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Original poster

21 kids and counting

765 replies

thannyflaps · 03/01/2019 22:00

Just watching the latest episode - how on earth do they afford to run that household? iPhones for the kids, holidays to Spain for 20 people, a new kitchen.

There is no way a bakery would generate that much money. Would channel 4 really pay that well for their participation in the programme?

Thanny Flaps

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5
llangennith · 03/01/2019 23:10

No she didn't. She came back for other personal reasons.

Vulgarlady · 03/01/2019 23:11

I hate their mass consumerism. Prams, new kitchens, junk food on such a huge scale. Chloe and Millie have had lip fillers I notice. Sue does look bloody amazing though, her skin is fantastic

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 03/01/2019 23:11

I feel sorry for Chloe. She had a taste of a life outside her family and felt obliged to go back because mummy and daddy have yet to work out how contraception works.

Even Christopher got sick of it and went off the radar for a while.

TheCumbrian · 03/01/2019 23:14

Morecambe is a very cheap area to live in and the bakery business operates online as well as locally.

iphones can be picked up cheaply on facebook selling groups and used on sim only deals after that.

Clothes will be reused

Prams will be sold on

They don't have childcare costs as Sue and the older girls do it

Cooking is done cheaply and in bulk by the looks of things

Local businesses will do offers on beds/ kitchens/ carpets etc to be able to say they know the Radfords.

I can see how its affordable in the area they live in.

BabyNameBook · 03/01/2019 23:16

It won't be long until sue pops on and starts defending the child cruelty.

CelticKiwi · 03/01/2019 23:16

I find the whole set up fascinating. Chloe said in one episode that she transfered her course to one closer to home because Sue was pregnant and she didn't want to be too far away in case she was needed? I saw that as coming back to help out.

BabyNameBook · 03/01/2019 23:17

Yes @CelticKiwi that's exactly what was on the previous episode.
Poor girl Sad

HowlsMovingBungalow · 03/01/2019 23:17

Oh will this thread get zapped?

Hmm.

GerryblewuptheER · 03/01/2019 23:18

Cooking is done cheaply and in bulk by the looks of things

There was little signs of this bull cooking tbh.

One measly portion of an anaemic Bolognese and a pan full of jarred curried source.

Unless you count half a box of cereal as a meal

potatoscone · 03/01/2019 23:19

TheCumbrian

And they get paid. Paid to do TV. Paid to advertise. Given free products as long as they talk/show them on the TV. They will earn more from this than the bakery could every afford them.

HelenaDove · 03/01/2019 23:20

"Sue and the older girls do it"

Exactly but the older girls didnt choose to have them did they.
The older boys arent expected to do any childcare.

BabyNameBook · 03/01/2019 23:21

@HowlsMovingBungalow probably Hmm

21 kids and counting
21 kids and counting
CelticKiwi · 03/01/2019 23:24

I can see how they manage it financially, but I don't see any sign of them meeting the children's emotional needs. Maybe the kids rely on each other for that?

PickAChew · 03/01/2019 23:26

, how does she even fit it all on their tiny conveyors before they start scanning?! grin

The conveyor belts are 10' long at one of the aldis I occasionally visit!

Mootsie · 03/01/2019 23:26

I normally lurk but was glad to see a thread about this programme.

Is the house semi-detached? If so I pity the poor neighbours if they ever want to sell. There's no sign of a garden so do the children ever go outside?

I used to be fascinated by books and TV programmes about large families - always a Waltons fan Grin but the atmosphere in this family almost has a sinister edge to it. Not a patch on the Yorkshire Shepherdess and her happy brood of nine.

The holiday was a joke. Imagine sitting near that lot on a 'plane!

Redcrayonisthebest · 03/01/2019 23:31

I have to say that I quite like them. They intrigue me and I couldn't live their life but I think they come across basically as likeable and happy together. Not really getting the creepy vibe that others talk about 🤔

BabyNameBook · 03/01/2019 23:33

What's not creepy about getting someone pregnant at 13 and then subsequently keeping them pregnant in a controlling relationship for the rest of their adult life whilst not meeting the emotional needs of your 20+ children by not letting them have any privacy, space or individual nurturing?

Fantababy · 03/01/2019 23:33

First time I've seen any of this. How can her body withstand so many pregnancies, presumably fairly close together? I'm only on my second and feel it's taken its toll!

Redcrayonisthebest · 03/01/2019 23:39

Is he much older than her then? I must admit I'd assumed they were two teens and thought it was quite nice that they'd stuck together.
I also can't see the evidence that he is " keeping" her pregnant. She looks pretty happy with it. What do any of us know from a tv program really though?

potatoscone · 03/01/2019 23:48

He is 5 years older then her. Doesn't seem much when they are in their 40's, but he got her pregnant when she was 13.

Of course she seems happy, she has been completely brainwashed and emotionally abused for 30 years.

BabyNameBook · 03/01/2019 23:49

He's 5 years older than her. When she got pregnant she was just 13 and he was 18.

TaighNamGastaOrt · 03/01/2019 23:57

The first couple of programs I liked them. they seemed happy, no product placement. But they were stopping after no.15, then no 16 and so on.
The last program when the older children were honest about never getting space/time/privacy really opened my eyes. The girls have to do so much! this program theres Noel telling the older girls they'll get pocket money if they do their chores. didn't see him saying that to the boys! off the girls scurry to do their fathers bidding. Boys?
Chloe looking after the kids, saying how much she admires 'that woman'. That woman's amazing'.
I just find it uncomfortable viewing. the kids all clamouring for attention and the chaos and disorder. I agree with a PP-there'll be a tell-all book from one of the kids.

ChubRubTheStruggleIsReal · 03/01/2019 23:57

The 13-18 thing is bloody awful.
I have a 13 yr old and the idea petrified me!

BabyNameBook · 04/01/2019 00:01

Also they used to take the door handles off the kids rooms at night so they couldn't get out or run around, i think after the safety issues were all over social media they stopped doing that but I always imagined what would happen if there was a fire Sad

BlueEyedBengal · 04/01/2019 00:12

I have 6 kids, 5 boys and a girl. Most of the time they are great friends always someone to play with and they know to give each other space and to respect that. Other times they are like gorillas at the zoo fighting over a banana.