16 kids and thinking about more

[Wildcard Ky]

An Arkansas woman just gave birth to her 16th child and may not be done yet.

Busy mom

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I heard about this and was talking about it with a friend at school the other day. She knew a family with 15 and said that it was their "calling". I dunno how I feel about that, though if more people adopt this method of family building we'll be calling China to borrow the rulebook on Coping with Overpopulation.

 

[cloudy]

my sister has 14 children.

 

[oggbashan]

My parents were from families of 12 but all were born before 1914 and less than 8 of each survived to age 5.

Ante and post-natal care has improved since then.

Og

 

[HollyHawkk]

My brother has 8 and expecting his number 9! No signs of them stopping either. They are all ready talking about number 10. All under one roof! Ok, she had 5 from her first marraige and he had 1 and they have 3 togeather.

Family gatherings are real fun!! and noisy.

I can't imagine what a day in that house would be like!

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I met a girl in school that was one of 13 children. Her family was very religious, though not to the point of dismissing birth control. It was just their way. It was always interesting to hear of how they ran the house and the way they consumed staples.

 

[cloudy]

K up in Ontario is one of 21 children. We injuns are good breeders, I reckon.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

For most people, the workable cap on children is how many you can afford to feed and clothe and provide for.

If you can afford them and have the requisite patience and ability to give them all the kind of love a kid deserves, Knock yourselves out. Most families will stop well short ot the number they might like to have, because they just don't have the ability, be it in time, or money or some combination thereof, to keep having them.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

My boyfriend is one of nine kids, so when we have family gatherings, there are dozens of kids running around, mostly boys. We're one of the few couples in the family that only has one child. It's total anarchy and I can hardly handle it for a day. I can't imagine having that many all the time. Most days, one kid is too much for me.

 

[matriarch]

I simply stopped at 2 because I refused to have any more, pregnancy was just 9 months of physical hell for me.

In fact, I never wanted any in the first place. I took a long time to learn how to say 'no'. Came as quite a shock to him when I finally did.

And meant it.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

I simply stopped at 2 because I refused to have any more, pregnancy was just 9 months of physical hell for me.

In fact, I never wanted any in the first place. I took a long time to learn how to say 'no'. Came as quite a shock to him when I finally did.

And meant it.

There's a world full of people out there who simply cannot understand it when a woman says they don't want any(or any more) children. People bug me all the time with "Don't you want to give him a brother or sister?" They're shocked when I tell them no way.

I'm going to eventually get a lot less polite about it and tell them if they want to go through the morning sickness, the back pain, and then give birth to it and then feel like they want to drive off a cliff for a year afterwards to go ahead and knock themselves out!

 

[matriarch]

There's a world full of people out there who simply cannot understand it when a woman says they don't want any(or any more) children. People bug me all the time with "Don't you want to give him a brother or sister?" They're shocked when I tell them no way.

I'm going to eventually get a lot less polite about it and tell them if they want to go through the morning sickness, the back pain, and then give birth to it and then feel like they want to drive off a cliff for a year afterwards to go ahead and knock themselves out!

Exactly.

*HUGS*

 

[Guest]

We have two. One of each flavor.

We still would have stopped at two, no matter the sex of our second child.

I loved being pregnant and had relatively uneventful births, but I certainly don't miss the worry I had during that time. There are too many things to worry about the entire time of pregnancy, labor and delivery, during breastfeeding, etc. Worry, worry, worry.

But about the families with many kids? If you can afford them, if you are good parents, what the hell? Truly, is it anyone's business how many children you choose to have?

 

[woodnymph_O]

well I said it before I had 5, 3 from a previous marriage and 2 recently, so recently that my youngest is 2 months. I didn't plan on having any more after 3 and honestly the 3rd had been a suprise, but I guess life is a never say never kind of thing.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

We have four, and he wants more... I have two from a previous marriage, tho, in that total four... so really think about it as having two twice

I can't imagine 16, tho... how can you spread yourself out between all of them??? Who gets left out? (And how in the hell are you even HAVING sex to make MORE, with 16 kids around????)

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I have 5 kids. I love them dearly, but wouldn't want anymore. #5 was a complete suprise, and I got myself snipped after that one.

I think one of the things that stopped me from wanting more kids is that I didn't want to be an old dad. I wouldn't want to be up around retirement age when I have kids just getting out of high school. I want to be young enough to enjoy my kids and grandkids.

When I see these stories of a guy in his 60's (or older) fathering a child, it makes me sad. Odds are that the child will have to deal with the death of a parent at a very early age in life. Tony Randall is the most obvious example I can think of off the top of my head.