There aren't enough kids in the world, says mum of 19

“There needs to be more children because our world needs more joy,” says Michelle Duggar, mother of 19  and star of TLC’s reality show ’19 kids and counting’.

“The idea of overpopulation is not accurate,” she said in a recent interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. “The entire population of the world could fit inside of Jacksonville, Florida. I agree with Mother Teresa when she said, ‘to say that there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers’.”

She explains how her large family is resourceful and therefore does not pose a big environmental problem. “We buy the things that most people would not be using. We are teaching our children to be helpers, servicers, givers instead of takers.” They buy used cars, she says, and shop at thrift stores and garage sales purchasing things that others have discarded.

Given that, according to National Geographic, around five percent of humans use 23 percent of the energy being used, 13 percent of the population can’t obtain clean drinking water and 38 percent of humans lack adequate sanitation, maybe it’s not just space and buying second hand goods that makes an impact …

Have you ever considered the environmental impact of your family? Are big families a modern indulgence or an opportunity to create more love in the world?

Read more about the Duggar Family here, here and here