Friday night and I've just seen a woman in Lidl with 7 children

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I obviously don't know if they were all her own. Aged, I'd guess from about 2-10yo.

She was calm and smiley. The children were happy but quiet and still. She even stopped, after unloading her trolley, to give the eldest, a boy, a lovely peck on the top of his head.

I was in complete awe.

There's a family at school with 9 children - they've even got 2 in one school year! They're such chilled out, happy parents and it shows in the kids, they're always tidy, clean, secure and confident. I speak to the mum all the time and both the mum and dad both just love children. The youngest has just started school and the mum said she was feeling a bit lost without any children at home, but she was looking forward to going back to work full time! I don't know how they do it!

Siblings tend to lean on each other for attention. As a pp said further up, one can be harder. One needs your attention 24/7. Trust me, depending on the kid, one can make up for many.

One of my friends has 6. They are lovely children and I am in awe.

oh how I aspire to be that mum, I was in aldi with my two this evening (toddler and baby) and it was carnage.

Toddler taking socks and shoes off and throwing one shoe under the racking, cue me on my hands and knees arse in the air trying to drag it back out (not a pretty site)

Baby screaming merry hell because toddler then woke her up by having a meltdown because I put said socks and shoes back on him.

Dd is an only. She is hard work. Far easier when with another child. So I do get what you are saying Venus

It’s never appealed to me that having a gang. Each to their own though, isn’t it

Were they dressed in curtains and all started singing as they were leaving the shop?

At one point me and DP has six under 18 between us - and honestly I was amazed how easy it was compared to previously being a single parent of one!

Totally different parenting though, DP thought I was mad taking the kids out regularly, giving them activities, having more rules. His kids were more or less left to their own devices and older ones looked after the younger ones. Everyone got their own breakfast and lunch.

If you think about it, teachers had 30!

I still have nightmares about the time I had DS aged 2 in a buggy with my basket on his handles, I was at the til trying to loads everything on and didnt realise how heavy the basket must have been because the pram tipped back my son was screaming in tears shopping fell everywhere, as I was trying to lift the pram back up, get the 6 stone basket off the handles and console my wailing son a lady behind me tapped my shoulder and said sorry love are those your other 2.....low and behold my other son aged 4 was in a WHEELCHAIR with my 6 year old pushing him as fast as she could up the aisle shouting he has disabilities, my face was burgundy

Drugs. Lots.

My cousin has six kids, all of whom are well behaved, kind and thoughtful. She and the kids’ Dad are just brilliant with children and wanted a big family. And their house is full of joy. I have a lot of respect and admiration for them.

I know a mum of 5. She always looks amazing and the kids are always lovely. In the summer she wears a white maxi dress....without any snot/chocolate/orange juice etc wiped on it. How does this happen???

My friend has one and he is the most badly behaved wee boldie you'd ever meet, makes my 5 look like Stepford kids.

I think sometimes it's either luck or training.

In any case, this woman is clearly on drugs....ahem I mean a wonderful mum. (Joking aside she's bloody awesome).

I don’t know or even know of a single person with seven kids, they don’t exist. I know of one, yes one family with four, a couple with three and everyone else has two. Ok, maybe not everyone else I know two that have just one child.

Who are these people with seven kids? How do you end up having seven kids? How do you afford them, manage them, take them places?

No idea, I don’t understand it. Massive admiration.

I like taking my 7 shopping, more hands to help packing it all!

I had a friend with five kids. Yet she was always serene, implacable, utterly chilled. Ran a successful business, always looked amazing.

Everyone else - ragged, sleep-deprived, frazzled on the verge of tears, was always asking her how the hell she managed, to which she would smile modestly and shrug.

I later found out that both her parents took the kids daily and her mother in law also helped out a lot, too.

Effectively, she had staff.

And that, kids, is when I stopped believing in Perfect Mothers.

I don't know anyone with 7 kids either!

But some people are naturally easy going and relaxed - its a personality trait that can presumably be passed onto their children.

BrokenWing "I always think children who are too well behaved are conditioned and scared of the consequences." Completely agree. I was very well behaved but I was frightened of my mum's temper and complete lack of embarrassment to shout at me in public for any minor misdemeanour, I was easily shamed/embarassed, she had no shame at all in doing it.

Blimey. I can't get through Lidl on my own without falling out with myself never mind steer an assortment of children though the shop.

Boots20 🤣😂😅👍🏼 Brilliant stuff!

Brainwashing or bribery!

I was very impressed by a family I saw on the ferry to France once. At first I thought it was 3 generations with a baby belonging to a very young couple, but then realised it was a family of 8 kids from about 19 down to around 1 year. Older ones were doing a lovely job of helping the little ones.

My BIL is oldest of 6; I think he's pretty domestic having had to help out with all the other ones (all boys until the youngest).

Slightly different but DD2 has a friend who has never had a tantrum. Ever. She’s 18 now and her DM has confirmed that there was never a tantrum. Apparently the first child had tantrums and DM decided she couldn’t be putting up with that again.

She told the DC in advance that xyz wasn’t possible today so whatever they wanted was scheduled for a later date/time. I’m still baffled as to how that worked.

I know a family with 7.
They are bloody awful.
The mother is serene, probably because she doesn’t give a single fuck anymore.

I can't even go shopping with DP without wanting to murder him and leave his body under the chicken nuggets.

She was awesome. And probably slightly terrifying.