Does family size matter?

I watched a new episode of "19 and Counting," a show on TLC about the Duggar family who just added baby #19 to their family in December.  With baby Josie being born 3 months premature, I can't help but wonder if this will be the caboose to the train of Duggar children.  After all, 19 kids?  While you may have the financial means to care for 19 kids, what about the quality of time that parents should spend with their children?  I have only 3 kids and there were times that I felt stretched thin.  But 19??  No way!!  I would have been ready for the funny farm after about a half dozen!!

How can one Mom and one Dad meet all the love and nurturing needed for 19 kids?

My Mom was one of 10 children.  She was number 9 and was 17 years younger than her oldest sibling.  There were times when she resented them as they took on the roles of "Mom and Dad."  I understand the Duggars actually assign an older child to a younger child.  I have watched episodes where Mom hands off her babies to older children as if somehow it isn't her responsibility to take care of the children that she chose to birth.

Where do you draw the line between a child's responsibilities and a parent's in caring for smaller siblings?

As a parent myself, I can't help but think how much they are missing in the one-on-one department with so many small children to nurture at one time.  The Duggar home has less adult one-on-one nurturing on a daily basis than most orphanages or childcare facilities.  Hmmmmm...something to think about. 

Are we harming our children as we have become "doting parents" with our family size now at 3.2?

The average size of families in the U.S. has been shrinking for years.  In 2008, it was 3.2.  Subtract Mom and Dad, you essentially have only one child.  Or, there could be two kids and one parent, considering that 40% of the children born in 2006 were to single-parent homes.  Anyway you look at it, less children to a family in America today is the norm.  The parental dynamics are changing, too.  More grandparents are taking care of grandchildren today than any other time in history.  Are all these changes good for families, the foundation to what has helped build America?

It's going to be interesting to see how well the Duggar children turn out.  Will all of them be prepared for college after spending all their school years being home-schooled? Will all of them marry and have large families of their own?  Will all of them be well-adjusted adults without divorces, drug use, criminal issues, and all the other stuff that families deal with today?   The answer is probably no to all these questions.  But then, we face the same problems in our smaller families.

Obviously size isn't the only consideration that determines well-adjusted, successful, and happy families.