15 kids and counting

[AKissIsNotAContract]

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

I didnt think they were moaning. It really supprised me how they took it in their stride and seemed so calm. I flap about like a fool and I only have 2.

6 edam!! One university age but he's still home more than away and one more soon!! It's full time tbh I think I'm pretty much on full stretch but dp helps a lot!

Don't think the parents were moaning they seemed quite happy IMO

the mum of 15 is 36?!

I missed the first part - how old was thier eldest? She must have been quiet young having the first baby. Wonder if she knew then what the future held.

And the dd working 7 days a week - blooming heck - how every does she do it? The house so clean and her so calm!

I admire them but wonder how they have time for each child. We have 5DC and it is very hard to give them all enough attention. Also, the cost and organising activities/parties/friends round etc-will they miss out? Maybe they gain in other ways? We don't want anymore and even if we did would stop now after 3 sections (1 life threatening complications), 2 late losses, 2 early losses, and limited money/time. I feel for us it would be selfish to have more just because we fancy another. But maybe other people are better organised and so they can cope better.

I didn't get the adopted thing or the catholic thing. I'm one of six was adopted at birth and raised catholic but I only want two my siblings only two or three as well - not that any of the where adopted but all catholic.

After my 3 sections I did 4 nights, 8 nights (serious complications) and 2 nights. I couldn't wait to get out of there and got more rest/help at home. Made such a difference not having my own room. With 4 babies to a ward, there was always one crying, got no sleep at all. Got much more help breastfeeding at home too.

Good luck to the families involved - they all seem very sweet, but you can't beat the Duggars if you want to stand back in amazement...

I heart the Duggars (maybe need to watch the baby channels a leetle bit less).

Fabulous family from Morecombe, him for putting in over 80 hrs a week and her for helping him what a team they are and they just radiate love and concern for their children,good on them for home cooked meals and fresh veg as well with none of the children having different meals,the parents obviously know how to manage their finances well with them jetting off to Canaries for their hols congratulations to them.

Morecombe mum had her first child (Chris) at 14. He's now 22 and still lives at home!

I kept thinking about this programme when I was woken umpteen times in the night by DS2 and his teething. How on earth do those women cope? They must never get a decent night's sleep ever because one or other child would always be teething or ill or just waking up and crying. Sue seemed so calm and together though.

The other mum seemed a bit of a nutter TBH and the home schooling thing was just wrong. It's so arrogant to think that just because you can pop kids out you can teach them everything they need to know. That poor girl - the oldest one in the Kent family - she wasn't learning a thing and when you listened to the drivel the mum was spouting it's not surprising. How on earth can you think you can adequately teach a roomful of kids ranging from 4 to 13 FFS? Poor kids are not going to get a GCSE between them

I am all for live an let live but none of it made any sense to me at all.

Haven't watched it yet but just wanted to say homeschooling isn't always 'wrong'! It is a perfectly valid alternative to school and loads of HEd kids come out with GCSEs etc and go on to uni and great careers, even a big family isn't necessarily a barrier to that. I'm assuming you're only referring to this particular woman though so I'm not ranting at you juneau. Is it going to be one of those programmes that gives all home edders a bad name because of one bad example?

I don't HE, I'd love to though.

No fuzzpig HE is great (I don't do it either) but it was bedlam in the programme so it was hard to see how it would work.

I loved the bakery family. The other ones were a tad strange and seemed extremely selfish.
I would love to name 15 kids though.

I must admit to having a bit of a prejudice against very large families in general (my mum is one of 11, dad is one of8, dd's dad is one of 9, and all of them found childhood pretty horrendous) and think that it's a bit of a gamble that the quality of interaction with so many siblings would offset the loss of parental attention. But it's all down to resources, isn't it? Some parents are just rich in the things that count - patience, energy, ingenuity etc. I couldn't do it, but some clearly can. These women seemed to be doing very well, though I would have liked to have heard more in-depth from the dc about how it felt for them.

I wouldn't have the patience or the energy. I'd also be worried that the DCs would be bullied because of it.

I wasn't saying HE is ALWAYS wrong. I was saying that woman was wrong to do it, since she didn't have any teaching qualifications and, to be honest and a probably bit mean, she didn't even seem very well educated. I'm sure HE can be great if the parent is very dedicated and puts all the energy into teaching that a teacher would, 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.

The morecombe mum seemed more honest and open and no falseness at all. I think she even said she knew it was selfish but all the children so far were fine with it all.
The twin mum though her story didn't ring true. Every time she spoke it seemed as if she had carefully scripted herself. She is very self righteous and giving HE'rs a bad name as her content wasn't very good and she appearred to not be giving the older child enough attention or detail. Of course i understand this is a tv programme and none of us really know what goes on day to day.

Doh! I managed to miss this last night. Does anyone know if it's being repeated at all? I live overseas and can't watch on More 4

We have 11 children. We declined filming for this programme. Remember the media always have a slant and enjoy a stereotype and juicy story. They actually filmed the families for six months so you can imagine how much they edited.
Like many large families, we both work, as teachers. I also run a charity as well (www.joshuasboxes.co.uk) Our children have chores, and do help at times, but are no way expected to be baby sitters or on permanent childcare. We have some quite large age gaps and everyone gets far more attention than some of their friends with only 2 in the family who spend each evening in their rooms, watching tv or on the computer! I chose not to be criticised and my life and my children's lives to be exposed in this way, but I can understand why these families wanted to. Theres nothing more annoying than being stereotyped, many of us do not fit this!

I can see how HE could work in some families but IMO it needs better regulation. A relative HEs her three kids. She did her GCSEs but dropped out afterwards. Her children are very isolated in a rural area and seem miserable. One is now 15 and really hasn't git a clue.

Gives HE a bad name ANC makes me cross!

*and

I thought the family with 15 seemed lovley, very normal and hard working. I did wonder if wanting so many was linked to being adopted? They both spoke about how they will never be lonley so maybe it is more to do wome of the children were sharing with their childhoods?

The only issues I found with them were that sharing beds, I remember doing this for a few months with my cousin and it was really uncomfortable. Also, it did seemd that the tiny children did a lot of crying but I guess thats just the way it is even when you have two little ones.

The twin lady seemed weird. very over protective not in a good way Very neurotic, I have also suffered repested MC but couldn't understand her needyness and wondered how she cope with so many when she seems so fragile. I am all for HS if you can do it well, not sure how that works with twin babies. i was also surprised by the lack of breastfeeding. Oh yes and I thought it was very odd to put your life at risk for more children especially when you have so many. And they annoyed me with the claptrap about its wrong to use contraception.

'God's will' doesn't apply to clots on your lung, obviously....

Liked the Morecambe lot, couldn't stand the other mother.

I thought the family from Morecambe were amazing and the other family, well thought she was a bit 'strange'. However, what I can't get my head around is what we were not seeing, particularly with the Morecambe family, with regards to finance/working in the home etc.

He works in their own bakery and she helps out, he goes to work and then goes home to help with getting the family ready for school so they must have staff in the bakery to keep it running whilst neither of them are there.
Now, as a former accountant I find it odd that the profits of this one bakery would maintain this family. The family holiday must surely have cost in excess of £4000 , plus costs incurred whilst there. I cannot see where, during the day, bearing in mind her help in the bakery, she has the time to keep the house in order, shop for food, look after the children who are at home, wash,dry and iron all the clothing, cook etc.and spend time with the children, supervising home work, taking to activities etc.

I suppose I will get flamed for raising this but did no one else start asking themselves these questions.