Posted on 05/25/2004 9:06:38 PM PDT by projectile
I would agree that being in a large family would tend to exacerbate existing problems, but being from a smaller family doesn't save you from problems either. I think well-adjusted parents who can handle 2 kids could probably handle 10 without screwing up their lives. And dysfunctional parents with 10 kids would screw up 2 kids just as well.
I once worked with a man who was married to a woman who was only happy when pregnant. She was a nice enough woman, but she turned into a psychotic about 3 months after birthing. After the 7th kid, he had himself "cut". She divorced him 6 months later and last I heard is on her 9th or 10th.
Now while I have no idea if that occured here...sound eerily similar.
Let's all get together, chip in some cash, and get these folks cable TV. *grinning*
I know someone a year younger than me with 8 kids. She seems to be the same way.
Or Mormon?
LOL. Good one.
My husband's best friend in high school came from a family of twelve. His parents planned to have twelve right from the start and even bought the house for it. Food-wise it might have helped that they owned a potato processing company. It's probably because of his family that they started putting limits on milk on sale. When it was on sale, they would stock up for a couple weeks, which filled the whole shopping cart. Once a lady saw the milk and asked if they planned to drink all that milk. My husband's friend said, "No. We're growing a cow."
We have 7 children, the two oldest share one bedroom( it's really a den with pocket doors), the next four share a room, and the baby is still in our room. We are building into our attic for more bedroom space, a second bath, storage, more "living room" etc.
Big families are really not that expensive if you do it right. Most two children families spend FAR too much on name-brand clothing, name-brand food, new cars, high mortgages, cable TV with forty-seven movie channels, the list goes on and on.... I'm always amazed by how much money people make that claim they can't afford children. I wish I made that much money!
Cook from scratch, buy used, fix things yourself, grow food in the yard, don't go to the movies, don't pay extra for crap (cable TV) that doesn't help the family (cable TV) and one can raise a large family rather cheaply.
I applaud this family for their debt-free living and doing the Dave Ramsey Seminars for others. It's a great blessing to teach others how to really handle money.
And I especially applaud this family for raising future conservative voters!
I sure am glad the father is identified in the article, 'coz this being Arkinsaw, with 15 kids the father coulda well been Number One Son, or even Number two!
Wow! I just took a closer look at those photos you posted. I see at least 6 computers, name brand cereal which also involves milk, well dressed kids, huge house, etc. These people have money. They can certainly afford 15 children if they can afford two-plus gallons of milk a day. We don't even buy milk in gallons anymore, it comes in powder form LOL.
People always ask me: "How do you do it?" I like to tell them we simply buy bigger pots and pans.
LOL! With knowing only part of the story, hearing about a man named Jim-Bob from Arkansas with 15 children, you might expect to see some slackjawed, vacant-eyed, washed-out hillbilly with a houseful of crusty-nosed, snarl-headed younguns, the youngest wearing droopy, loaded diapers (and nothing else), and a worn-out, gap-toothed wife who bore a strong family resemblance to her husband, all hanging out on the porch with the skinny dogs lurking underneath and the broken refrigerator next to the front door.
Jim-Bob, Arkansas, 15 children. Just those three things together can paint a whole picture.
No, they are Southern Baptist... although, so am I, and I cut my hair and wear pants... (I'm female.) They seem to be a VERY happy family. I saw a special on Discovery about them last night, and they are NOT on any welfare or government assistance. Jim Bob even claims that they have NO debt. As long as this family can support themselves, and it makes THEM happy to be so large... well, then, God bless them.
There was a show on Discovery about this family last night. They made a point of saying that they were entirely debt-free as both husband and wife had worked in real estate and insurance to make enough money to be comfortable. Their motto was "Save up, buy used and save the difference."
I have a neighbor with 11 children. When we first moved in, we were a bit apprehensive about it, but they turned out to be absolutely model children. Their mom turned down a full ride to Vasser to be a full-time mom. The father is a technician for Xerox and part-time hiking/fishing guide. Their kids are all very intelligent, well-fed, clean and well-behaved.
My father has 12 siblings.
A large family used to be more common; now they are often treated as freaks. :-(
No, as a matter of fact, they have a real estate business, all their bills are paid, they teach money management, and they built their own large home. They are very self sufficient. They get no government handouts. Her husband also used to be an elected official. They are a wonderful family.
Congrats to this family.
Benjamin Franklin was the fifteenth child...of seventeen.
How poor this nation would have been if his mom had topped at fourteen.
God has His plans for each of us.
That's what I call a pack of kids.
Why denigrate such a close knit family with a backhanded reference about Wal-Mart? And what is the shame if these kids end up working their way through college while employed by Wal-Mart?
Elitism sucks.
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