Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram
Jill Duggar Reveals She’s Raising Her Kids to ‘Walk Away From Toxic People’ Amid Family Estrangement
Jill Duggar revealed she’s teaching her three kids to “walk away from toxic people” amid her family estrangement.
The Counting On alum, 32, reflected on raising her three sons – Israel, 8, Samuel, 6, and Freddy, 14 months – with her husband, Derick Dillard, while appearing on the Tuesday, October 24, episode of Christy Carlson Romano‘s “Vulnerable” podcast.
“It’s so fun. I love being a boy mom,” Jill explained. “I love, just, the environment and the fun.”
The former TLC star added that she is teaching her sons to “feel their feelings, but also to think about other people’s feelings and keep that in check.”
When asked her thoughts on the dynamics within other families, Jill noted that “everybody’s got their crazy.”
“You can always compare yourself to others. I don’t think that’s always wise. Like, I think everybody’s experiences should be validated,” she continued. “Just because your crazy isn’t as bad as somebody else’s doesn’t mean that that should silence you either. So I think you should process and feel those feelings.”
Christy, 39, then asked Jill to elaborate on her thoughts when it comes to distancing herself from “toxic” family members. The former reality star noted that trying to figure out boundaries can be a “constant struggle,” regardless of the relationship at play.
“I’ve definitely had conversations with people who have said the same thing. Yeah, I’ve had a hard time, like, putting some distance,” Jill said. “Even if it’s for a short time between people.”
Jill added that setting boundaries with family members might be a generational problem since it hasn’t been openly talked about as much by older generations. “That’s something in our generation that’s definitely helpful and talked about,” she continued. “You do have to think twice about it. Even when it’s family and even people that are close to you.”
“You have to be healthy in the end, and if that means distancing yourself from family for a period of time as you kind of disentangle,” Jill explained. “I think that is healthy in some respects.”
Jill concluded the topic by stating that people sometimes just need “space” from each other.
The mother of three has been open about her estrangement from her family, particularly her parents Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar, in the past. Jill and Derick, 34, previously discussed their complex family dynamic in Amazon Prime Video’s Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets docuseries and in their September memoir, Counting the Cost..
More recently, Jill recalled the last “awkward” encounter she had with Jim Bob, 58, during a “girls’ brunch” he “showed up” to with her sister Jinger Duggar.
While she said that Jim Bob seemed pleasant, Jill noted that he was acting emotionally distant. “He won’t bring anything up when we’re all together,” she told Entertainment Tonight in September, adding that the situation was not confrontational. Jill also stated that their interaction was “not like it used to be.”
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