There is a lot more to this story and it’s been discussed in many places. This article paints a picture that is a little different from reality

https://www.reddit.com/r/hiking/s/JtQHWoJce2

https://www.reddit.com/r/AppalachianTrail/s/8vJi35q8Gi

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKhiking/s/xK3VBfYVYS

Well here’s a story that easy to hate on. 15 kids, child support, divorced, pregnant 23 year old daughter. Let’s all go crazy.

She spent more time with here children than many will in their children’s entire childhood. They’ve experienced something than will bring a moment of silence and respect to everyone considering the feat. Being proud of yourself and your accomplishments, regardless of what life throws you. Even the 4 year old has a life story now.

Oh, and about as American as it gets. This story should make for great, interesting comments.

Fixed the title:

Woman takes extended vacation with kids on ex-husbands child support payments.

(Yes, that really is what this article is about, taking that many kids away from their father pays out A LOT of cash since they get paid by the number).

Article says, "after a recent divorce..." so she takes his kids and goes on a long vacation while dad works? How and why are these acts of extreme selfishness so praised?

> I have a child support budget of $2,400 a month and we came in under budget every month.

Doesn't sound like a lot for that many.

"she takes his kids": the court assigned custody. She didn't take anything.

Some guy out there is working his ass off while she waltzes around on a year long vacation.

In future court appointments her taking a year long vacation with the kids will be used as an argument that she should get them (and he should pay more child support) beacuse she already spends the most time with them.

And now the father has been "estranged" for over a year he's lost not just the marriage but relationships with all 15 of the kids! Brutal!

I mean it may be cheaper for her to take care of her kids on this "vacation" than to hire a nanny while she also works. Also, since when it taking care of your kids a vacation?

Seriously? Article is about the year long vacation.

May be a good way for the kids to grieve. They take divorce worse than the death of a parent psychologically.

> They take divorce worse than the death of a parent psychologically.

I'd love to hear some support for this statement, because it sounds absurd.

Doesn't sound absurd at all to me. Divorce is bad enough so the child can perceive it as having the same "finality" as death, with additional burden of abandonment, disowning and guilt without any chance of reconciliation.

Katy Faust in "Them Before Us" published in 2021 cites the study making this exact claim: "One study found the death of a parent inflicts less psychological damage on a child than divorce. It appears children fare better when they know their parents didn’t choose to abandon their family." The source link in the book appears to be dead, but searching for the title "Parental Divorce—Worse than Parental Death" surfaces plenty of similar studies, enough to satisfy an inquisitive mind.

Sounds like a great argument to get rid of no fault divorces.

Why do you say that? The article didn't mention the reason for the divorce. Could have been infidelity for all we know.

Still, imagine being the kind of person to have 13 children and then divorce. It’s a horrible crime yet there’s no legal consequences.