Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth is no stranger to controversy, having grown up in the spotlight, first on 19 Kids and Counting and now on Counting On. But the TLC personality found herself at the center of a mom-shaming spiral Tuesday with the photos she shared of 2-year-old son Gideon getting lessons from dad Austin Forsyth in using heavy machinery.
The Counting On mom was quick to defend her photos as more than safe for the toddler, but that didn’t stop commenters from weighing in on both sides of the situation on social media.
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Keep scrolling to learn all about the latest Duggar daughter scandal and her classy clapback.
Family photo
It all started innocently enough, with Joy sharing to Instagram Tuesday photos of Gideon sitting on her lap in what appears to be some kind of heavy machinery while wearing toddler-sized ear protection and getting a lesson from dad about the workings of a chainsaw.
“Learning how to clear land from Papa!” Joy captioned the pictures, adding the hashtags “dozer work” and “land clearing.”
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Clapback
It wasn’t long before commenters began to critique having Gideon so close to a chainsaw without wearing ear protection.
“Austin has ear protection but your precious baby doesn’t?” one commenter wrote. “Ur teaching ur kids that this deadly tool is a toy.”
Joy-Anna was quick to point out the facts, however, keeping it calm in the face of such harsh criticism.
“It wasn’t running,” she responded with a smiley face. “I just wanted to get a picture of Gideon with Austin!”
Jumping to her defense
Joy had plenty of people piling on to defend her parenting skills from the critics.
“Why judge a picture-beautiful little boy with his dad and mom?” one commenter asked pointedly.
Another penned a note to Joy and Austin directly, writing, “Can’t people just give you a break and realize you guys know what you’re doing and you love your son and you’re great parents. Jeesh!”
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No mom shaming
Still others encouraged the young couple to keep posting memories with their family on the internet, regardless of what people say.
“How sweet!! Who cares what people think?” one follower wrote. “You are amazing parents and would never do anything to harm your kids! Let them be little and make memories.”
“[You’re] worried that Gideon doesn’t have ear protection and not [saying] anything about the equipment he is holding with [Gideon] there,” another added. “Common sense would tell you it’s not on which means he doesn’t need ear protection. Trust them they know what they are doing.”
Plenty of positivity
Even aside from the drama surrounding the machinery, Joy and Austin had plenty of people cheering them on.
“That’s awesome! Boys these days need good fathers who teach them many valuable skills,” one follower wrote. “Keep up the good work, you two!”
Another chimed in, “Awesome job Mom. Teaching them tools and how they work so curiosity of not knowing and wanting to doesn’t get them hurt. That’s how my husband and I approach guns. At the right time show them & how they work and get the ‘What does this do?’ thoughts answered in a controlled and supervised way.”
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A tough year
The couple could use a little extra love, as it’s been a difficult past year for Joy-Anna and Austin. The TLC couple announced in July that Joy experienced a miscarriage with their unborn baby girl at about 20 weeks.
“Today marks one week since we heard these words…” the pair shared on Instagram in July “‘So this is your baby’s heart (pointing to the ultrasound screen). I don’t hear a heartbeat or see any movement.’”
“It was a baby girl,” they continued. “Although we don’t understand why, God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time. Yes, it still hurts and we have cried countless tears, but we know that we can trust the Lord. In the words of King David after the loss of his baby, ‘I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me’ (2 Sam 12:23).”
The couple revealed they had named the little girl Annabell Elise, writing, “What a precious thing to know that when our daughter opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face of Jesus.”
Staying strong
Since then, the couple has worked on healing and pushing forward, moving into a new home together and raising their son. As for if they were ready to try for another pregnancy, Joy-Anna told Us Weekly in November she was giving her body “time to heal.”
“We want to be wise and give my body time to heal,” she told the outlet at the time, adding that she eventually did want to add to her family with Austin.
“But we are excited for the children that God’s going to give us and can’t wait,” she said. “I don’t know if four is the number. I mean, I would be fine with a few more if that’s what God wants us to have.”
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Photo credit: TLC
