The women of the Duggar family are expected to start helping with household chores – including caring for their younger siblings – at a very young age.
In keeping with that tradition, 22-year-old Jinger Duggar has been helping with the young ones since she was little girl herself. Perhaps that’s why this photo caught so many fans by surprise:
That’s a shot of Michael Duggar, the 4-year-old son of Josh and Anna Duggar, asleep in the backseat of Jinger’s car during a shopping excursion.
The image was posted to the Duggar’s official Facebook page this afternoon along with a caption reading, “Look at this photo Jinger sent us! Seems like her little shopping buddy needed some rest!”
Seems harmless enough, but because everything the Duggars do stirs up controversy these days, several fans immediately went on the offensive.
The problem, it seems, is that Michael is not properly restrained according to Arkansas state law, which dictates that children under the age of 5 or weighing less than 60 pounds must ride in a car seat.
Naturally, the comments section on the photo has now devolved into a battleground with child safety advocates duking it out with the Duggar faithful:
“He should be in a high back booster or a harness,” wrote one commenter. “She probably wasn’t driving when the photo was taken but had to have been driving with him in that position. He wasn’t properly restrained. Period.”
“Even if he were in a backless booster and that booster is being hidden by the blanket in the photo, a backless/no back booster isn’t even an appropriate seat for a 5yo anyway,” another chimed in.
Naturally, these comments sparked the usual “know-it-all moms” blowback:
“1) she PROOOOBABLY wasn’t able to take such a perfect picture, from the driver’s seat, while driving. 2) if you say your child has.never done this, you’re lying. 3) they don’t need your safety advice,” one commenter wrote in Jinger’s defense.
The Duggars have been criticized for photos of their kids on numerous occasions in the past year.
In fact, this isn’t even the first controversy related to a car seat.
Some of it seems to come from a place of genuine concern; most of it is just the usual Internet outrage directed at some very low-hanging fruit, but as several commenters pointed out today, when it pertains to their kids’ safety, the Duggars should probably just take the advice.
