Mom Who Adopted 8 Kids Is Slammed for Feeding Children from Baby Pool While Others Applaud Her

When a mom-of-12 shared a video of her unusual way of feeding her children, social media users took to the comment section with a bunch of criticism. However, other people applauded the mom for adopting eight children and caring for her big brood.

Being a parent can be difficult. Raising a child is no simple matter, and it often requires creative solutions to various problems. From instilling good values in a child to more mundane tasks such as doing laundry, being a mother is a full-time job. And that's only for one child, not to mention 12.

A woman went viral after sharing a clip of her unorthodox method of feeding her 12 children. Only four of the kids are the mom's biological children, while the remaining eight are all adopted. With so many kids to take care of, Alicia Dougherty has had to find unusual solutions to feeding, bathing, and housing her big brood.

Alicia shared a video of her preparing a massive batch of nachos for her kids, spreading the chips out in the bottom of a blue children's pool and piling the rest of the ingredients on top. She then assembled the kids, pulled the pool into the middle of the group, and told the children to tuck in.

A large amount of the attention she received online was negative.

Many people expressed disgust at the unconventional method of feeding the kids, saying the children seemed like "a litter of puppies," gathering in a big cluster and digging into the nachos with their hands. Although many people were aghast, a fair amount praised the mom for doing so much for so many kids.

One person applauded Alicia, writing, "Hats off to this woman for adopting 8 kids !!!" Others echoed this sentiment, admiring the time and effort Alicia puts into raising her 12 children. One person was impressed by Alicia's creative thinking, while another wrote, "Mad respect to her for doing all this."

Adopting Eight Children

After going viral, Alicia opened up about her decision to adopt eight children while raising her and her husband's four biological kids as well. The mom revealed that all eight adopted kids suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), which can stunt their mental maturity. But Alicia handles all the problems that arise like an expert.

This wasn't the first time Alicia was in the news for how she chooses to raise her kids.

Alicia shared that she and her husband, Josh Dougherty, started adopting their children in 2010 after suffering from infertility for a long time. Alicia had had a shocking 11 miscarriages and had trouble conceiving, so she and Josh turned to adoption. She confessed that there was a learning curve when they adopted their first kid.

Their first child, a boy named Alexander, had trouble keeping his temper in check. The mom shared how Alexander lost his temper and hurled a rug at her from atop the stairs. But instead of being frightened and backing out, the new parents decided to research FASD and find ways to help their new boy. She recalled:

"We were like, 'What did we get ourselves into?' But we refused to give up. So we dove headfirst into researching and reading about FASD, and trying to figure out how to best meet his needs and little by little, he began to trust us."

Over time, Alicia and Josh learned not to be fazed by tantrums and grew more adept at dealing with the unique challenges posed by their adopted son. Over time, they adopted more kids, proving they could handle kids with tricky behavioral problems. And Alicia started to document her life on TikTok.

A large amount of the attention she received online was negative. When Alicia posted her Nacho Pool, as she referred to it, many social media users expressed disgust at the mom's unique solution to feeding her kids. One person wrote, "Vile," while another noted, "They're not wild animals!" One person wrote:

"[I] would not even approve her to adopt an animal."

It seems many people had qualms about how Alicia fed her kids, especially since she showed her kids digging into the meal with their bare hands. But many people also realized how unique Alicia's situation is and praised her for raising the children. One person noted, "This is how memories are made! Amazing job Mom."

Many others also supported Alicia's creative approach to feeding 12 kids. One person wrote, "She's a great mom actually and I think she does a great job with her kids." Another person noted, "What a great idea," and finished with, "It's just a giant bowl. Kudos mom."

More Controversy

This wasn't the first time Alicia was in the news for how she chooses to raise her kids. Alicia showed her fanbase how long it takes her to sort her children's clothes, revealing it takes her an astounding four hours to fold the clean laundry. During the clip, Alicia is slowly buried beneath the increasing heap of laundry.

The clip also went viral, and people asked her why she wasn't getting the children to help out with the daily chores. In response, the mom-of-12 confessed that she doesn't want her kids to be bogged down by the endless amount of chores.

Although things would go much faster if the children helped out, Alicia noted she wanted her kids to "just have fun and be kids." So, the brave mom faces the daunting pile of washing on her own every laundry day. She also shares how they go out and do fun things with the kids, adding that it can be costly to go out.

Alicia was also slammed for how her family celebrates Christmas. With 12 kids to shop for, the winter holidays can get shockingly expensive, and the mom documented the entire festive season. People were shocked to see the parents spent over $30,000 on presents.

The gifts included various video games, gaming consoles, iPhone 14s for every child, and even a few computers. Most of the children also got designer shoes and a big load of clothes. Many internet users were outraged to see Alicia spend so much on Christmas gifts, with one person writing:

"No matter how much money you're making this seems like an irresponsible use of $30k."

Many people noted that even the younger kids got expensive phones, and one person asked, "Just curious, what does Harley need an iPhone 14 for?" Another person wrote, "Why does a toddler have a better phone than me."

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