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Since we already talked about 10 Reasons to Have a Big Family, today we are going to talk about reasons you should NOT have a big family.  I’ve heard them all!

Please keep in mind that this is a rather tongue in cheek style post.  I realize that big family life is not for everyone, and each family must decide what is best for them.  But… when you have a large family, you hear these comments rather often.  Amirite?

Here are 6 Reasons You Should Not Have a Big Family

Groceries are expensive.

I mean, moderate food costs for a family of 4 are $239 per week.  Just imagine if you had to double that!  That is, unless you live in an area with a lower cost of living.  Or you are careful in how you spend your grocery money in wants versus needs.  Or you could be creative in finding different ways to feed a larger family.  Sometimes we even tell the kids that they don’t need a snack right now, because they are probably actually only thirsty.  (gasp!)

Activities are expensive.

The cost of dance lessons/memberships/experiences are pricey enough with my two children.  I could never afford to pay for them across more children, and I don’t want kids to miss out on these experiences.  Although, with more siblings, they already manage to stay pretty busy playing with one another.  And while child #1 loves music lessons (for instance), the other kids find them pretty dull.  So it turns out that we didn’t need to pay for them x 5 after all anyway!

Overpopulation stuff!

I couldn’t add to the overpopulation problem.  Did you know that in truth, we are not even having enough babies to replace ourselves?  There are countries begging families with incentives to have more children.  You can look it up yourself, but there are a couple of articles here and here.  I also really recommend this book.

Car space.

There is no more room in the car.  The car seats already take up all of the room and I am unwilling to compromise safety.  I totally agree with you on this one!  It’s high time the automobile industry addresses this problem!  Make enough room across your backseat to easily accommodate 3 bulky car seats, and make it standard across all family vehicles.  Can you hear me, Ford?

But it is possible to get creative with finding a larger vehicle.  We can buy a used mini van for the price of a new sedan.  Although yes, your gas costs will certainly increase.  Keep in mind that your kids will not be in car seats forever, and if the kids are spaced far enough apart that may cease to be a problem.

I’m not perfect!

I just don’t have the patience.  You must be a saint.  hahahahaha!!  Far from a saint!  There are many days that we just have “too many kids”.  But I’ve learned that the trade off for dealing with the chaos is a lot of love, plus the bonus of getting to have amazing new people in your life for as long as God loans them to you.  Which is pretty darned awesome.

Peer pressure.

What will people think?  The thing is, no matter what you do or don’t do, people are going to talk about you.  And they will ask you all manners of rude questions.

• “Why don’t you have kids?”
• “When will you have another?  He can’t be an only child!”
• “Oh no, another boy.  Going to try for a girl, huh?”
• “Oh great, you got your girl.  Now you’re done.”
• “What??  Another child??  Why would you have another child when you already have boys and a girl?”
• “Now every time you talk we are afraid you are going to announce another pregnancy, and we can’t handle that.”

Here’s the thing…unless the other person pays your bills, it is absolutely none of their business.  Make your family happy.

What reasons you should not have a big family have you heard?  How do you respond?