Jinger Duggar Vuolo opens up about what it was REALLY like growing up as one of 19 children

Jinger Duggar Vuolo has opened up astir what it was really for illustration for her increasing up successful a family pinch 18 siblings.

Throughout her childhood, Jinger, 30, watched arsenic her parents welcomed 13 much kids to nan family. 

She was days distant from her 16th day erstwhile her last sibling, Josie, was calved successful December 2009.

The Duggars roseate to nationalist fame connected nan TLC reality bid 19 Kids and Counting, pinch group tuning successful to marvel astatine nan dynamics of a 21-person atomic family.

But, for parents Jim Bob, 59, and Michelle, 57, nan monolithic brood reflected their belief beliefs arsenic adherents of nan Christian fundamentalist cult Institute of Basic Life Principles. 

Core to nan statement is nan 'quiverfull' concept, which compares children to arrows successful a quiver, pinch nan scheme being to nonstop each nan kids retired into nan world to person aliases different displace nonbelievers from positions of power.

Despite nan Duggar family's size stemming from somewhat menacing-sounding politically tinged motivations, successful Jinger's telling, location was genuinely a batch of nosy and excitement to beryllium had successful being portion of specified a immense family. 

'There was ne'er a dull moment, it was truthful overmuch fun. I consciousness for illustration location was ever personification to bent retired with,' Jinger said connected her family vlog successful a speech with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, 36.

She went connected to explicate that her siblings coiled up falling into 3 sections: The older ones, nan middles, and nan youngest ones, aliases 'littles.' 

As nan sixth born, Jinger described she was nan past of nan 'older section.'

After her came her relative Joseph, who was calved astir 13 months later. 

'For a season, I was nan youngest child!' Jinger pointed out.

The 'oldest' group of six kids was mostly dominated by women, pinch only 2 boys.

Those astir successful nan 'middle' unit who followed Jinger coiled up being astir each boys, pinch nan only woman complete nan adjacent 9 births being Joy-Anna, 26.

The 'littles' nevertheless much intimately reflected nan ratio of nan oldest group, pinch 1 boy - Jackson, 20 - followed by 4 girls - Johannah, 18, Jennifer, 16, Jordyn-Grace, 15, and, past but not least, Josie, 14.

In Jinger's mind, nan age-based divisions emerged arsenic her parents made decisions astir who would get to spell to what and when.

Jinger explained that, during her father's 2 position successful nan Arkansas House of Representative from 1999 to 2003, it was mostly nan older cohort of his kids who would beryllium allowed to travel him to 'nicer' events.

'They would ever say, "The older ones are going to spell do this, nan younger kids are going to enactment home…" It was conscionable really we decided who was going to get to beryllium a portion of things,' she elaborated, besides adding that nan commencement bid was besides what wished nan timing of everyone's missions successful El Salvador. 

Jeremy asked Jinger's sentiment connected 'how accurate' stereotypes astir firstborn, mediate and younger children were for her family, specified arsenic nan oldest being a 'leader figure' versus nan second-born being a 'follower.'

'I deliberation you moreover spot nan the characteristic tendencies, for illustration pinch nan older kids you tin person for illustration a really beardown leader. Then you'll person 1 who's much chill, nan 1 who's rambunctious, successful that benignant of pattern,' she answered.

'It decidedly repeats itself. I think, successful larger families. You spot that there's immoderate benignant of a leader characteristic who conscionable take charges of each of those sections.'

She added that Joy-Anna decidedly filled nan 'leader' domiciled successful nan mediate section, arsenic nan only woman betwixt 2 boys successful beforehand of her and a streak of six boys aft her.

Speaking for herself, Jinger characterized herself arsenic a follower: 'I'm for illustration nan baby… I conscionable didn't want to get successful trouble.

'I'd spot everybody other and what they were doing. And truthful if a mates of nan ones supra me, who had stronger temperaments, were pushing against something, I'd beryllium like, "Okay, I'm not going to do that." Cause I didn't want to get successful trouble.'

Notably, 1 of Jinger's older sisters, Jill, 33, has publically distanced herself from IBLP, and besides had a falling retired pinch her begetter complete her net from 19 Kids and Counting.

More upsettingly, nan firstborn of nan full family, Joshua, 36, was embroiled successful a bid of intersexual scandals that culminated successful 2022 pinch a 12.5 twelvemonth situation condemnation for kid pornography possession.

Jinger added that she didn't deliberation she was peculiarly much 'mature' compared to her older siblings while increasing up.

She was alternatively 'just much chill,' truthful she coiled up being 'sandwiched' pinch her older siblings and truthful 'got to do more.'

The group would get successful petty fights arsenic highly young children - specified arsenic Jessa, 31, encouraging their younger relative Joseph, 29, to propulsion Jinger's hairsbreadth erstwhile he was excessively young to recognize what he was doing, and past getting successful trouble.

By nan clip they were a small older, however, they were each 'inseparable,' Jinger described.

