Is Joy-Anna Duggar an unsafe parent?
That’s what many of the former reality star’s Instagram followers are claiming this week.
Joy’s parenting practices have been criticized many times in the past. But the backlash against her latest post might be the most intense yet.
Joy-Anna Duggar Critics Call Her an Unsafe Parent
The trouble began when Joy posted what she likely thought was a pretty innocuous video to her Instagram page.
In the clip, she and her youngest son, Gunnar, are seen riding a four-wheeler and enjoying nature.
At one point, the boy encounters his first horses and squeals with delight.
“My 14 month old’s reaction to seeing horses,” Joy captioned the clip.
But as Parade first reported, some fans weren’t happy about the sight of a 1-year-old riding an ATV with no helmet.
Adding to the concern was the fact that Joy’s 4-year-old daughter, Evelyn, was clearly upset by the sight of the horses.
“So unsafe, one child already freaking out and possibly making the four-wheeler go out of control. Think mama,” wrote one commenter.
“Jesus Christ, don’t put your baby on an ATV,” another added.
“Oh my goodness that is scary and dangerous,” a third chimed in.
“Allowing a young boy to stand in front of a horse with his back to him is an accident to happen, and no safety [sic] for the other two children,” they pointed out.
Joy Gets Slammed For Reaction to Daughter’s Outburst
Some fans were horrified by Joy’s decision to just laugh off of her daughter’s reaction:
“Evie is crying and she could spook the horses again an accident to happen,” wrote one such follower.
“If you take kids to see horses please make sure they are all behind a fence for their own safety, animals can look cute but one move and bang all can go wrong.”
We’ve witnessed many questionable parenting practices within the Duggar family, and Joy certainly could have been more cautious here.
But the reaction to the video she posted seems a bit overblown.
Fortunately, Joy also had plenty of defenders.
“Good job Mom! I see you letting kids be kids…getting to explore and experience life! Your doing great! Too many people think kids are too fragile to experience life… let them be kids! Good job!”
“All these people telling you how to parent are wild. I’m so glad you’re living your best life Joy.”
“Many people commenting [have] never been on a farm or lived on one ,” while another wrote, “some of yall never drank out the water hose and it really shows.”
Earlier this week, Joy announced that she’s moving and will not be posting to her YouTube channel anymore.
The uproar over her latest Instagram pic probably affirmed to Joy that she made the right decision in taking a break from the spotlight.
