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Original poster

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:
MyAuntieHelenIsOneOfThem · 22/10/2026 20:48

DH’s mum is the eldest of 13 who survived into adulthood, but there were a couple who died in childhood, and at least one stillbirth.

Of my generation, I was at school with the youngest of 12.

Stickytoffeepudding99 · 22/10/2026 20:49

I knew a family with 9, 7 girls and 2 boys

RVectensian · 22/10/2026 20:49

6

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 22/10/2026 20:49

6 in London!

Lulu1919 · 22/10/2026 20:50

4

ohtowinthelottery · 22/10/2026 20:50

There's a couple down the road from me with 7 children.

mondaytosunday · 22/10/2026 20:51

My generation (born in the 1960s): four. My parents generation (born in the 1920s): 13.
Seems single children families are more common now.

lalalalalala2024 · 22/10/2026 20:51

My partner is 1 of 10

BirdLandedonmyHead · 22/10/2026 20:52

My grandfather was one of 14 and grandmother one of 12.

For modern children- 8.
But the family with 4 children under the age of 4 was most memorable. (3yo, 1 yo twins, newborn.)

Pieceofpurplesky · 22/10/2026 20:52

I am a teacher so have seen several, the biggest being 14 (all lovely). A couple of 12s and quite a few 7-11s. My mum is one of 11 and dad was one of 7.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 22/10/2026 20:53

I was at Irish college with some kids whose mother was pregnant with her 20th. I asked them a bit about their lives and there was a lot of older DC helping younger ones but they were all happy enough to be in a large family. This was back in the 80s and wasn't unique for a Catholic family in Ireland. I was brought up Protestant and there were plenty of four or five child families, generally because they kept having DC until they had at least one of each sex. Even at my DC's primary school within the last decade (also Protestant) there were a few five child families. It was really noticeable that they were the most calm and organised parents. My friend and I discussed it and we reckoned that they had a large family because they found it easy rather than having to become organised because they had lots of kids. Friend and I both had two DC each and found life to be generally chaotic and didn't think we would have coped with even one more.

Someone that I was at school with got married straight after school and when I met her at our 20 year reunion she had recently had her 11th child. I think she went on to have another couple after that. She had always said at school that she would like a large family.

elQuintoConyo · 22/10/2026 20:55

Grandma was the oldest of 9, had nine herself with grandad who was 1 of 13.
Mil was 5th of 15, had 6.
Bil has 5 (aged 16-26).
Oh my friend is 1 of 9, but none of her siblings have had more than 4, quite a few with just 1.
Other than that, no one from this century.

MadMAGA · 22/10/2026 20:55

Eleven. It's a lovely Jewish American family whose mum has a pact with her sisters to have lots of DC to help repopulate after the Holocaust. Born 1970s-1990s. They're all grown up now, went to top universities and are heavily involved in making the world a better place.

LilyBunch25 · 22/10/2026 20:58
  1. Irresponsible sister in law married to lifelong feckless husband.
FluffOffFFS · 22/10/2026 21:00

Taught some siblings from a 12 kid family and a mum at a playgroup I used to go to used to attend with numbers 8 and 9 (adamant she was done!). Sadly they fit the very negative stereotypes. My son is in the same year as a girl who is the 2 of 5 and potentially counting. Lots and lots of 3 child families at my kids' school. I once heard it said that people who have large families are either really rich or really poor.

GintyMcGinty · 22/10/2026 21:01

My kids go to a catholic school so there are quite a few big families. I think the largest is 9.

tinytemper66 · 22/10/2026 21:01

8

IAxolotlQuestions · 22/10/2026 21:02

8 by a variety of women…

PumpkinWanker · 22/10/2026 21:02

I know someone with 5 and she’s a lunatic.

chasetheace99 · 22/10/2026 21:03

My mum and dad had a friend who was one of 26 - his mother had died after having 12 I think and Dad had remarried and had another 14. He had siblings he hardly knew as he’d moved out before most of the second family were born, all in a small three bedroom house

drspouse · 22/10/2026 21:04

My DCs also are two of 6, on their birth mum's side. They are numbers 3 and 4.

ACatNamedRobin · 22/10/2026 21:06

Thepossibility · 22/10/2026 20:28

My SIL (DH sister) has 14 or 15. I've lost count. We don't have contact with them because we don't approve of their choices (religious extremism, not educating the children etc).

Yikes!
is there anything your DH can do to help those poor kids?

caringcarer · 22/10/2026 21:08

I fostered a DC with learning disabilities who had 10 siblings. All except 3 had to be taken into care.

Myremoteislost · 22/10/2026 21:08

My DH is eldest of 10. Family gatherings are very loud and expensive!
There is a school mum pregnant with her 13th! She loves having babies and has no plans to stop after this one.

LeticiaMorales · 22/10/2026 21:10

MadMAGA · 22/10/2026 20:55

Eleven. It's a lovely Jewish American family whose mum has a pact with her sisters to have lots of DC to help repopulate after the Holocaust. Born 1970s-1990s. They're all grown up now, went to top universities and are heavily involved in making the world a better place.

Edited

Oh my god, that's lovely, bit also really sad. I remember reading about a young Holocaust survivor who really wanted to marry and have children. It's the value of life, isn't it?

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