Yes, I have a big family. No, I’m not overwhelmed. Having a big family is a joy for so many reasons!
When our third baby was born, people started to raise their eyebrows just a bit. I heard a few comments about “knowing what causes that.”
Then I got pregnant with our fourth baby. Because we had three boys in our large family home, people just assumed that we were trying for a girl. That wasn’t actually the case, but surprisingly, we “got our girl”.
And then I became pregnant with baby number five.
And later…number six!
That baffled a lot of people. Why in the world would we have another baby when we already had both boys and a girl?
Meanwhile, I wonder the total opposite.
Why do people consider kids a collectible item? I don’t have babies because I’m trying to get a specific type of child.
I have a big family for so many better reasons. Here are just a few.
Here are the 10 Best Reasons I Have a Big Family
1. Life is Never Boring.
Ok, so even big families have days when they are a bit bored. But there is nearly always something to do or someone to hang out with.
And the house will rarely (never) be too quiet. Even on rainy days, someone will come up with a new idea to try.
2. Forget screen time.
Want to get off the screens for a bit and get active? Well, you’ve got a sports team at the ready.
There’s always someone around who will catch a ball, play some one on one, or even a little monkey in the middle.
Plus, there’s usually an extra kid or two hanging around to add to the teams.
3. Experience.
By the time you get to the third kid you are finally starting to figure out how to parent. Why let that go to waste?
Learn from other moms with these 20 Quick and Easy Tips for Raising Large Families
4. It Keeps Your Diet Honest.
You can only spend so much time hiding in the closet with a candy bar, because there is always someone running through the room.
Plus they tend to descend on the junk food the instant you bring it home from the store like a flock of locusts. (Locusts come in flocks, right? Herds?)
(Let’s be honest here. Moms of any amount of kids struggle to keep them from eating all the food day it comes home. Here are some large family tips that may help!)
5. Cheaper With Each Use.
Spread the use of those items that don’t get used for very long across several kids.
Think about the number of times you get to reuse the baby bathtub, swing, crib, and then later books, ball equipment, etc. Those kids that follow baby #1 are way cheaper.
And even if you do get rid of things or suddenly, say, have a girl after you’ve saved up 3 boys’ worth of stuff, that’s ok, because…
6. Camaraderie.
You know a lot of other moms who will probably give you stuff they are done with.
After all, you already have older kids and that means more chances to meet moms that are in the trenches with you.
7. More Chances at Mom Friends.
Let’s say that you don’t really connect with any of the parents on your older child’s baseball team. (But hey, he’s having fun!)
That’s ok. Because you’re sure to find people you’ll like better on the next kid’s team. (Trust me, there are good people out there.)
8. Watch and Learn.
Younger kids are usually a little easier to raise, because they are watching the older siblings and learning from them.
Don’t send me hate mail.
I don’t mean that in the “hey kid number 1, raise this baby for me” way, but more in a child led “Wow, my big brother is so awesome and I want to do everything he does!” kind of way.
(Warning: this works for bad role modeling as well as good…)
9. Creativity.
If you let the kids get bored, they will start to get creative. And soon, one will feed off of what the other is doing.
Before you know it, they have invented a whole new board game based on Legos and you’re researching how to get them on Shark Tank.
10. Lifelong Family.
When your children grow and become adults, they will have many people to lean on when they need help or support.
You aren’t just growing a baby, you’re creating and raising a human being that will (God willing) live and create a whole life of their own. You have another chance to let your heart run around outside of your body forever.
It’s risky, and chaotic, and totally awesome.
Yes, I Have a Big Family…and I Wouldn’t Change a Thing!
Life in a big family is a lot of fun. If you only have babies to collect one boy and one girl, you’re missing out.
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Did I miss the best reason? Drop a comment and let me know what I forgot!
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
I can’t wait to have a big family someday! Thanks for posting these ideas. It’s so much fun to dream about all of the wonderful (and sometimes difficult) aspects a big family can bring to the dynamic. 🙂
Nice reasons!
I only had 2 kids because I know my limits. I only have so much patience.
Good post! as a mom with only a sister, life was different than raising my 6 children! I had loved it, though mourn at how quickly it goes. I’m thankful that the adult children even vacation together (we have several living in different states). Thanks for sharing!
