mothers of large families

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children

Mothers of large families

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spinkles ↓

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 10:02 am

I'm writing an article about how mothers of large families manage. Anyone here have k"ah seven kids or more? Would you be interested in telling me about your experiences? I'm looking for practical tips AND funny stories--anecdotes where things didn't go exactly as planned!

Please PM me if you'd like to share your experiences. Thanks so much! Very Happy

newmom

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 12:07 pm

There was a recent article about the same topic in mispacha magazine.

amother

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 12:10 pm

personally I didn't think the article in the mishpacha was all that positive or helpful or motivating I think it may have turned off a huge segment of the community even those that would like or intend to have large families.

to the OP I don't think you need to fudge the truth but I do think you should make sure its positive or helpful.

creativemommyto3

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 12:27 pm

yeah, that article should have been saying more positive things with tips to manage. Very Happy

↑ spinkles

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 7:11 pm

I didn't see the Mishpacha article, so thanks for letting me know--I'll check it out. Mine is for a secular parenting magazine, and yeah, I'm not planning on putting too much emphasis on the challenging aspect of having a large family. Trying to keep it light and entertaining.

cip

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 10:36 pm

"the nechama greisman anthology" has plenty great tips.

by the time the cake is done cooling on the counter, it's 3/4 gone and good luck finding the person to blame.
same with ever trying to find out who dropped _______ on the kitchen floor when noone was looking and just walked away.
but if your going on a date and you've got 5 sisters, you have 5 wardrobes (sp.?) to browse.

(I grew up in a large family)

Motek

Fri, Aug 24 2007, 11:58 am

chana_f wrote:

I didn't see the Mishpacha article, so thanks for letting me know--I'll check it out.

it was in Family First, issue 48 "The More the Merrier"
here:

http://mishpacha.com/indexes/8/48/

in subsequent issues there were some scathing letters about it

Quote:

Mine is for a secular parenting magazine

check this out:
http://www.duggarfamily.com/

raizy

Sun, Jan 20 2008, 4:29 pm

the mishpacha article was plain weird. one mother put all her kids to bed at 6 from youngest to oldest and they had to stay in bed till the next morning. at 6 oclock she had them all marching to the park....

what kind of life did they grow up too. to get up at 5 every day...??

grin

Mon, Jan 21 2008, 2:34 am

I didn't see the artilce either, but in my experience, "the more the merrier" is very true. B"H they're all great freinds and have some great laughs together everyday. The clothes borrowing is also true (but sometimes the borrower thought it's for keeps...)
The older ones help with the younger ones (sometimes too much?) and the rest of the housework. Aslo, re: the myth of how expensive it is - noone buys everything brand-new for each kid and believe me, I save a lot on babysitting and dishwashing help.
The hardst part is e\when they're all still little. Once the oldest is able to help with the youngest (rocking the carriage, etc.) you've started on the dowhill slope of the curve of difficulty.
Of course, each age presents it's own challenges - but that also "lo bashamayim hi" - love them and keep the communication lines open and daven for them regularly, and Hashem will help.
They grow up learning to share the good and the bad - the best preparation for the "real" world there could be.

NotInNJMommy

Mon, Jan 21 2008, 7:11 am

My kids wake up at 6a everday...happy as can be...actually dd is usually up at 5:30, but I won't go to her as long as she's just chatting and not flipping out until it's 6a.

She goes to bed around 6p, and ds at 7p. I get up at 4:30a and go to bed at 9p, and Id on't see why that should be a crime...although the marching thing is a bit old school.

Ah well, are they happy? I loved structure as a child.

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