Anna Duggar Says She Can’t Parent On Her Own, Josh Gets ‘Encouragement’ From Family Members

Anna Duggar says that she became overwhelmed with her duties as a stay-at-home mom after her third child was born, and she realized that she couldn’t take care of her kids on her own. Now Anna has four kids at home, and her husband, Josh Duggar, isn’t around to help take care of them. However, when Anna started to feel like she couldn’t handle the stress of caring for so many kids, she didn’t turn to her husband for help — instead, she appealed to a higher power.

The Duggar Family Blog recently shared some of Anna Duggar’s advice for moms, and the former 19 Kids and Counting star revealed that her number one tip is to be ready and willing to learn. Anna also hinted that she began struggling with the number of kids she has to care for after she and Josh welcomed their third child, and she worried about her children not feeling loved — until she looked to God for help.

“Have a learning spirit,” Anna Duggar advised mothers. “I remember with Mackynzie, I thought we had so much figured out. And then with Michael, I was like, ‘What can I learn?’ And then with Marcus, it really brought me to my knees. I realized I couldn’t do it on my own and that I needed God’s wisdom to love each one of my children individually.”

Anna Duggar recently welcomed another child that she’ll have to learn to love “individually.” According to TODAY, Anna and Josh Duggar announced the arrival of Meredith Grace Duggar on July 19, just days after 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled. TLC decided to give the show the ax after it was reported that Josh Duggar had molested five girls when he was a teenager. Four of his victims were his sisters.

The cancellation of 19 Kids likely put a damper on the Duggar family’s celebration of Meredith’s arrival, and things only got worse for Anna after it was revealed that her husband had cheated on her. Late in August, Josh confessed to having an account on the Ashley Madison website and being unfaithful to his wife. He also claimed that he was suffering from an addiction to pornography, and he promptly checked himself into a treatment program called Reformers Unanimous. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Reformers is not a rehab center — it’s a “school of discipleship” where “students” battle their demons using Bible study, prayer sessions, and physical labor.

While Josh is away, Anna Duggar has been spending a lot of time with her in-laws. At the end of October, she attended a fundraising banquet with a few members of the Duggar family, including sister-in-law Jessa and “rebel” Duggar cousin Amy. Jessa Duggar told People that she and Anna also spent some time together earlier this month when Anna tried to help her sister-in-law induce labor.

“My sister-in-law Anna told me she walked stairs and that worked with her son Marcus,” Jessa Duggar revealed. “We walked up and down the stairs together 20 times until I was like, ‘Okay, no more.'”

The day before Jessa’s baby boy was born, Anna Duggar and baby Meredith attended Jessa’s birthday dinner.

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During her interview with the Duggar Family Blog, Anna Duggar shared a bit of advice for mothers like Jessa who plan on having more than one child. According to Anna, spending plenty of time with your first child is extremely important because you want to make sure that your oldest will set a good example for your younger children.

“Enjoy each moment. I encourage moms to invest in their kids’ lives, even when they are babies. When you have one child, it’s still fairly easy to run around and do things, but try to remember to spend one-on-one time with that child because he or she is going to be the example that your other kids are going to follow.”

Anna Duggar’s troubled husband was the oldest child in his family of 19, so perhaps his dark past played a part in Anna’s decision to invest a little extra time and effort into parenting her first child.

Even though Josh didn’t turn out to be the best example for his 18 younger siblings, some of them aren’t giving up on their older brother. According to ETonline, some members of the Duggar family are trying to help Josh turn his life around by sending him letters of “encouragement” and “forgiveness.” However, other members of the family still aren’t convinced that Anna’s husband is deserving of forgiveness, and one Duggar family source has even said that Josh feels no remorse for cheating on his wife.

What do you think of Anna Duggar’s parenting advice? Do you think Josh would have benefited from spending more one-on-one time with his parents?

[Image via Josh Duggar/Instagram]