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Highest number children you know someone to have in real life?

428 replies

Newsenmum · 22/10/2026 20:10

People talk about these crazy massive families that exist on news but what is the largest family you know? Im from quite a middle class area down south. Most families I know have one or two kids, sometimes three. I have one friend pregnant with her fourth and know one school mum with five! Very unusual though.

OP posts:
springvegetables · 23/10/2026 18:55

Newsenmum · 22/10/2026 20:10

People talk about these crazy massive families that exist on news but what is the largest family you know? Im from quite a middle class area down south. Most families I know have one or two kids, sometimes three. I have one friend pregnant with her fourth and know one school mum with five! Very unusual though.

My mum was one of 14.

FeralFucker · 23/10/2026 18:56

Aunt and Uncle had 11, not well cared for at all, but a couple have achieved remarkable success.

FruityFrog · 23/10/2026 18:57

Next door neighbour has 6.
Grandmother in law had 6 (died a couple of years ago).

IndiaFeatherstone · 23/10/2026 19:01
  1. Set of triplets and twins and 2 single pregnancies
Diddlyumptious · 23/10/2026 19:01

I know a mum who has 10 😀

DingDongBerrily · 23/10/2026 19:05

One of my colleagues had six children, the youngest two of whom were twins. The twins were were an unplanned pregnancy.

Mskittenheels · 23/10/2026 19:22

An old friend of mine had 9! Current ages are 21 down to 4 - it was a chaotic household

PrettyLittleRose · 23/10/2026 19:31

I must admit, in the last 30-35 years I have only known maybe 6 or 7 families have 6 or more children. Most 'big' families have 3 or 4 children at the most. Just 3 families in my village have 4 or 5 children. All the others have 1-3 children. No-one has more than 5.

However pre late 1980s, I knew quite a number of families (maybe 20 or more) in my small mining town, with 5, 6, 7, or 8 children. Even a few with 9 or 10. I had around 8 classmates in my class at primary school who had 5 or 6 siblings each... or more.

But yeah, not that many big families these days really...

According The Office Of National Statistics

  • 1 Child: ~3.8 million families
  • 2 Children: ~3.5 million families
  • 3 or 4 Children: ~1.2 million families
  • 5 or More Children: ~76,000 families

So yeah, families with 5 or more children are much fewer than 1-4 child families.

Elsie1966 · 23/10/2026 19:33

I know someone with 9 all ranging from 17yrs to 1yr. She's only 37yrs old

Try2makeadifference · 23/10/2026 19:34

North Nottinghamshire. Professionally involved. One family with 12 kids - 3, yes 3 sets of twins. One family with 12 boys and then 2 girls, so 14 and another family of 12 and 2 angel babies. Quite a few with 5 or 6 kids. Average I would say is 3-4 for the employed parents.

IStillHearTheWaves · 23/10/2026 19:36

Someone I went to school with has six and each one has a different father. She's a very troubled person, posts very frequently on SM airing her dirty laundry. One child has lived with his father for many years, since infancy, and the last of the brood has a father that was in prison for a short spell following a DV incident and is out now - straight back to this woman and their young child. Extremely fucked up.

PurpleLovecats · 23/10/2026 19:36

My husband is one of 8 and I’m one of 4. We have 4 together and he has 2 older daughters do he has 6. My SIL has 8.

Nottodaybob · 23/10/2026 19:42

My sister has 5 and my friend is number 7 of 9 (yes seriously) most with numerical names (Adam, Octavia, Septimus etc). I did work with a lady who was 1 of 14, and she had 7 of her own. Her daughter was on number 4 and I wasn't convinced she was finished.

TwoBigNoisyBoys · 23/10/2026 19:46

My cousin has 4, and I know a couple of others with 4 and someone with 5. My ex was one of 4, and another ex was one of 6 - all boys. I went to school with two girls who were one of 11 and 13, and who both came from the same village.bi know another girl who is one of 7 or 8 (I can’t remember), all girls. Most people I know have 2 or 3.

tinderboxofaheart · 23/10/2026 19:55

I once worked with someone who was the youngest of 15. She was also the laziest person I ever met.

springtome · 23/10/2026 19:55

I’m one of five (2 mums, one dad), my mum was one of five and I have an aunty on my dads side with 5.

i don’t think in real life I’ve known anyone with more than that. When I had my children I had a few bounty friends who had 6 from memory but they were rare. Most people I know have 1-3 and a few have 4.

WhichCow · 23/10/2026 19:58

At primary school, I had a friend who was one of 12 children. Only 8 made it to adulthood due to back to back suicides. Really sad. They were very very poor and their dad was a horrible man.

Nowadays, the biggest family I know has 4 children.

FettleOfKish · 23/10/2026 20:00

I know a family with 6, 5 of whom are boys (and the girl was first, so it wasn’t some mad mission to finally have a girl!).

Newkicks · 23/10/2026 20:04

I'm the eldest of 10. I'm 40.

RubyToDosDay · 23/10/2026 20:07

Bumcake · 23/10/2026 00:00

What’s a birthday child?

This thread is really interesting to me as I’m always reading about mothers of four on here, but I only know a couple IRL.

Show quote history

Sorry, typo - should’ve been ‘birth’ child 😁

JayJayj · 23/10/2026 20:15

Not a friend at all, but someone that lives near my friend is currently pregnant with number 13. But I believe that most of her children have been taken away from her. (Not all same father)

yellowrosesontable · 23/10/2026 20:15

10

Nottodaybob · 23/10/2026 20:18

JayJayj · 23/10/2026 20:15

Not a friend at all, but someone that lives near my friend is currently pregnant with number 13. But I believe that most of her children have been taken away from her. (Not all same father)

Yeah when I was a social worker I knew some big families, none with their kids all in their care though.

BeaLola · 23/10/2026 20:20

Both my parents were from families of 9 children, but on each side 1 child dies whilst very young leaving 8 each

One of my Aunts and uncles had 6 children, a couple of others have 5 each and a few have 4.

Of personal friends the most children any have are 3, I’m the only one who only has a singleton

DCs friends at school - one came from a family of 6 children

ForeverDelayedEpiphany · 23/10/2026 20:21

My FIL was one of 8 children. Not sure his mother was particularly nice to most of them, or brought them up properly really. My FIL was brought up by his two older sisters, so I think that impliss the DM wasn't great.