I have eight children

[amazinggracing]

Ask away!

How much do you spend on groceries each month?

How big is your house?

Do you go away on holidays?

What about your car?

Forgive me if this is a bit too personal, but do any of your children have any health issues or additional needs that require appointments, therapies and 'work' for you to do at home with them?
I only have 3, and 2 needed intensive speech therapy. I can't imagine how on earth I could practice anything we were given, with 7 other children in the house

Other nosey questions (I'm intrigued)

Did you breastfeed?
What are the sexes?
How much does your weekly grocery shopping cost?
Do you do play dates/parties with other children?
Do your children get new toys, books, clothes (individually) or do you mostly pass down?
Do they fight?

Just... how do you juggle it all?
Uniforms, lunches, collections

What time do you go to bed?
What time do you get up?

You don't need to answer all of those obviously, I'm just typing what I'm thinking!

How do you feel about being judged all the time? (Although clearly you're not too worried if you're starting AMAs on MN )

How much is "barely any"? How much is "from time to time"?

If the older kids are looking after the younger, you need to own up to that and be very aware. Even if the elder kids are just spending a few hours each evening or afternoon looking after the younger ones, and they don't mind at all, you're still relying on that for your family to function. That's time they could spend at clubs, tutoring sessions, or even just with their friends.

Surely nobody holds a definition of 'from time to time' that extends to a few hours each evening? Give over.

A vague answer like "from time to time" means, "it happens and I don't care to quantify how often".

If someone's going to dodge questions on an AMA, don't really see the point.

How many bedrooms do you have in your home and do you own it?

Or it is just someone who does it occasionally. Rather than having it scheduled in for 30 minutes every other Thursday, which would be more like treating your children like unpaid labour as opposed to the ad-hoc chipping in to help 'from time to time', right?

How old are your children?
What car bus do you drive?

Do the kids all get on most of the time? 4 is enough for me with all the bickering that goes on

@JeffreyJefferson the bickering between 2 is enough for me

Are you close to all your siblings? Do they also have large families?
Why eight?

@waytooearly.
Have you seen the Yorkshire farm programme?
9 kids who all pitch in and help look after each other and run the farm.
You have never seen such lovely well rounded children. Independent and able to think for themselves and considerate and caring of each other.
Doesn't seem to have done them any harm. Quite the opposite in fact !

I agree. It can be really beneficial for kids to pitch in to help run the family. It teaches the a lot. And it has effects on the opportunities growing up.

In every family with a lot of kids, the elder kids spend time looking after the younger. It varies from family to family.

I asked the OP how much time her elder kids look after the younger, and she dodged the question.

@amazinggracing. My friend has 9!!!! I love their house. Full of chaos. Laughter and love!

Where the heck do you live (it’s got to be a mansion) . I’ve got one.. soon to be two and 3beds n were over run with stuff.

How do you deal with the clutter of things?

Are the age gaps big or were there multiples?

Do all your children like being part of a big family? I
A family member of mine has a couple more than you and some of the children absolutely hate the chaos, never having a day when the house is silent and calm etc it really affects them.

What are their ages?

How do you afford Christmas? We are comfortably off and I have two children. One 13 and one 21. For example, this year the 13 year old has a new iPad and a new xbox controller. £500 so far - for two gifts. So how do afford nice gifts for 8 kids as they get to their teenage years ?

What can’t you do as a family because of the number of children? For example I presume you can’t all go anywhere by car together, unless you have 2 cars and 2 adults available? Or do you drive a minibus?

Do your kids do extra curricular activities? If so how do you prioritise who gets their choice and who gets whatever fits in?

Do you find time to do fun things, alongside all the cooking, laundry, homework, medical/dentist, tidying, school runs, bum wiping (as you have little ones), admin? If so how??? I barely have time and I only have 2.

Do you have provisions to help support them during university, if they choose to go or as adults finding their way (and before anyone says anything, I know that no parent is obliged to do this and some choose not to even though they can afford it).

Would you agree that having eight children could be seen as a selfish decision on your part, as it seems to prioritise your wants/needs over those of the children?

Asking a one of six myself and keenly aware of the impact that had on me...

Are you religious?

Do you ever call them by the wrong name?

No never.

What was your hardest transition? I.e. 1-2, 5-6 etc.

It's been different with Each child.

Do you have very easy babies or are you hard as nails?

Some babies have been easy and some have seriously tested my sanity.

Do any of your children have additional needs? Was this something that concerned you?

Yes, one of my children does have additional needs, but nothing severe and very manageable. It is something that has concerned me, we've been very lucky.

Also, how do you and your DH maintain your relationship? Do you get much time alone? Date nights etc?

Less than we'd like but we still make the time. We have quality time when all of the kids are in bed and date nights from time to time.

Why did you name change for this thread?

Because I like to post on the boards free of judgment. A lot of people judge my decision of having such a large family. I want to be able to post without preconceived notions.

Do you work?

I don't work, I used to work from home but gave up four years ago. DH runs a business that I do help out with sometimes.

How are you going to support them when they are at university?

My husband makes a very good living. Having so many children would've been selfish if we weren't able to support them right through to finishing uni.

DH runs a business that I do help out with sometimes

Please say it's a pie shop!

Do you get to go on holidays?

We go away for a "big" holiday once a year, usually in the summer. And we have a lodge in North Wales that we don't get to visit as much as we would like.

Don't underplay how much time your older kids spend with the younger ones

I come from a big family so I know that this is an issue, I hated it. My older ones really don't do all that much. Yes, they help out, but really no more than any other older sibling.

How much do you spend on groceries each month?

About £350 a month if I shop carefully, but it varies a lot.

How big is your house?

Six bedrooms. Large garden. Not where we want to be forever, though.

What about your car?

We have a five seater each and then a mini bus we share.