What is it like having lots of siblings?

[Charlavail]

Inspired by thinking about Nick Cannon having child number 11 on the way and rumoured to have another baby due as well. That means he will have 12 babies, 10 of which were born within the last 3 years. I don't think he will stop at 12 either.
Surely he can't be an attentive father to all of them? I feel stretched between 2 DC. I wonder if he will just throw money at them.

My mum was 1 of 9. With the exception of the oldest brother (who left home early) who had 3 children everyone else had 1 or 2. Everyone apart from the oldest had responsibilities for the younger ones either in terms of parenting or financial contribution to the family.

One of 6, love having my brothers and sisters NOW and all of their husbands/wives/partners I feel like I have so much family and great friendships with them. We range from 27-44 and get together a couple of times a year all together and it's lovely. I see certain siblings regularly. We all have ones we're closer to than others but we all get on and have a group chat. I can't imagine not having them.

It wasn't as good growing up, we mostly got on but there was not enough money, a lot of hand me downs and jealousy and none of us are close to our parents now and these get togethers happen without them. I'm ok with them but the eldest few siblings are very low contact and definitely have some resentment for spending their younger years bringing us younger ones up.

I am the eldest of 9, My Youngest Brother is the same age as my eldest Son.

I'm one of 8 plus 3 step siblings. I bloody love it.

Similar, my DMum is one of seven and not one of the siblings has had more than 2 children themselves

I'm an only child and hate it so guess theres always something to moan about!

All the people I know from massive families have 1 or 2 kids themselves... I really can't understand how you can give 5+ kids decent attention but some people do seem to thrive on that.

Like everything in life helps if you have lots of money

I envy people with lots of siblings, especially when they are close.

I’m 7 of 10. I brought up the 3 younger ones.

I'm one of 5 and I love having brothers and sisters. It was a good thing when our mum was ill and we could share the load and support each other. I am very close to my sisters though.

I have six cousins who grew up very happily together although there was never enough materially to go around and their house was utterly chaotic in terms of tidiness. I think there's no 'one' experience - I think the two oldest were very happy but the middle cousin, who I'm closest to, had a really hard time. They forgot to get her a Christmas present one year! And they all do utterly fit the stereotypes of bossy eldest, overlooked middle child, spoilt youngest...

I'm the eldest of four so a mid-sized family. I grew up on a farm and our childhood was pretty idyllic, my parents had a good income and both were around all the time and we spent a lot of time roaming around the farm, going to the beach or loch or burn or up the hill. We are now spread around the country but love getting together. Those of us who are married have 3DC each so slightly smaller families.

Personally, I think assuming sufficient money and decent parenting, that larger families are better for the children, they get more space to be individuals and have more options for varied relationships within the family whereas small families can be intense with the children subjected to greater expectations from their parents. My mother was an only child (not her parents choice) and she hated it and deliberately chose to have a large noisy family.

I'm one of 5. Parents constantly working when we were younger and I was badly bullied by my 3 older siblings, both physically and mentally. It severely affected me for most of my life but ten years ago I was given therapy for ptsd. My siblings seem to have amnesia concerning their treatment of me and I was always blamed for being "over sensitive" even though I suffered many injuries from them.

The best thing I ever did was go no contact, my life is so much better.

My mam had 16 siblings. She said it was mental growing up but she didn't know any different. My poor nan was always cooking but she loved the house being busy and was so sad when the last child moved out. I have one child and that's plenty for us 🤣

Oldest out of 6. Hated it mostly. Never any money or time for 1 to 1 stuff. I left home at 17 and spent from being 11 to 17 at a friends house, then at my aunts house.

Sorry, what - one of 17 children? That's... wow. What sort of house did they live in?

Did your grandmother's health not suffer?

@AffIt It was actually a small three bed house. They were sharing bunk beds. The oldest ones all married really young between 17 and 19 probably to get away from the chaos. Nan had pretty good health all things considered and lived in to her 70s.

My cousins were a family of 14. The first five did okay, but after that, there was significant emotional and physical neglect. Now, most of the younger ones refuse to have anything to do with their mother, who is a recluse.

An old friend of mine was one of 8. All boys, apart from the eldest, a half-sister. He is now in his 50s and still bitterly angry over his childhood. There was never enough to eat, he was permanently cold, he was turfed out at 16, and his parents never taught him any life skills so he has struggled bitterly to fit into society and understand what is a normal carry-on in terms of very basic things, such as how to wash your face properly or keep your environment clean. Because it was just chaos and a bit Lord of the Flies at home, he doesn't know how to have a normal conversation with anyone.

Friend was one of eight. The dad was a workaholic and the mum eventually checked out, spending entire summers away on holiday by herself. They weren't rich, so the eldest kids had to look after the little ones in her absence. They aren't close to the mum as adults but they are pretty tight with each other. None of them have more than two kids.

One thing I've noticed is that they struggle to be alone. The noise and chaos is like the soundtrack of their lives.

Goodness me. I'm happy to hear your grandmother lived a long, healthy life!