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Is everything okay?
Jessa Duggar shared a handwritten letter, allegedly from her almost-11-year-old son.
There are multiple oddities about it, including that the writing level appears to belong to someone much younger.
Is it just a really old letter? Or is Jessa’s homeschooling failing her children even worse than fans thought?
Does this look right to anyone?
Earlier this month, Jessa shared a series of Instagram photos that she had snapped during the month of May.
One pic featured all six of her children together.
Another showed husband Ben Seewald with a variety of ice cream in his cart during a shopping trip to Walmart.
However, one item — easily overlooked by someone just looking for pics of her and her family — stood out from the others.
It was a letter, written in marker, allegedly from Spurgeon, her 10-year-old son. (He turns 11 this autumn!)
The seventh image features a once-folded note that includes what appear to be multiple pixelated flower stickers.
“Dear Jessa,” the words in pink marker begin. “Dear Jessa, Thank you for taking care of me.”
The letter adds: “Also thank you for doing homeschool. I know it’s hard for you.”
As if distracting himself, he apparently wrote: “Also your sourdough bread is so good. We should make it again sometime.”
Adorably, his letter concludes: “I wish I could buy you flowers. Love, Spurgeon.”
What’s wrong with this picture? Possibly, so much.
People on Reddit and beyond have expressed their shock and concern over this letter, so let’s break it down.
First up, it’s odd to read a member of the infamous Duggar clan refer to his mother by her name.
Some families do that. But overall, the Duggars and Seewalds seem more like those creepy families where people unironically call their parents “ma’am” and “sir” as if it were normal.
Him thanking her for taking care of him is normal for a child. It’s not necessary, because parents have a duty to take care of their children, but it’s a precious sentiment and very normal.
Spurgeon thanking Jessa for homeschooling him instead of allowing him to get a real education is more sad than anything else. Like his mother and most of his extended family, he has no idea what he’s being deprived of.
There is no date on the paper. It is possible that this is a letter from, say, 3-4 years ago, when the letter would be more developmentally appropriate.
If Spurgeon were attending an actual school — where he’d get to socialize with peers, be taught by professionals, and learn about the world — he’d very likely be a rising fifth grader.
By this age, most children are developmentally able to print neatly (or write in cursive if someone makes them, for some reason), writing elaborate stories containing original ideas.
Perhaps this is a Mother’s Day card. Perhaps this is an old letter-writing practice from when he was 6 or 7, in which case the large and uneasy printing of letters makes sense.
If Jessa wants to reassure fans that she’s qualified to teach her children (she is not), she could show a more recent writing project from her 10-and-a-half-year-old.
Jessa Duggar Alarms Followers with Strange Letter from Son Spurgeon was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.