Both my husband and I grew up in large families. It was great. You always had a friend.
That’s really true! Thanks for visiting.
Love your list! I have 4 children (only 3 still at home) and it seems like 10 sometimes..LOL….
What I miss is a big extended family. Not too many cousins or aunts and uncles around 8( Makes holidays seem quiet…
Huzzah to your weekend!
I agree! Sometimes I start counting to see if someone has dumped extra children off at the house…but usually it’s just a really rowdy group of 5. 🙂
I have 6 younger siblings–this post made me smile because I love my big family. I don’t know how many kids my husband and I will end up being able to have, but I sure appreciate the fact that no matter what, our family reunions in the future will be full of lots of love and lots of people with big personalities. 🙂
It really is great for the kids to have so many cousins to play with. Mine just love it!
I grew up in a moderately sized family, so did Hun. I used to think having 1 or 2 children of my own would probably be enough. Today, I’m not so sure about that (plus my life is different as a SAHM). I don’t know what’s in store for us, but if we’re blessed with 3 or 4 children I know I’ll feel good about that. If we’re somehow blessed with more…well, then I’ll try to remember this post even more!! 🙂
Wise words, Woman of the Word.
Here from HomeMatters.
I have 3 kids, all pretty close in age. I know that’s not really a BIG family but bigger than average here in the UK. I love how my kids do stuff together, when they were little and even now that they are big.
I also like that I still have one at home now that 2 have gone off to uni. I’m delaying the empty nest for as long as I can!
This is so true. I loved growing up in a large family and have always wanted a large family for me too. We shall see what happens with that soon enough… 🙂
Good luck to you! Thanks for visiting.
These ten reasons are certainly perks to having a large family. I wanted to have seven kids, but my body couldn’t handle me being pregnant that many times. It was hard enough doing it three times.
Today I was reminded why I love having three kids and a dog who thinks he’s another kid! I was not feeling up to par and spent most of the day in bed. Every twenty minutes at least, one of the kids was checking on me and giving me hugs, back rubs, or some type of attention. A big family holds you up when you’re down, and we work together well as a team in this crazy life.
Thank you for linking up to the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup party. I hope to see you again next Saturday at 8pm EST.
Aww, wasn’t that sweet of them? Yes, this is definitely another perk to having a big family! Thanks for hosting, I’ll be there again next week. 🙂
Too true life will NEVER be boring!
That’s usually my response to “You’ve got your hands full” comments! haha
Happy Wednesday, great article, I only had 4 kids and felt that was all I could handle.
Thanks for sharing on #OMHGWW this week!
Karren
Thanks for hosting!
This is so spot on! I want to have a big family. maybe because I’m the only child in my family. I want my daughter to have many siblings. One more reason to have a big family is when you grow old and your kids have their own families, once it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas or other holidays, you will always have a house full of your own children, grandchildren and lots of laughs.
I love all of these reasons! We want to have 3 kids… which isn’t huge but it’s more than the standard 2 so I suppose that’s big enough for us! Thanks for all the fun inspiration on what to look forward to 😉 Thanks for linking up this week at the Welcome Home Wednesday Link Party! Can’t wait to see what you link up next week!
I have three kids and I have my hands full. Now that everyone is finally about to be in school I couldn’t imagine starting back over from the beginning. I think everyone knows their limits on how large of a family they can handle. #MeanderingMondays
Great reasons – my Mum was one of 12 !! – Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.
Thanks so much!
Going from 2 to 3 kids has been such a change for my family. In today’s world I feel like we get labeled as a large family which seems pretty ridiculous. But I’m finding my heart changing a bit and honestly it scares me! We always thought we would have only two kids, who knows what God has planned for us! Thanks for an encouraging post. You’re right, there are wonderful blessing to having a larger family – especially the support my kids will have from their siblings. 🙂
You are right. A third child is often considered a luxury these days! I think it’s a shame that many people are missing out on the fun of a big family because they buy in to what the world tells them about children. I’m glad you are enjoying your family size!
I really appreciated this blog post! I want to share this in my weekly series called “Roll Out The Red Carpet Thursday” – I share bloggers’ amazing posts that I’ve found during the week. I hope that’ ok! Have a wonderful day! 🙂
Sounds great! Thanks for the share. 🙂