'Counting On' Season 4 Cast and Updates: Jill Duggar, Derick Dillard Come Under Fire for Parenting Methods

By Trisha Cerdena
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard
Picture of Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard taken on Dec. 2015. "Counting On" star Jill Duggar-Dillard recently shared a post on her family's official website, letting her fans know that a close friend of hers had met an unfortunate fate after getting murdered in El Salvador. Instagram

Jill Duggar-Dillard and husband, Derick Dillard, have come under fire once for their parenting methods. The “Counting On” stars are currently faced with negative comments from critics who believe that the Dillard couple is using the wrong methods to raise their child, Israel.

In an interview with TLC, Jill Duggar-Dillard admitted that she and Derick have not perfected the skill of parenting. However, further tensions were caused by Derick when he said that their two-year-old son is “manipulative” at times. "We know that human nature is still there because he's very manipulative," he said. "He'll say, 'I love you, Papi,' like if he's really trying to get something to butter you up right before he asks for something."

Fans of the Duggars were quick to respond to Derick’s statement; according to critics, Jill Duggar-Dillard and her husband are focused more on training their child as opposed to nurturing him through emotional parenting, causing the child to become manipulative to get what he wants.

"That's very medieval," one critic pointed out, adding that "the Dillards seem to be more about training Izzy and less about delighting in him." Another critic of the Duggars pointed out that the family is treating their children as adults. For instance, the Duggars’ matriarch Michelle Duggar is rumored to carry out blanket training wherein the child is wrapped in a blanket on the floor to help him/her become more obedient.

“Counting On” stars Jill Duggar-Dillard and husband Derick are reportedly using such training method as well; the couple recently shared images of their son, Israel, crying while placed in a blanket. "What is going on in their heads to think posting two photos of a bound up toddler screaming his head off is appropriate?" a critic wrote as comment.

In earlier reports about the Duggars, Jill Duggar-Dillard admitted that, although she helped out in raising 15 15 younger brothers and sisters, to raise her own kid is a different story. In a TLC clip, the 25-year-old mother admitted that, while she and her husband are “far from mastering” the skill of parenting, they try to pick up pieces of advice from the Duggars and the Dillards as well. They also expressed their pride over their toddler’s ability to say “please” and “thank you.”

Pregnant with her second baby, Jill Duggar-Dillard also drew flak for putting Israel and the baby-to-be in danger as she returned to her mission work in El Salvador where the Zika virus remains widespread. The “Counting On” star is due in July; she did promise to come back with Derick and Israel to Arkansas for the birth of her second baby. “She nearly died in childbirth last time. know that we are to trust the Lord but He gave us a brain with common sense,” a critic commented, recalling Jill’s difficult birth delivery with her first child.

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