22 kids and counting

[Blondeshavemorefun]

What happened to thread last night

Had gone this am. Didn’t know why

I watched it this am. Can’t believe Noel Got Heidie name wrong on birth certificate

miserable it's all damage control. They have never made an effort to have one on one time, but they receive a lot of criticism for it so they are just attempting to address it for the sake of argument. They complain a lot about how little time and money they have, as if 20 something children arrived on their doorstep one day.

They need to mix it up a bit now. Add in more footage of them doing things outside the house.
They'll just be left with footage of the younger kids blasting about the house as the older teens will want their privacy.
I think if they focussed a bit more on 'how they manage' ie, routines, chore allocations etc, it would be a bit more interesting - I think a lot of people watch it thinking 'I've only got 2, how do they cope with 22'
Luckily for them the kids with autistic traits don't seem to need peace, quiet, calm and order.

@creepingthyme

miserable it's all damage control. They have never made an effort to have one on one time, but they receive a lot of criticism for it so they are just attempting to address it for the sake of argument. They complain a lot about how little time and money they have, as if 20 something children arrived on their doorstep one day.

I agree its staged as so many people have commented in the past that they don't do anything individually with the children. Although how anyone can believe it's a true reflection is beyond me, it's physically not possible to give them individual 1-1 time.

I also agree that they seem shocked so many children take up so much time and cost so much. They chose to have them so it surely shouldn't come as a surprise.

Also small question but how on earth did he fit all those children on the car?? My maths might not be great but there absolutely wasn't enough seats for everyone he took out??

The dumping ground is a tv series for kids in care

The program last night was so staged it was cringeworthy.

Noel took 9 older kids out to do something adventurous, however they went in a 7 seater car. So had the camera crew not have been there, they’d absolutely not have done it.

They’ve never take the kids to football or anything else like that before. It was accepted that they didn’t need to do clubs because they’ve got each other. A bit like how they were reading to the kids last week, after saying for years that they don’t believe in reading.

The baking with the little ones was a cake out of a box, like it always is. I can never understand how a family, who owns a bakery, don’t know how to bake a cake from scratch.

DS1 is in the army. When he went we kept his room because no one else needed it. I think it’s absolute madness that they promised Daniel his room will always be there for him. They’ve got 4 girls, ranging from 18-11, in one room. They’re squeezed in like sardines yet they are keeping a room empty for weeks on end? It doesn’t make any sense.

I don’t believe they don’t hand down uniforms or any other clothes, but if it’s true then they need to take a good look at themselves. The children are barely a year apart. Most children’s clothes don’t get worn out. Just because you pass things down doesn’t mean you don’t buy new too. Their wastage is unreal.

@BowlerHatPowerHat

They need to mix it up a bit now. Add in more footage of them doing things outside the house. They'll just be left with footage of the younger kids blasting about the house as the older teens will want their privacy. I think if they focussed a bit more on 'how they manage' ie, routines, chore allocations etc, it would be a bit more interesting - I think a lot of people watch it thinking 'I've only got 2, how do they cope with 22' Luckily for them the kids with autistic traits don't seem to need peace, quiet, calm and order.

I expect the autistic kids are internalising the chaos. I expect that inside they're churning masses of anxiety, stress and sensory overload. I expect this is the case as I was an autistic child growing up in a large family (although small compared to them as there were only 6 of us). It's a nightmare situation for an autistic child.

I'm also intrigued on how they manage. We usually have around 20-25 people for Christmas dinner and it takes all day to prepare, cook and clean up afterwards. And that's with everyone buggering off home in the evening. How on earth do they manage to do that 3 times a day, every day, and still do everything else that needs doing? I just can't see how it's possible without help. It makes me wonder if behind the scenes they have an army of workers doing all the graft.

I don’t believe they don’t hand down uniforms or any other clothes, but if it’s true then they need to take a good look at themselves. The children are barely a year apart. Most children’s clothes don’t get worn out. Just because you pass things down doesn’t mean you don’t buy new too. Their wastage is unreal.

I don't believe they even know which clothes belong to which child. How could they? Or do they label everything?

Noel took 9 older kids out to do something adventurous, however they went in a 7 seater car. So had the camera crew not have been there, they’d absolutely not have done it.

So glad it wasn't just me thinking the seats and number of bums didn't match up. I was wondering if the extras would be allowed to travel with the camera crew due to covid though?

@Same4Walls

Noel took 9 older kids out to do something adventurous, however they went in a 7 seater car. So had the camera crew not have been there, they’d absolutely not have done it.

So glad it wasn't just me thinking the seats and number of bums didn't match up. I was wondering if the extras would be allowed to travel with the camera crew due to covid though?

Maybe they sat in the footwells/boot like we had to as kids.

I didn’t notice about the lack of seats

No way it could be a 10 seater?

Does anyone on here genuinely not pass down clothes to younger siblings?

I also buy new for the youngest too so not everything is second hand but if it's in good condition why not? Even bikes etc are re used. I often feel bad but it's a waste otherwise and they get new too but not as much new stuff as the eldest. Eg uniform I'll save it as they are 2 years apart.

