Danielle And Adam Busby Open Up About Parenting During The Pandemic

Since OutDaughtered debuted in 2016, viewers have been following the lives of Adam and Danielle Busby, who are parents to the country's first set of all-girl quintuplets: 5-year-old Ava Lane, Olivia Marie, Hazel Grace, Riley Paige, and Parker Kate. The couple also shares their older sister, Blayke, 9.

As show goes into its eighth season, fans of the reality series know that raising six kids under the age of ten is not any easy task, but the Busby family keeps it real both on-screen and off-screen — making OutDaughtered is one of the most refreshing and relatable shows on the network today.

Adam and Danielle's honesty about parenting, their relationship, their struggles, and more only add to the appeal of OutDaughtered. And while raising six young children at any given point is taxing on parents or caretakers, throw in a worldwide pandemic, and you've got yourself quite the task at hand.

In a March 2020 interview with Us Weekly, Danielle and Adam Busby spoke about the pros and cons of parenting while promoting the show's eighth season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

"It definitely has been eye-opening being shut down and having to change all of our routines and schedules with the girls," Danielle admitted. "We have always flowed so well and done well with routine and a constant rhythm, so we have really had to adjust. We don't have to get up at a certain time, but we still had to do XYZ."

While their normal routine has been shaken up, the Busby family had to learn to rely on doing one particular thing over the past year. "We still have things to do and stuff to take care of," Danielle explained. "We learned that we have to communicate more than anything. But also really find the joy in small things that we do, like sitting down together as a family."

Adam added, "COVID allowed us to see what's really important. We started to think outside of the box and get creative around the house. We didn't really ever get time to sit, but COVID allowed us to start things earlier and have more time. We really sit down as a family of eight and have consistently done that every day."

Even though Adam and Danielle Busby and their six daughters have seemingly found some light during these uncertain times, that doesn't mean parenting during the pandemic has been a walk in the park every day. The parents admitted that their children are all at an age where "they just don't want to do things that they don't want to do [...] and it causes talking back."

But it seems like through all the trials and tribulations the Busby family has experienced through the pandemic, they're adjusting and making things work for their large family. 

"This age is just hard because they have a lot of opinions, and there are six different opinions and they don't ever align up the same," Danielle shared. "So we've learned to go through the days, like Monday is Ava's day. Ava is gonna sit in the first seat in the van. She's going to pick the shows. She's going to pick dinner and things like that. We try to break it up."

You can catch new episodes of OutDaughtered on TLC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.