On 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar made it clear that they subscribe to traditional gender roles as dictated by the cult-like religion they raised their children under, the Institute in Basic Life Principles. As they’ve grown up and started families of their own, not all of their children have followed suit, and some of their sons seem to be more involved dads than Jim Bob was. But that doesn’t mean fans are willing to hand out “dad of the year” awards to any of them anytime soon …
It all started during a recent Instagram Q&A with Katey Duggar.
While answering fan questions, Katey Duggar was asked more than once how she’s managing as a new mom of four under the age of 3, and she explained that she had plenty of help from her family and from Jed, who she described as a “hands-on dad” in her Instagram Stories post.
This immediately stuck out to critics on Reddit, and people have a lot of feelings about this one.
Fans are pointing out that a ‘hands-on dad’ is just a dad.
In the Reddit post about Katey’s Q&A, one person pointed out the hypocrisy of that statement.
“‘Hands on dad’ that’s just being a parent. No one says ‘hands on mom,’” one person wrote.
Another user asked, “I’m curious what a ‘hands-on dad’ means? Sweeping up crumbs?”
Others pointed out a qualifier that Katey used in her post.
She didn’t just call Jed a hands-on dad, she called him a hands-on dad “when he’s home,” and that made all the difference to more than one of the Redditors.
One commenter wrote: “That ‘when he’s home’ seems to be doing a lot of heavy lifting lol. How often is he actually home tho.”
Another chimed in: “grateful for JED helping when he is home? IT’S CALLED PARENTING KATE.”
Fortunately, it seems like Katey’s still getting the chance to take time away from the kids.
In a video Katey and her friends shared in honor of Valentine’s Day, it looks like she was able to get away to celebrate Galentine’s Day with a few pals and some of her sisters-in-law, including Joy-Anna and Abbie. As a mom of four little ones, the time to be silly with her friends must have meant so much to her.
Now, for our next question: Was Jed wrangling all four kids on his own at home while she was out?
