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Original poster

How many siblings do you have?Has it impacted on the amount of children you would like/have?

73 replies

threecurrantbuns · 29/03/2011 21:35

I have a sister 2yrs younger than me and a half sister from my dads second marriage she is fifteen i havent really grown up with her as they live a fair way away so only saw in school hols etc.

So may sound awful but i consider myself growing up as one of two children.

Ive always thought i would like a large family. I have three now and considering a fourth so interested to know how many siblings you had and if it played a part in having your own??

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CMOTdibbler · 29/03/2011 21:36

I have a sibling. That makes me know that the guff people spout about 'why children need siblings' is rot, so am totally happy with my one child

Pagwatch · 29/03/2011 21:37

I had seven.

And having been one of eight I absoloutely knew that I would never ever ever have more than four. Never in a million years.
I have three dcs.

Northernlurker · 29/03/2011 21:38

I have one and dh has two. I like the size of his family and yes that probably did help me to see that three was right for us. My mum would have liked three but my dad wasn't keen. Tbh that probably had more influence than anything - that my mum would hve liked to have three but had to live with not having them. She was one of three too but her brother died before I was born, as a result of an accident.

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TheSecondComing · 29/03/2011 21:39

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notyummy · 29/03/2011 21:45

I am an only and have an only dd- would like another, but DH cones from a large (ish) family and disliked nearly everything about having z number of siblings. He wants one child and the capacity to 'parent properly'. (Not my words.)

Pagwatch · 29/03/2011 21:46

Oh tsc It probably sounds worse than I meant it to.

I have lots of great memories of growing up and I am still really close to a couple of my siblings. But there wasn't enough time for any if us really. My mum and dad were fab parents and really tried, but 8 children in 10 years..he was always at work and she was endlessly washing. Maybe if we had had more money. Or had been spread out a bit more.

But always having games and company was nice.

Ditto really really old though Grin

I would have liked four I think. But way old now.

DaphneHeartsFred · 29/03/2011 21:47

"I have a sibling. That makes me know that the guff people spout about 'why children need siblings' is rot, so am totally happy with my one child."

I'm with you aaalllll the way CMOT.

Tee2072 · 29/03/2011 21:48

I am the youngest of 6.

My son will be an only child.

The 2 actually have no correlation. My health means I can't have another. The one I have was a small miracle.

justaminute · 29/03/2011 21:53

I have two younger brothers. As we grew up I began to feel excluded from their fun Sad. I also remember that on family outings everything seemed to be geared to 2+2 families - tables had to be rearranged in restaurants, someone sat alone on the train etc

I have two children and not planning any more.

NimpyWindowmash · 29/03/2011 21:53

I had one sibling, but parents also had a little boy who died before I was born. Not sure if that was what made me want my 3rd child to complete my family.

orienteerer · 29/03/2011 21:54

One sibling, 7 years older so I've always been more of an only child......I have one DS.

asdx2 · 29/03/2011 21:55

I am one of six, I have five children but wouldn't mind another one or two. If I was younger I'd have liked a football team's worth Blush I like the camaraderie, the busyness, the chatter and the love much like when I was a child.

stripeywoollenhat · 29/03/2011 22:04

one of six, am 4 weeks (!) pregnant with dc2 (fx): even if i weren't as old as the hills, this would be my last. i would like to be able to enjoy caring for my children and have some semblance of a life of my own, which my mother didn't have for years and years and years.

Bumply · 29/03/2011 22:13

I'm the youngest of six. I used to think I'd have a 'small' family of 4, but after having 2 that was quite enough, thank you.

aStarWithHerOwnWays · 29/03/2011 22:16

I had one brother, whom I adored and who died four years ago.

Always wanted a couple of kids but now feel like I might want three. Because (and I realise how awful and irrational this is) I feel like, well, you never know Blush :( I hate being an only child now, hate hate hate it.

Am pg with DC2 at the moment though so ask me again in a year's time whether I still want three Grin Either way, DH is set on two and I feel lucky to have what I've got.

cory · 29/03/2011 23:25

I have three brothers, still get on very well. But only two dcs, partly because that's what dh wanted, partly because my health wasn't good and I had two problem pregnancies.

Mytholmroyd · 29/03/2011 23:39

I was one of four, DH one of six. We have four - but the last was a little unexpected mistake gift from god Blush

emlu67 · 29/03/2011 23:40

Definite impact on my choice..

I had one sibling 18 months younger, another 10 years younger and another 18 years younger. I really only grew up with one and hardly know the youngest at all as I moved away when he was growing up. From the age of 8 my parents fostered young babies too.

My happiest memories are of my early years when there were just two of us, after that there was little time for us as younger siblings and foster babies always took priority.

So my choice was to have two close in age that I would always have enough time for.

NoWayNoHow · 29/03/2011 23:54

I have one sister, and even though we fought like cat and dog for a good seven year period of our childhood, we are very close now.

Before I had DS, I was totally convinced of having 2 DCs, mainly because it reflected a family dynamic with which I was familiar.

However, now that we have one child, I really, really, really just don't want to have any more. I have no desire whatsoever to be pregnant again, give birth again, and start again with another child. Weird, I guess, but we're happy with our little family, and DS is wonderful.

Mytholmroyd · 29/03/2011 23:56

what I would change if I could was being the first born - wish I had been the last - she always seemed to get everything easier and had a better standard of living/holidays/presents/new car/university education whereas I had to leave school at 16 to earn a living. My parents were a lot better off by the time they had her.

Am very conscious of this with my own children.

CointreauVersial · 30/03/2011 00:04

I had one half-brother six years younger who I was brought up with (but it's a fairly big gap). I also acquired various steps over the years, although I don't consider them my "siblings" as we weren't brought up together.

But I always hankered after a family like my aunt & uncle's - they had 8 kids, the place was always buzzing, people in and out, huge pots of food always on the go......

We settled on three DCs which is the perfect balance between a large family and a practical one. And DH was one of three.

Roo83 · 30/03/2011 00:29

I had 2 sisters and was sure I didn't want 3 dc's, I always wanted 2 or 4. Problem is I now have 2, am tempted to have another, but not sure if my body would take another 2 sections....

roisin · 30/03/2011 02:04

I was middle one of 5.
I always wanted to have just two children.
I have two boys.

sleepywombat · 30/03/2011 02:22

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confuddledDOTcom · 30/03/2011 02:33

I was the eldest of three and always the one left out as the other two would pair up, sometimes it would be me and one of the others but it was always pairs. I decided I wanted two, I had my two I was happy with two for that reason and because of how hard it is on my health to be pregnant and now I'm expecting #3!