Everyone has their own reasons for how they decided to have the number of children they have.
My reason? I love kids. I always have. I loved babysitting when I was 12, loved the kids I took care of at daycare as a teen, and loved very dearly the kids I nannied when I was 19. As a nanny, I had two little girls I took care of. Even though both kiddos were quite different, I had no problem loving them both.
I'm an only child and I hated being an only. I don't like using the word "hate", but it fits accurately here. I couldn't stand being an only, and it was only made worse by the fact that I was in daycare. It was so very lonley. I longed for a sibling, begged for a sibling, and instead lived out the rest of my childhood alone. It was even worse as a teen when my parents split and I found myself going through the situation alone, as well as having no one to relate to how I felt. As a kid, I knew I would have more than one child if I could help it, because of how much I disliked being an only.
Even so, that's not the main reason of why I chose to have more than one child.
I just love kids. I know sometimes I seem tired and exhausted and maybe happy to get a break to myself. But I love my kids and I love doing things with them.
Also, having multiple kids is just fun. Today we went on a 1-1.5 mile walk. With one child on a bike, another on a scooter, another child pushing a doll in a carriage, and the youngest in a stroller, it was like having a parade! It was a lot of fun!
Other fun things we do as a family of 6:
*Family Popcorn Movie Nights
*Read stories together- the kiddos huddle around and listen
*Play baseball- the boys even play baseball just the two of them
*Draw on the driveway together
*Play games together
*and my favorite- we do school together. It's fun. Having a big family for us is fun.
Life can be stressfull at times and moms like me may come across tired or stressed, but there's usually circumstances behind that that have little to do with the children. We all get tired and worn out at times, but most of us larger sized family moms love it.
So that's my answer- I had more than one child because I love kids and I know that however many kids I have, I will be able to love each of them. It was hard imagining loving anyone as much as my firstborn, but just as I had enough room for both my husband and my firstborn child, I likewise had enough room in my heart to love my 2nd. born, (and 3rd. and 4th. borns too : )
Nothing wrong with families that decide to only have one or families that decide to have 17. We each have our own reasons. Now you know mine.
Also, having multiple kids is just fun. Today we went on a 1-1.5 mile walk. With one child on a bike, another on a scooter, another child pushing a doll in a carriage, and the youngest in a stroller, it was like having a parade! It was a lot of fun!
Other fun things we do as a family of 6:
*Family Popcorn Movie Nights
*Read stories together- the kiddos huddle around and listen
*Play baseball- the boys even play baseball just the two of them
*Draw on the driveway together
*Play games together
*and my favorite- we do school together. It's fun. Having a big family for us is fun.
Life can be stressfull at times and moms like me may come across tired or stressed, but there's usually circumstances behind that that have little to do with the children. We all get tired and worn out at times, but most of us larger sized family moms love it.
So that's my answer- I had more than one child because I love kids and I know that however many kids I have, I will be able to love each of them. It was hard imagining loving anyone as much as my firstborn, but just as I had enough room for both my husband and my firstborn child, I likewise had enough room in my heart to love my 2nd. born, (and 3rd. and 4th. borns too : )
Nothing wrong with families that decide to only have one or families that decide to have 17. We each have our own reasons. Now you know mine.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI don't have children yet, but I really want some! I can't wait to have some with my husband, or even adopt.
When I was a kid there was just me and my sister and we didn't get along too well... Anyway I was longing for more siblings... And I read "cheaper by the dozen". Since then I want to have several children. then I had a few good experiences as a school teacher of 24 kids! Now I still love watching the duggars... Anyway.
How many children we have will depend on our ressources, where we live (if we go back to France health care and schools are free! But salaries are smaller too..) anyway I really love children, I think 4 kids would be minimum! :)
congrats on your beautiful family
Great post. I'm a mom of 6. Tired and stressed at times, but also glowing with the love of family.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite post of yours yet. I can't wait to have more kids! I love my son so much and it shows me that there is plenty of love in my home to go around!
ReplyDeleteWe're having baby #3 (due in October)! We originally wanted 7 children but we'll take however many we're blessed with, whether it is 5 or 9.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me that we're due for a Popcorn Movie Night!
Currently, I only have one, but I know I want at least three... I don't know how I'll manage the transition, since I only just started adjusting to having one, but since I like big families as well, I'll just have to manage! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post! I have two children. A 29 month old, and a 7 month old. I am currently pregnant with my third due in december. I'm a little nervous about have two so close, let alone all three so close. How close are your kids? Is the second really the hardest, because I did fine with two. I'm scared for three now. I do love my kids though, I have room to love one more!
ReplyDeleteThat's great that things went well when you had your 2nd.! I thought it was harder going from 1 to 2 than it was going from 2 to 3 because I had to learn to multi-task when it came to the kids when I had my 2nd. My 3rd. child had REALLY bad colic- she was a quite a challenge for the first 4 months, even so, I thought the adjustment to having another child wasn't too hard.
ReplyDeleteMy kids are 16 mos. apart, 18 mos. apart, and 15 mos. apart. The most difficult aspect of having 2 or more children close together is getting out of the house. It took me a long time before I got out on my own with all the kiddos. It gets easier though.
Congratulations!
Love this post. I have two boys, and so looking forward to having another...if only husband wasn't capping us at 3 kids I would keep going. I say this on a good day though. The last time a nasty virus knocked everyone down one by one I wanted to run away because I found it to be such a challenge to care for everyone. You description of a walk with one on a scooter, bike etc, so reminds me of my childhood. Good times.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your resons:)
ReplyDelete