15 kids and counting

[AKissIsNotAContract]

Starting in 15minutes on channel 4. Anyone else going to watch this?

I wondered that too molly. I hav 3 and the housework/childcare feels never ending.

I really liked the Morecambe family. The mother seemed a really lovely woman and they both worked hard.

Juneau
"I was saying that woman was wrong to do it, since she didn't have any teaching qualifications"

You don't need teaching qualifications to HE. A lot of home-educated children have parents that don't have teaching qualifications and are doing very well.

"but I can't see how a mother of 11 (including newborn twins), could possibly have the time and energy to prepare lessons that are suitable for so many children who are all at different educational stages."

Different things work for different families, I suppose. Things that some people find difficult others find relatively straightforward (not always easy) and vice versa.

what channel was it on?

Yes, but she was doing a crap job, from what I could see. None of the kids seemed engaged with her "teaching" and the 13-year-old was bored stiff and said her mother often didn't know stuff so they had to go and look it up! That's not teaching, is it, if the kid has to go and look it up? Teaching is having a thorough understanding of the subject material before you sit your kids down to teach them. I know it was a few minutes of the program and it was quite possibly edited, but I was shocked that someone with no experience and so little clue is allowed to just pull her kids out of mainstream school and provide such a poor substitute at home with, seemingly, no oversight.

"That's not teaching, is it, if the kid has to go and look it up? "

Well you could say it's teaching them how to look things up for themselves and introduce them to self-directed learning? Depends what it is you would like your children to learn. Not all home educators 'teach'.

I haven't watched the programme yet so I can't really comment on this particular family, I suppose.

How can you teach and look after children babies and toddlers though. Really?

Juule - you haven't even watched the program? Right, so you've just got a HE drum to bang then. As for 'self-directed learning', isn't that what homework is for?

I'm not sure why I would have to watch the programme to comment on what appear to me to be generalised ignorant remarks about home-ed. And if that constitutes me having a HE drum to bang then I suppose I have. I admitted that I couldn't comment on the individuals in the program.

Because I wasn't attacking HE - I was attacking this woman's pathetic attempt at it.

MOLLYMOLE wtf has it got to do with you how they finance their holiday,r u jelous?

i think if they filmed over 6 months maybe there was a better example of a lesson but which makes better telly? For all we know both Mums are seething with the way they have been portrayed after editing.

It made interesting viewing but I am still no closer to understanding how it all works - washing, cooking, shopping - I can see hours and hours of work even if everyone helps out.

And how could it possibly be afforded, on one person's salary - even with tax credits etc? youmaynotlikethis I think questions about finance are valid because money is one of the deciding factors in family size for a lot of people. These families obviously have ways of managing and I, for one, would love to know what they are. I am assuming that the working parent is not the Head of Shell or similar, so its more than being super-rich and because I would love another child but don't feel I could afford one.

Sometimes these documentaries raise more questions than they answer-it's so annoying.

youmaynotlikethis - there is no need to be so rude, I was just voicing my thoughts I did not suggest they were doing anything wrong just wondering how they manage it all - money and time wise

I'd love to know how people manage with a large family, and I mean that genuinely, not in a sarky, snide way. We've got one baby and one on the way and I dont know how we're going to afford it. I'd love to get the benefit of someone else's experience of household management for a large family. It's a real skill that I'd like to have

Tbh I wasn't overly impressed with the lady's home schooling it looked chaotic and half hearted but maybe it was the camera crew disrupting things,

I also wondered how they financed it, not in a critical way just curious. We have 5 DC and it costs a bomb to be frank. Especially when they get to high school age.

It was interesting about the lady that had miscarriages as I can somewhat emphasise. I had 4 losses; 2 were after 20 weeks and 2 before. It can/does have an effect on your life/outlook and some research shows that it isn't just the loss of the baby but the loss of the confidence as a woman and ability to carry a child that can cause severe distress. I relate somewhat as I felt a failure (irrationally as it was no way my choice/fault) and having a subsequent healthy baby DID help with healing. So even though I don't plan on having more, I couldn't cope with sterilisation mentally as fertility means everything to me as I don't take it for granted to have a baby and longed for DC. So perhaps for some women they have a NEED somehow to keep going?

I don't want to judge these families, I really think big families are great. But when you have health issues and high risks you just have to stop somewhere. I think even catholics agree that if there are health issues it is OK to stop. My family are catholic and none in the last generation had loads of kids. Even before that they had 5 or less.

I'd love a family that big! I can't explain the motivation, it's just there. It isn't going to happen for us, as I'm having progressively worse pregnancies and we've agreed that this one (number 3) is it. Regarding finance, I think you cut your cloth to suit iyswim. Passing on clothes/shoes/toys is a given, but I would feel bad if we could never afford to swim or do extra curricular stuff. And the FOOD! That bakery must be sidelining in Something Else. Anyone seen Weeds

I am joking - not actually suggesting that they are drug dealers before anyone pounces!

I thought the Kent woman was slightly deranged tbh. I am all for large families (pg with no 6 here), but really, they have a 4 bedroom house, no room, it was absolutely chaotic. She was home educating as a control issue from what I could see, not because it was best for the children - she was a fanatical christian who didn't want the kids to learn (sorry that's a bit of a generalisation, but I felt so sorry for the 13yo girl who seemed to do alot of the childcare.

Deranged to have twins and still be home educating

deranged to be thinking of having any more.

Other family ok from what I could see, but agree that it really is difficult to give each child the attention they need if you have so many. I feel it with 5, but really can't see that it is beneficial to the children - they were doing it all for themselves imo. but kids looked happy and well cared for, and parents seemed less mad than the other woman, although they definitely had issues.

and agree, how could they afford it? would be good to know how much their food bills are, their holiday, etc etc.

Yes, and the biggest sign of her craziness was the fact she was putting her self at such risk in order to have more babies. Someone should tell her she owes it to her existing children to stop now.

(and bollocks about God not worrying about there not being enough space on earth for more children, otherwise He would stop more children being born). grrr! stupid woman.

The HE did look a bit pants tbh and twin mum did seem a bit rehearsed - maybe she feels she HAS to explain herself.