When Did Big Families Become Extinct?

“You have how many kids!?!” This is usually the response that I get when I tell people that my husband and I have four boys. This question is usually followed by, “You aren’t going to have anymore are you?!?” Well I might, (okay not really because four is all I can handle without going completely crazy), but the point is; why is it such a negative thought? My grandfather came from a family of ten, and then he went on to have five children of his own. Back in the day, larger families were the norm. Nowadays two children is the ideal family. This is understandable, because ideally there’s a parent for each child. Which means that the playing field is evenly numbered, and it leaves little chance for a juvenile revolt. However, what about the parents that want to push the envelope, the ones that dare to be outnumbered and subject themselves to pure chaos. There are some of us still out there, we are not extinct…or at least not quite yet.

Large families require a lot of time, money, and patience, and I see why they aren’t for everybody. However, for all of the hair pulling moments there’s also extra hugs, extra kisses, extra laughter, and a lot of kids being extra, but I love it. Our boys take care of each other (when they aren’t trying to rip each other apart). When one gets hurt or has a bad day at school, the other is there to pick him up. They play together, laugh together, and cry together. With four unique personalities there is never a dull moment in our house. Our oldest is the smarty pants (but sneaky), our five year old is the jokester, our two year old is the rebel, and our 9 month old is a combination of them all. I couldn’t imagine my life without them.

So, I just ask that people not cast us out like relics, or look at us like we have the plague when we walk into the grocery store. I promise we won’t bite (well our 9 month old might but that’s not our fault). Whether you decide to have a small family or a large family, the only thing that matters is that it’s filled with love, happiness, patience, and Magic Erasers.