 

melaniev

New member
sorry for my ignorance - we dont have tv, but are these REAL people, or just a tv show? I tow a small camper with my minivan and can't imagine towing a camper behind an RV!!!
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
They are very much a real family!:)

The Duggars are an amazing family who live in Arkansas. At one point, they had 16 people (14 children) living in one house with ONE BATHROOM!!! They had to have shifts of who was allowed to bathe when. Wow.

Now, they live in a HUGE house on a BUNCH of land. The family worked together to build the house and worked with each other to find decorations that would appeal to them all.

The Duggars seem to be a very loving family who all support one another. I am in awe of how well they all get along and how well they all support each other. I wish all families could be so happy!
 

melaniev

New member
thats awesome. im always in awe of mothers of huge families when i can barely handle my 2. they just seem so darn patient, and good - you know? :)
 

vamom

New member
I have not seen the new show, but in the one that I have seen they went on a trip in the rv. There was a young child in a mini recliner on the floor and maybe 3 in those el cheapo ff/booster type seats. The harnesses were loose, clips all over the place, and the youngest looked like he or she was barely able to sit up on their own. The rv vroke down, so they had to switch to the van, and the car seats looked really loose/poorly installed. I hope this one is better in terms of safety.
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I saw another showing of "16 Kids and Moving in" (which was BEFORE the "On the Road with 16 Kids") and noticed the carseats that were in the car.

At the time of this show, they appeared to have their youngest in an infant carseat (Century?) and their next youngest in a FF Gerry T-Shield. A GERRY? Weren't those discontinued (bought out by Evenflo) about ten years ago?

I didn't see any other carseats. Perhaps I just missed them... I HOPE I just missing them!
 

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