In nan day-to-day dynamics, Jinger recalled 'there's ever thing happening,' whether it was a backyard crippled of kickball, a group taking a locomotion to nan pond, a market run, personification moving connected a 'real property project' aliases personification 'fixing a car,' and beyond.

'So you could fundamentally spell wherever you wanted and conscionable drawback a thrust pinch whomever nan driver was, whoever was aged capable to thrust by themselves.' 

Discussing nan nitty gritty of mundane life, Jinger shared: 'It depends connected what play of life we're talking about.

'Because pre-show, it was a different life. We'd do astir apt moreover much things together because we were very young.

'So my parents, if it was successful nan summer, we would spell connected motorcycle rides a lot.

'And truthful my dada would fig retired really to get america each bikes and make judge each nan tires were aired up and past my mom would thrust a 15-passenger van pinch nan trailer attached to it,' Jinger recalled.

Before they started earning money from nan TLC series, Jinger and each of her sisters had to stock conscionable 2 bathrooms. 

However, nan show allowed them to yet bargain a location amended suited to their family size.

'I deliberation erstwhile we moved to nan large house, that's astir apt what we were astir excited about, was to have, I deliberation it was 9 bathrooms,' she said.

Getting everyone retired nan doorway was besides a painstaking process successful itself, pinch Jinger joking astir 'Duggar time,' because 'we were late, a lot.'

As nan family grew, nan go-to mode of carrier yet ended up being a 45-foot agelong Prevost Entertainer-brand autobus outfitted pinch bunk beds.

Even pinch each nan space, nan fresh was 'tight,' Jinger admitted.

When it came to mealtimes, Jinger recalled immoderate of her younger siblings' 'disgusting' wont of stowing nutrient successful nan bath retired of fearfulness that personification other would return it.

'But usually my mom would make plenty. I don't cognize what nan woody was,' Jinger said pinch a laugh. 

Given specified a large family, insubstantial plates were a must, she added.

'We already had 3 dishwashers, and nan sinks were ever full,' Jinger described.

'We had 2 normal sinks, that were double… That's 4 sinks. And successful nan backmost we had commercialized sinks that were 3 monolithic drum sinks, that are really low, for illustration nan restaurants use.

'We had 3 of those, and they would ever get filled up, but it was only pinch nan dishes that we were utilizing to navigator with, and sometimes cups. We would usage cups that were not insubstantial aliases plastic,' she continued.

The non-disposable cups they utilized were branded by each kid's sanction pinch masking tape, and her mom would propulsion them successful nan dishwasher 'every time aliases two.'  

They moreover had 1 commercialized dishwasher that her dada sewage astatine a edifice proviso store.

Jim Bob would besides predominant auctions and bargain immoderate 'restaurant instrumentality for our house,' said Jinger. 

Consequently, nan family enjoyed monolithic business refrigerators arsenic good arsenic 3 heavy freezers successful their pantry. 

The pantry itself was besides outfitted pinch edifice shelving, which was organized meticulously by Jim Bob, who utilized to activity astatine a market store.

Going retired to eat arsenic a family astatine would unsurprisingly consequence successful a monolithic bill.

One of nan family's go-to places was a since-shuttered spot called Taco Tico that offered 10-cent tacos arsenic a Sunday Special.

'And we could eat arsenic galore tacos arsenic we wanted,' reminisced Jinger.

Another edifice nan family frequented had initially had a 'Kids eat for free policy' - but, sometime aft nan Duggars became regulars, nan constitution updated nan argumentation to: One kid for each paying big tin eat for free. 

Jinger tied nan knot pinch soccer-player-turned-minister Jeremy successful 2016, and nan mates now stock 2 kids: Felicity, six, and Evangeline, three.

While Jinger remains adjacent to her parents and siblings, she joined sister Jill arsenic different related to cull IBLP.

She released a book successful 2023 called Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear. 

In it, she chronicled her travel arsenic she committed to 'studying' nan Bible herself for nan first clip - and thereby bypassing nan skewed interpretations of Christian activity she'd grown up with.

In her telling, she yet came to nan realization that IBLP's teachings wildly diverged from those of nan Bible and denounced nan civilization of 'constant fear' fostered wrong nan organization. 

In a June 2024 section of nan Unplanned podcast, Jinger admitted that she was 'afraid' of winding up pinch arsenic galore kids arsenic her parents.

'That was thing that I was ever benignant of a small spot acrophobic of,' she admitted.

'I was ne'er nan 1 who was like, "Give maine your kids. I'm gonna spell babysit your kids for you." Some of my siblings are much geared that way. They're each astir watching everyone's kids, holding their kids,"' she said, adding she would alternatively unpaid for different home chores, arsenic US Weekly reported.

'I conscionable was really acrophobic of nan thought of having arsenic galore [kids] arsenic possible, but that was my destiny. That was gonna beryllium it. I was gonna get joined and person a batch of kids... But I was afraid. I was truthful afraid.'

When she realized she didn't person to return nan aforesaid way arsenic her parents had, she felt for illustration a 'massive weight' was lifted, she said.