Sixteen kids and counting....

[BarnYardCow]

Anyone else looking forward to a new episode on Friday where I think they have just had number 17, plus one of the elder daughters is expecting too!

[IrnBruTheNoo]

Sue was already told that she's already putting a huge strain on her body with each pregnancy now, so surely that's enough reason to stop adding to the massive brood. If anything happened to Sue, or both, the children would all more or less be getting placed in state care. They probably hadn't really thought of worse case scenario before embarking on having such a large family though....

[fancyanother]

Exactly, it wasn't about one to one time all the time, just that the children just seemed to be one of a crowd the whole time. They had no idea what it felt like just to be on their own for a bit, or what it was like to have some time with a parent. Its irresponsible and unnecessary. i agree with others also who say the financial figures just dont add up either. That bakery is supporting 18 people, including the one child who was working there. It all seemed a bit co dependent.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

but fancy they're milking it from all the media coverage, that's how they can fund their lifestyle and will probably chance it and go for baby no. 17.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

"Its irresponsible and unnecessary"

Hear hear!

If the parents are wiped out, we're all screwed as we'll be funding their children's state care. All because the parents just couldn't help themselves having child after child after child....

Not something that would bother me normally with a family who stop at say 3 or 4 of a family, but to end up having to cough up for 16 or 17 siblings.. Not even worth thinking about the figures...

[buildingmycorestrength]

I just read on her blog that they get six week old babies to sleep through by crying it out without a dummy...surely that is bonkers? Six weeks old?

[juule]

irnbru I don't think I was taking your comments and twisting them. The children looked cared for. Some of them might not have looked too happy about another baby and that might have been because the prospect of another one made them unhappy or it might be that they are used to it and bored with the whole thing or its a non-event to them or something else. There are many parents who have a hard time introducing a second baby to their firstborn. We have no idea just from watching a one hour snapshot just how much time the parents spend with each child.

[juule]

fancyanother "They had no idea what it felt like just to be on their own for a bit"
How can you know that?

[pigletmania]

Can't be a lot if they have 16 and want to have more. Bloody hell tie a knot in it, and concentrate in the ones you have

[lollydollydrop]

They probably didnt have much opportunity to spend time by themselves! Big house or not, 16 is a lot to expect that individually any one child could get much time on their own. Not that they would want to be on their own though- they all ended up sleeping in the same beds every night!! I wonder how the parents are fostering any sense of independence though, lovely as sibling love is, dependancy is not healthy imho.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

juule it's quite obvious (even without watching the documentary) that a family of 16 children means that each child is not going to get much opportunity to get time alone much in the house!! It's not difficult to work that out...yes, it was just a snapshot of their lives, but the children who were of school age did not appear to be pleased about the situation they were in. From what I remember, one of the girls was just wanting to be left alone to sleep without her siblings climbing into her bed, she look exasperated at one point. I felt very sorry for her just not getting any space to herself.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

"I just read on her blog that they get six week old babies to sleep through by crying it out without a dummy...surely that is bonkers? Six weeks old?"

Will have a peek at the blog. That just sounds cruel, tbh. Perhaps they should invest in real life baby dolls instead.

[juule]

"Irnbru" 15 children (I don't think the eldest son lives with them) in a 10 bed house could surely find somewhere to be alone if they wanted to. So, worst case, 15 children / 9 rooms would mean 6 sharing with one other and 3 with their own room. That's without taking into account non-bedroom rooms in the house. I think those children would get more opportunities to be alone than some smaller families in smaller houses.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

Not quite as easy when children are running around all over the place though, regardless of the number of rooms in the house.

[fancyanother]

My 2 year old howls when his brother shuts him out of his room when he wants a bit of peace and quiet. I just drag the little one away (because I can) How much sway do you think one child saying 'just leave me alone of a bit' would have with 8 siblings beating down the door? The older one who was pregnant couldnt even get any peace trying to get the nursery together without kids trying to climb through the windows! If you love kids, love the ones you have!

[juule]

"with 8 siblings beating down the door? " that conjures up such a funny image. So you think the older children would be joining the younger ones and laying siege to any child who wanted to be alone. I'm sure the family have worked out the best way to give someone (or more) some space. Off the top of my head using stair gates could probably put paid to any little ones bothering older ones.

[juule]

Plus,of course, any 2yo who isn't welcome by an older sibling at any particular time would probably have a sibling who did want to play. One of the benefits of a larger family is that there is usually someone else to play with/chat with. :)

[EmpressMaud]

I think Fancy has a point.

Though I'd have liked to have seen more, it was only a snapshot after all, and difficult to judge. They didn't seem to do anything with the children e.g. crafts, hobbies, activities and so on. But this may not have been the case, and it simply may not have been shown on the programme.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

"They didn't seem to do anything with the children e.g. crafts, hobbies, activities and so on"

I can't blame them Empress, I would be totally f*cked looking after all those children, tbh. Never mind having the time to do arts and crafts!!

I only have two and struggle to have the energy to do activities with them as it is. Glad we all like different amounts of children, as it's not meant for everyone having a large family. Each to their own!

[Blondeshavemorefun]

it was sad when the younger boy said " his mum would probably just keep on having babies and forget about him "

out of the mouth of babes :(

taking the door handle off the door is dangerous, and personally (being a nanny) i wouldnt be impressed with all the younger kids mucking about and getting in and out of bed - esp as the dad just smiled and didnt seem bothered

why have 16 children, esp when putting health at risk with each pregnancy - grandpa didnt seem too chuffed with so many grandchildren,let alone rem names

but all seemed sweet/well dressed /mannered etc, and the house was clean and tidy

and did you notice all the girls names seem to end in eeeeeeeee sound, like tillie,katie, amie, milly, sophie, ellie, daisy

[HDee]

Blondes, why should they care what 'grandpa' thinks? And I bet dad isn't half as patient at bedtimes when the cameras aren't there.

I never heard the boy say his mum would forget about him.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

The little boy did make a comment as Blondes describes. Very sad.

[margot1962]

why?

[margot1962]

They will get about £6000 a year in child benefit from the tax payer

[margot1962]

In addition to that, they must be getting at least £800 a month in child benefit. Someone else is paying for that. Sorry :(((( !!! I have two children at uni and it costs a fortune!!