I grew up in a family of 9 children- AMA

[fluorescentpotato]

I'm the oldest, there's 15 years between me and the youngest. I spent a lot of time looking after them and helping out around the house

Are you close as adults?

How many children do you have?

Not so much now but I was angry as a teenager. It wasn't really my responsibility but I couldn't really sure they'd be looked after properly or clothes would be washed if i didn't help

I'm not close to all of them but a few, I live on the same street as my sister closest to my age so we spend a lot of time together.
I don't have any at the moment but my first is due in November

Why did your parents have so many? How did it impact on your social life? Eg, could you have your own friends to sleepover?

Do you want a big family?

Not all of us have the same dad but U'm not really sure why my mum had so many. Especially as she's never seemed to like children much. I wasn't allowed to go out with friends that often, only had them over for sleepovers a few times

I only want maybe 2, possibly 3 children

In an ideal world how many siblings would you have wanted?

I do love them all but I suppose if I'd never known them it meant maybe enjoying my childhood and teenage years more and having more attention at home. I'd sat maybe two or three. But since my life didn't turn out that way I do like having a lot of siblings in some ways

I’d quite like a big family but more like 5 than 9. I hope the older kids will help out with the younger but not in a it’s their responsibility way or if they don’t do it it won’t be done way just in a - this is what families do, they pitch in and help each other out - way.

How do you think a parent can avoid crossing the line of putting too much on older children while still giving them age appropriate opportunities to practice caregiving skills and generally fostering an environment where everyone young and old feels responsible for one another and wants to look after one another?

Of your siblings who are of an age to have children, how many have had children, and of those, how many children? I ask because I'm one of a large-ish family, and people have often remarked on how strange they find it that I have only one child by choice, and the others are all childfree by choice.