The editing/staged scenes annoy me. Last week it showed them making fajitas for dinner but then we got shown Tillie eating mashed potatoes then a pile of dishes that had left over gravy/veg etc. Made out Daniel was going out on driving lessons with no L plates when the social media posts shows he past his test January 2020.

Last night Phoebe was collected from school at 3 with the rest of them but again on social media she was finished at lunchtime. 9 kids out for fun in a 7 seater? Max being told someone will collect you but he is seen walking in from school and both Sue and Noel acting like they have just clapped eyes on him (and they left the car keys in the front door).

I wonder if the show will show Xmas day because I watched the Xmas day vlog and the amount of money spent on gifts was unreal. I think Noel was given a £5000 watch for turning 50....so I'm not buying the "poor us, the pie shop is closed".

@Blondeshavemorefun

I didn’t notice about the lack of seats

No way it could be a 10 seater?

It was a Landrover Discovery so no.

I think Noel was given a £5000 watch for turning 50....so I'm not buying the "poor us, the pie shop is closed".

Yes, and Sue was given a £2k engagement ring. Every child was given a pile of presents with a main present of around £400-500. They absolutely are not poor. How their minions believe their bullshit is beyond me

@louise5754

Does anyone on here genuinely not pass down clothes to younger siblings?

I also buy new for the youngest too so not everything is second hand but if it's in good condition why not? Even bikes etc are re used. I often feel bad but it's a waste otherwise and they get new too but not as much new stuff as the eldest. Eg uniform I'll save it as they are 2 years apart.

I can't pass down that many clothes, especially uniform because of gender but a few things that I knew would not get a great deal of wear (beach shoes, snow boots etc) I deliberately bought in a more neutral colour. Last year there would have been an enormous amount of unworn school uniform, I can't believe the Radfords couldn't have at least put some kids in clothes that had been worn for a max of 6 months!

Should have said mine are both girls so it's obviously easier.

I have three of the same gender. I pass everything down from first child to second and I throw a lot out after the second as it’s normally too old and in bad condition for a third wear. I keep all old coats & footwear as back ups as they’re useful to have.

I have 3 boys and all cousins are boys and hand me downs are the absolute best! We've saved a fortune

Just watched this episode. The uniform buying seemed very odd – they were only buying one sweatshirt/blazer/tie for each child, there were no shirts/trousers/skirts bought. And the sales assistant said he’d never sold to such a large family before. Reading between the lines I’d assume this was an entirely staged scene, they bought one item per child to create the trying-on footage and in fact do hand down uniform.

Noel at the football – it was pitch dark and he’d been up since 5am at the bakery? So must’ve been maybe 8pm in October?

The golf – it was obvious Noel had never played before, and the way Daniel announced the scores meant they’d only played 4 out of 18 holes. So much for valuable father-and-son time – it was another entirely staged scene. I do hope Daniel sticks it out with the RAF training and passes.

That setup would quite rightly be totally illegal if it was a children’s home. I’d love to see what ended up on the cutting room floor.

My Dd was in a home for a while, the absolute minimum amount of staff was 2 for 6 kids, and that was overnight.

That setup would quite rightly be totally illegal if it was a children’s home. I’d love to see what ended up on the cutting room floor.

I always think that when anyone says how amazing their family is and how they are superhero parents etc. There is an exceptionally good reason we have ratios in all settings with children. How anyone can think the life those children have is something to be envied will always be a sorce of confusion to me.

I’ve always felt a bit sad about the Radfords. That many kids means no real 1:1 time and must mean the older siblings help. A lot. I did wonder if one of the boys was autistic, I always wondered about 9 year old Oscar (I have two children with autism and he reminds me of my son).

I think everyone knows they don’t survive on the pie business alone. Money will come from benefits and from endorsements and TV.

This series feels very very staged. All calm and chilled out. When in reality those of us with fewer kids have been struggling. I also thought it was really tasteless making out they were struggling for money and then gaily saying they don’t do hand me downs and that over £200 on uniform was basically nothing and spending hundreds on a child’s birthday.

I think throwing yourself into the spotlight means taking the rough with the smooth. You’ll get good comments and bad. So it will be a shame if this thread goes.

Sharing a room with your sibling or siblings is really no big deal.

I agree when it's one or two siblings. Sharing a room that looks more like a dorm with 3 or 4 others not so much.

Anyone else notice when the young boys were all getting rowdy around bedtime, one of the middle girls was trying to round them up and get them back to bed? Then Sue came up to sort them out no doubt for the cameras

Children in care also have a keyword, and a co-keyworker in the home, aswell as their social worker, they get taken out individually too plus can tag along with things like the cook doing the shopping and then group outings too which happen weekly and again this is with just six kids max, age 12-18.
Most spend a fair amount of time at home too and all have their own rooms with TV and laptop and they get to choose their own bedding, plus have posters/photos etc on the wall.
They also get bought their own snacks/shampoos/bath products etc.
They are absolutely treated as individuals, though also operate somewhat like a family with meals round the table and such.

@Orchidflower1 go to the Radford family Wikipedia page. Read the first sentence under the subheading “Family”