I have five small children and at times, I have struggled. There have been days where we have more "have nots" than "haves." However, having a large family is a beautiful thing with an investment for years to come. Herein, I will discuss life, things we have learned (or are dealing with) and also suggestions for others. Hopefully I can shed a male perspective on family life as well as other things a dude can encounter as a father.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Family size freak show?

I was listening to my wife and a couple other ladies talk last night about family size. One lady was from a family of eight and has 3 kids. The other lady has four children and lastly my 5 mongrels were at the same bash. They started talking about the "looks" that they receive when going into public. The comment, which stood out to me, "it is amazing how much cuter my kids become [in public] when there are only two [of five]."

Each of my children have the same mother and father. They are well groomed (heaven forbid, we have a bad day and they dress themselves). They misbehave and of course when 5 are at the same time it is a circus but it is all relative the quantity. Is it that people are amazed we can handle it? Is it terror? Seriously, I am curious. We are not the Duggar's with 19 and counting... Of course we are a little larger than the "average" and have to get a larger vehicle than most...


Seriously people, it is an investment. We look forward to the holidays when everyone is home. We have given up the exotic vacations, fancy living, and other luxuries for now in hopes that later we will be rewarded much more. I am not judging you if you only want one child. Please do not judge me if I want more than that.

Average Family Size

"For all practical purposes, the size of an average household in a nation is the same as the size of the average family. In the United States, the average household consists of 3.1 persons.
That’s a small average by world standards, but not the smallest, Sweden and East Germany both have an average household of just 2.6 persons.

Colombia has the largest average household of any nation in the Western Hemisphere, 5.9 persons. But the African nation of The Gambia has the largest average household of any country on earth, 8.3 persons!"
-http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/what-country-has-the-worlds-largest-average-family

Lastly, I charge you to leave some comments below - why do you think people give the reactions they do? Honestly. What is your ideal family size, and why?

God Bless - Joe



3 comments:

  1. I like what you said about your kids being cuter when there are just one or two with you. J and I went shopping on Saturday with just our 2 little boys. We got so many smiles and kind comments, it was unreal. Contrast that with when we take our entire brood out and you wouldn't know they are the same children! I have had some encouraging comments though - I once had a woman come up to me as I was loading up the car after a long trip with all 5 kids, and she was very encouraging and supportive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think that 4 or 5 kids is ideal because then you have a larger family where your children have siblings, but all still fit in a minivan. Although, if God chooses for you to have more (for instance you were definitely NOT trying but got pregnant anyway, was told by a doctor you could never possibly have more children due to health, etc.) then I don't think we can/should argue. God knows us best and knows what is best for us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My husband is the oldest of 10. We have three and hope God blesses us with more. Our society puts so much focus not the "American Dream" and providing this so called "american dream" for our children. Society thinks our kids should have whatever they want. With that we are told to take into consideration what we can provide from our children. So that means if we can't pay for college or a car or have a huge 401k then we shouldn't have any kids because they cost too much money and take away from the things we want in life. Self-centeredness
    What I want to provide for my children is love, comfort and hope in Christ not in the "american dream". I want to teach my kids that "things" are not important. People look down on those that have so many children because the mentality is "how will you provide for these children". God has provided above and beyond our needs in our family.

    ReplyDelete