As I’ve traveled about the world and returned to the States the thing that earmarks American children of all economic classes is that American children are spoiled.
Doing chores and WORK in the company of your brothers and sisters is a good thing. In El Salvador many girls do loads of laundry on a river rock. The Duggars have these labor saving machines.
I formed my opinion by watching the show THEY have editorial control over (TLC admits this).
Yes there are lazy, spoilt American kids; obviously the Duggars are not...BUT...there is a line between being a responsible kid, doing ‘chores’ and a mini-mom at 12. Given a younger child (assigned to you!!!); and monunmental amounts of household chores. Childhood only happens once, and as much as I question the ‘assigning’ of a younger child to an older one, I question the amount of time a mom can devote to rearing the children (and not delegating that ‘chore’ yet again).
If I hadn’t watched the show THEY produce, I would be as ‘rah-rah’ as everyone else here. But even with heavy editing and final ‘cut’ provisions, there was such a ‘disconnect’ between Michelle (ever hear or see her on TV...oddly spacey, with a sing songy verbal pattern) and all the kids, and their workman like chores, that it really raised alot of flags for me.