Your kids are one of your biggest life accomplishments. I enjoy spending time with them. I love seeing them grow and improve. Right now, my wife and I have six of them, from 15 to 3 years old.
That being said. We spend about $800 per month on food. That may sound like a lot, but it works out to only about $1.10 per meal. We also spend on clothes, a bigger house, and everything else needed to keep them out of poverty. The house is usually a noisy mess, and traveling is a logistical nightmare. If we travel to Oregon and are all together, we will overhear rude comments by liberals about the size of our family.
While we cannot eliminate all negative aspects of raising children, there are things we can do to reduce those stresses.
Food is a big issue. With only one income, our belt is fairly tight in this regard. We have about 15 chickens, that will produce about a dozen eggs per day, we eat them all up. We have an apple tree and sauce those in the fall time, along with neighbor's trees. Most people would rather see the fruit go to use than have to pick it themselves or see it fall and spoil on the ground. We have a big chest freezer that we will buy a half a steer when the price drops in the fall. In the spring time, canned food is usually on sale to buy cases of green beans, corn or whatever. The biggest thing, is cook meals, and stay away from the pre-packaged stuff. The quality is better, and if you are feeding a large group, the additional labor is worth it.
For clothes, we get most of what they wear at thrift stores, or they are hand-me-downs. The kids really don't care (until they become teenagers). People at church are also ready to dump their small clothes on you. Toys are the same.
You really don't need a BIG house for a big family. Ours is a three bedroom. Sure, we have 4 boys in 2 bunks in their room, but they can deal with it. Organization is tough, but key.
I have a good friend of mine with 9 kids in a 600-700 sq ft house. They even took in one of their nieces. It is a 2 bedroom and the boys sleep in the living room, and have to take these foam mattresses and bedding in and out every night. The thing is, it is a happy family, and being in close proximity is fine.
Our house can be a noisy mess (especially in winter), but there is outside. If they get too rambunctious, we will kick them out. Sometimes, we will let them play on the computer for a treat which will quiet them down, but mostly they will rough house, bang on the piano, or go read if they get bored. Sometimes if the house is too loud, I will go out to the shed and work on some project. Have them clean up, help with dishes, and everything else they are capable of. They made the mess, they can help clean it up.
Traveling logistics is tough. Whenever we go on a vacation, we have a lot of things to worry about. Our van has a cargo rack, where I will put in 8 sleeping bags, tents and whatever else we need. Motels are out of the question, I like sleeping with my wife, but not with kids. We would need 2 rooms at a minimum, and we won't do it (unless maybe if we broke down in a blizzard or something). We have 4 tents. My wife and I, the girls, the older boys, and the younger boys'. They know how to set them up, and I will have them set up ours whe my wife and I are preparing dinner. We will usually stop by grocery stores and get sandwich stuff with a bag of apples, rather than eating out.
With all the travel related stuff, I have this spreadsheet I have saved as a checklist for everyone. Vacations are usually about the same, so the same list will work again and again (with minor variations)
Moreover, having a large family is a joy. For those "WOW, you got your hands full" type comments, just smile through their snark, knowing that their genetic line is done.
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