I grew up with with 9 siblings. AMA

[joyfulexistance84]

I grew up with 9 siblings and now I have my own family.

And I feel like so many people have so many questions in my personal life when they find out I have 9 siblings. So I'm sure some people on mumsnet might have questions too!

I have a friend who has 8 but I don't know how they do it re juggling everything. Swim lessons, sports etc The kids all do at least one extra curricular activity - I could barely cope with my two albeit they did activities most days.
I think there must be huge benefits support wide from siblings even if not all

Did you enjoy it?

What were the pluses/ minuses?

What is your position in the family?

I have complex feelings about growing up as one of 10 siblings. Part of me hated having so many siblings, but I also do love all my siblings and there was some great memories

I'm the 5th child

Do you have good relationship ls with your parents now? And siblings?

Me and my parents are very low contact. We see them on christmas, easter, birthday, etc.

I speak to like 4 of my siblings, the rest of my siblings just live far away of have chosen to not keep in contact with the whole family. I love all my siblings though and I would love if I still kept In contact with all of them

Would you recreate that dynamic?

Why did your parents have 10?

Was there enough money?

(I loved going to my cousins where there were 8. A friend in boarding school was one of 13. We used to test her on her siblings names!).

I have seven siblings. I am the only one who has more than one DC, I have three, but with a thirteen year gap between 1 and 3 so each had plenty of my time. How many DC do you have?
I was basically raised by my Dsis. DM never stepped foot in school and I bet she couldn't have told you what qualifications I have and what my degree is in.
There aren't enough hours in a day to give ten children the attention they need. Do you agree?

No I would never recreate that dynamic. My parents had 10 kids because they loved the baby stage of parenthood and the toddler stage. My mum only stopped having babies because of a traumatic birth when my youngest sibling was born. We did have enough money for the basics, but that's about it

I have 2 children and I am done having kids. Even though I could have more kids if I wanted to. I do agree that it is so difficult to make sure 10 kids have enough attention every day. My mum was a stay at home mum but even then there was no proper quality time. It felt like she never really knew much about any of us once we got older. She did know basic facts but...I truly never felt like she knew my personality.

Which one (s) are you closest to (both gender and position in siblings / age gap) ?
Are you really like one of the others (in looks, or maybe character) ?
What is the total age range ?
How did you (your parents) cope with mealtimes ?

I feel the same. She never knew me and we weren't close. I do have a great relationship with all of my siblings. We lost a DB aged 19 suddenly and I think that made us appreciate each other more.

How old was your mum when she had her last baby? Was it more common to have large families then?

I don’t have any questions, I just wanted to say I’m sorry to hear what you went through as a child. There’s no way parents can give enough attention and love to that many children, often older siblings are parentified as a result.

How old are you op?
The only families I know this large were born a long time ago, when contraception wasn’t like it is today. It wasn’t through choice.

How many bedrooms did your house have. Were you allowed friends round? Did your mum/dad cook a big meal every night

Did you live in a very large house - did everyone share a room? How much space was there generally?
Did you go on holidays?
How old were your parents when they stopped having children?
Are any of your siblings neurodivergent?

I just can’t imagine having 9 siblings! I’m an only child and I was lonely (parents were older which didn’t help) and I would’ve loved a couple of siblings to play with! I had two DC in fairly close succession and they get on well (adults now). Not sure I would’ve had the bandwidth for more, let alone another 8!

I’m one of 8. There’s no way you can give love and time to more than about 4 I think regardless of what anyone on here says.

it’s incredibly selfish.

Did you ever have any new clothes of your own or were they always hand me downs?

What do you really cherish now (physical or mental) because you never had it when you were young?

I am closest to 3 of my sisters, 1 of my brothers (2 of my sisters are older than me, the other 2 are younger than me.) I'm the 5th sibling.

Me and all my siblings are very different

The age range is 43 to 25

She was 38 I think. I'm only 36 and I was born in 1990, and I don’t remember anybody else I knew being part of a large family

We had 5 bedrooms. Yes I was allowed to invite friends over. Yes my mum cooked every night.

We lived in a 5 bedroom house. But it felt small with 12 people living inside the house. It was a decent sized house though. Yes we all had to share a room. No we never went on holiday. My parents had their last baby at 38. No none of my siblings are neurodivergent as far as I am aware.

I also have 2 children and I could not imagine having another baby