19 kids and counting / safety

[MommyTVFan]

Hi
Followed Sue and Noel Radford and family on our tv programmes & see they have a new show on tomorrow (29/12/16).

Something I don't get is child safety in this and other larger families.

I mean I had 3 under 7 and I watch 2.5y old all the time, even when he is in older siblings room as there's bunk beds etc and even dressing up clothes can be dangerous

I know the Radford's have super high bunk beds and they always have around 4 kids under 6y I wonder how they supervise them? Or do you think kids like these and in other larger families are in hospital much more often ?

Bike - she just giggled like a teenager! So what, you like having sex. You can enjoy sex without it resulting in pregnancy every time too...

I haven't watched this but I don't think you can compare being a parent to so many children, to being their teacher!! Yes, you can hear a class read individually over time but you don't have 10 or so little ones/babies/toddlers/ pulling your sleeve saying "I'm hungry! I need a poo! I'm thirsty! Wipe my bum please!" Etc etc etc.

Zzzz, it's no problem not having high flying ambitions or whatever, I'm not criticising her for that. Just wondering what she will do once all the kids stop needing her all the time. Or the fact that she probably hasn't had the time to even consider an alternative.
A teacher with a class of 20 also has a TA, possibly some other helpers to listen to the kids read and has several hours a day in which to find time to read with the kids. Sue doesn't have that! Again, the older kids must help with that.

Zippidy
Oh god...she must be so relieved in the morning when the majority all go off to school. But all that bum wiping and nose cleaning...

Reading as teacher is one book suitable for omen age group say 5-6 year olds. They have newborn -teenagers who aren't all going to want the same thing

They never are shown doing what I would think of as normal things with kids. No going for a walk to the park or playing board game or getting drawing stuff out. Only toys seem to be a pile of baby stuff. What do they 4-12 year old and play with? Garden isn't full of swings or ball space or trampoline, no sight of Lego or pens and paper or wooden train track or playmobile. Any older that 3 and they just spend days fighting

I dont understand how any of them can feel anything down there.

Sorry to low the tone but surely after 19 vaginal births she would be no where near the same size down there as someone who has only had one or two natural births?

We have 6 under 12 including one who has behaviour difficulties and is on the way to being assessed for autism etc.

We have been to a and e 3 times in 12 years all three with one child and 3 different chest infections (referred by the doctor). Not for accidents.

We stopped at 6 because that felt like the limit of what we could afford and manage especially with the problems dd(6) has.

Suppose it wouldn't be great showing them moaning and the chaos. Not on brand enough.

She gets a lot of help with bum changing

You had one of the middle children who looked around 12 changing Halle's nappy towards the end of the program.

Does she use reusable nappies? If not must spend a small fortune on disposables

I think she uses a mix

I've seen her use re-useables and I'm sure Halle was in a disposable

Brat you do realise you can read to more than one child at once

I was thinking more school book reading - can take up to 30 mins sometimes with one kid, depends how long it takes and his thorough you are.

Listening to your dc read school books lasts for a very short time though , reception , year one and maybe half of year two. By then dc should be independent readers.
The radfords will only have maybe four dc at that stage at a time. Four dc with twenty reading three times a week each averages at just 34 minutes a day.

*twenty minutes.

Well she got a car for christmas and she was really thrilled saying that she has wanted one for ages and now she will be able to go to loads of places while the others are at school. I do think now she is starting to live her life a bit more, she goes out for cocktails/afternoon tea with her daughters and their friends.

Sue did work two cleaning jobs until Noel bought the bakery, so I don't think she has never worked a day in her life. She did finish school (her mum gave up work to look after Chris) but not sure if she got any qualifications. She is a big advocate of washable nappies.

In one of the previous programmes it said Chloe mostly does the homework with the smaller ones or they do it by themselves. The older girls have a lot of responsibility, despite Sue saying they don't. They feed, bath, nappy change etc so I don't think Sue is having to cope single handedly. Sue said she was "always happy to oblige", in fact Noel made her out to be some sort of nympho.

Regarding going out, like all of the other big families they seem to rarely go out. The kids have jungle gym things in the garden but they seem to spend a lot of time on xbox. I know Sue's parents take them for the weekend in groups and take them out places etc.

I think the next programmes will all have a theme, perhaps travel as they complained before about people judging their parenting, house etc. What a great way to travel the world for free!

Andseven - at our school children are supposed to be listened to every night (including weekend days) for 20mins until they end at age 13. Those reading shorter books when younger get three books Friday so they have one for fri, sat and Sunday. Then new one daily mon-thurs. they also get 20mins homework every night (7days worth) from 4. So 40mins per child every night. The homework they can do together with just one adult helping multiple but reading individual

I have 2 and I have been to a&he more times than have my sibling with her large family.

Both my parents in their 60's come from very large families from opposite ends of country, seem to be the norm back then. These days anything more than 3 gets frown on.

I don't read with my youngest everyday, my niece was able to teach him how to swim better than I could. - not wining any parent awards am I here.

I've been on various holidays and seen many older siblings looking after the younger ones, no different to home.

We was taught to always pitch in that's what families do, even if it was putting dishes away.

Wish things had worked out I would have loved big family of my own but I still get my kids names mixed up so would stand no chance with 19.

Really Artandco until 13? My DD would of hated that and probably wouldn't be the avid book worm she is now.

As soon as she could read independently she was off writing a list of books she wanted to read. Also like me she hated reading aloud in school

I think there is large families and just excessively large like the Radfords. Yes kids should pitch in but I'm sure the kids do more parenting and work than most. The kids they interviewed seemed unhappy and that should be a priority not churning out more kids.

Perhaps she groups reading homework together?

I home educate one child and when the others get home from school we do "homework club" which ends up being about an hour- all the kids round the table me going between to read and help.

I don't think having to help look after younger siblings or have chores is necessarily a bad thing to be honest. I didn't have to lift a finger growing up and found running a home and kids really hard as an adult. I think the issue with the Radford children is about time with mum and dad.

There is a world of difference between having 7 children and having 19! I don't think any of us can fathom what it means to be a part of a family that big.

I have quite a few friends who are 1 of 6 children, my DH is 1 of 6 as well. Safety never seemed an issue. Some, generally the ones from families where the children were very close in age, would grumble about minding younger siblings.

Then again, I am 1 of 3 and I hated minding my little sister

I'm a teacher and I taught in a class of 24 where the ages ranged from 5-9. It was virtually impossible to listen to every child read aloud every day. The Radfords must have another system to manage homework, perhaps the older children stay at school for homework club?

Ignore - yes every night until 13. Usually I listen to ds1 first and then he can carry on reading alone after whilst I listen to ds2. So they get time to read alone also. It's to ensure their pronounciation of new words and encourage speaking out loud with confidence