People with more than 2 kids FIT INTO ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES ....

[morningpaper]

This is the Hat Woman's theory - please can we discuss further? Apologies for paraphrasing and blatantly making a new thread for your theory. :)

1. You leave them to the nanny whilst earning loads of moolah.

1. You already have so much money that you don't need to work and can afford "help".

1. You are a full-time dedicated mother.

1. You are wildly stressed.

I would add:

1. You have close family with other children/parents who can support you.

Hatwoman continues: "In all of these cases the roles are fixed; everyone (mum, dad, nanny, au pair, cleaner) knows what they have to do - it stays the same, no-one flits from one role to another, everyone has their bit to do and gets on with it. I just can't see how you can fit 3 or 4 kids into a juggling / waivering scenario."

I think this is a very intersting theory - so, IS IT TRUE? What do we think?

I'm not any of them.
I am a full-time mum, full-time childminder (caring for 12 part-time kids), not well off (do fit into stressed catagory sometimes).

Hmm, I'm not any of them either. No money, work part time, but dh doesn't work so he helps with the kids too.

Not fixed roles either - dh tends to do most of the cooking and I tend to do the washing and the practical baby stuff (bathing, nappies etc), but we are both capable of doing the other role if needed.

Plan to have a fourth under the same system too!

Of course I fully intended to imply that anyone who works is not a full time dedicated mother. not.

Didn't think you did - hope you didn't get that impression as it was not intended that way?

1. Nope
2. Ha bloody ha
3. nope, student
4. Only when Sam having bad days with his AS
5. fat chance- 50 miles to closest.

As Dh works varying shifts we do swap roles a lot, especially with me being at Uni. So it can be chaos, but a HAPPY chaos.

I have three and I'm none of them either

Even when I was a single parent I was none of them.

I am incredilby laid back tho' - practically vertical!1

Life's too short

I'm none of them (and also have 3).
I juggle freelance work with motherhood.

Enid your description of dd3 as your luxury has made me cry (way too hormonal already in this pg). My third is going to be all the luxury I get for the foreseeable future and I can't wait.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat I must apologies for bastardising your original argument

SO are you tempted to have another one yet?!

It could be your little luxury

sniff that IS cute

In our case it was 4x (4) with help from FIL. Not so bad now they are older and don't need constant supervision. When they were little I had them in the mornings, DH got up at midday to take me to work and had them for the afternoons, we passed on the stairs in the evening as I came in from work and he went out to night shift. Then on Saturdays I went to job number 2 and left them all to it

(We went through several permutations including university (for me) while still keeping on both jobs). I wish I had half the energy now that I had then, but now I work full-time and DH gets to sleep all day.

mixture of 3 and 5 i guess. i am a full time mother, but only because circumstances make ot so. i cant palm them off to just anyone, Peter is my main concern atm, and making sure the kisd are ok with him coming back home. i guess 5, is also true as i do have people to rely on if needed, but when petyer is home i dont rely on them so much as now. i fit 3 kids into a juggling scenario day by day, inever know what will happen or if i am to be 'mum' or 'carer' that day.

I have four and am mildly stressed. Mild stress is motivating.

I have four kids and if there is a category for mad then thats me , no nanny, no money, sahm, chilled out but gets stressed like the rest of us, parents live close but don't help out that much!

I am none of them - except perhaps number 4 but that is due to helping care for dad with Alzheimers as well! Stressed myself out doing a dgree as well.
DH worked opposite shifts to me when children were young. I worked part-time but loved being there. As kids have got older, I have worked more hours because we need the cash and I love being a midwife. Don't know what I would be doing if I didn't love my job so much though.

Inlaws helped out when both DH and I were working but you had to beg. We avoided it as much as we could. The way to manage 3 or more kids is precisely by juggling around IMO.

I would say it is true, I hope to be No 3 (although only have 2 kids at the mo but want to try for another).

I love that dd3 is Enid's luxury!

have 3 and would say I am a 5 and occationally a 5. Beg borrow and steal childcare between family and friends but love it

Is 3 that much harder than 2 ?(mum of 2 interloper pops in with infuriating question to more seasoned campaigners)

yep but i love it. three def more of a croud.

oops crowd.

With 3 rather than 2 you are outnumbered handlemecarefully! Other than that, it is pretty much the same - what you lose in 'real time' you make up for in expediency and experience.

I have 4 and am none of the below - no nanny, not rich - slightly above average pay, more than dp, work full-time (mostly from home, sometimes nationally but still need pretty much FT childcare for a baby - can cope with older kids at home while I'm working). Stressed - yes sometimes but still have time to smell the roses. Oh, and no close family of my own within 200 miles (have dp's parents though).

I am the same as Miaou but having a 5th

I work p/t but very few hrs, dh at college and work p/t so we are both at home. Not a lot of money and some wild stressy times.

The thing I noticed from two to three, is suddenly you run out of hands to hold them with. And they always all want one.

3 AND 4. no family within 1000 miles or two. juggling moolah - no visa to work here. but basically happy

point 3 and 4 on the list - i have 4 children