large family? 5+ kids? anyone?

[slackwater]

Does anyone have a large family of 5+ kids? If so...how do you cope? Vehicle space, organized activities, bedrooms? Three kids in a room? Do your kids KILL each other?

I ask b/c we have 3 and have been asked to consider a sibling group of 4. We have two vehicles that each hold 5-ish kids, but we would eventually need to upsize (I'm guessing). We live in a rural area so public transportation is not readily available. We would also need to have at least one room with 3 kids in it. My husband is thinking that we would have to add on to the house and make other drastic steps, but I think we would be able to make it work (albeit, cozily).

Any thoughts? Or am I nuts?

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
Foster parent here... 6 girls, 3 boys. We have 4 vehicles between me and the wife. one of them is the "beast"

It was a public transport wheel chair van that was converted

It now has 3 rows of seats behind the front buckets, safely seating 11. There is about a 4' gap past the last row (I know I could have put another row in) but that works out well for storage. About once a year we pile everybody in there, food and gear and either go camping or up to the wife's cabin up north a ways.

The real trick is when you have 7 of the 9 teenagers

Cooking for that many is setup buffet style.. Buying food in great bulk... when I go to the sav-a-lot (discount chain) I fill 3 baskets full and it takes me and 3 others a couple hours splitting up the food and putting it away. Right now the baby is in the bedroom with me and the wife, my 2 boys share a room, and the girls have the entire 2nd floor to themselves... something like 14x25 and 8x7 areas. The folks who owned the house before us tore out a separating wall, and doorway and made it a huge room, but it could easily convert back into 2 separate rooms.

For get away space? full basement, TV n Video games, 2 computers on main floor for them to use, rabbit ears and a TV for their bedroom. The boys don't watch TV so..

Get on each other's nerves? Yup, but we can spread out. You go upstairs, you go downstairs, you go outside, you're going with me shopping etc. When school is back in session it gets really easy.

Rolling into church with the hole fam is a riot. The "church" bus is the same size as our van

We make gardening, yard n animal chores part of our group activities, and of course half of them scatter for the summer to various friends houses except on the inevitable weekend where all of them have a friend staying the night here and I have something like 20+ kids

But when the weather's good, can always send them outside in tents and sitting up by the firepit. I will get my morning quiet time with a cuppa java... or I turn evil.

 

[fosterchick]

I have 5 of my own children and always another one (foster child). We did drive a suburban for many years. I got rid of that and went to a mini van about 2 years ago. My oldest is now going to college. So we will be able to now go somewhere in one car. We did at one time have 4 girls in one room. That was tough because of the age difference. We now have 2 children in a room. But at times we do have a 3rd in a room. I personally feel that if you can handle 3 children then you can handle a million. After the 3rd one, it is just another one.

 

[reesepoultry]

I have 4 kids. They each have there own bedroom. The car situation is bad. We need a bigger vehicle. My 2 older boys I believe some days try to kill each other. My chickens is how I cope.... lol.... My kids are never left with a babysitter and I am a full time stay at home mom. Sometimes I feel like ripping my hair out. I cope some how. Me and hubby never get to go anywhere by ourselves. So I know where your coming from. It gets hard sometimes.

 

[slackwater]

Boyd - if you don't mind my asking, how big is your house? Do you and/or your wife work?

 

[sammileah]

I have 4 kids 12 and under. i think after the switch fom 2 kids to 3 kids is the hardest. I have a station wagon but that doesn't work if i go shopping. so on the search for a van. i stay home, we garden, can, chickens (meat and eggs), goats (fun and milk) and lots of shopping in bulk. at 1 point we lived in a 14 x 80 trailer and all 3 boys shared a room that was fun. now they 400sqft of upstairs to share. our girl has had it pretty easy she has always had a room to herself since the youngest got out of a crib( 5 yrs ago).

you can do it bed and car space are big issues. you can always find a bus. and loft beds are easy to make and great space savers, put there dressers and/or a desk under it. grocery shopping just sucks.

 

[EweSheep]

It sucks in what??????????? Taking the kids to the grocery store or sucks in the grocery store bills???

 

[slackwater]

FWIW - we never got the sense of what it was like to go from 2 to 3 kids. We went from 1 to 3...so we've always either had one kid (for 2.5 years) or one-kid-too-many-to-hold-at-once. Nothing in between.

 

[BC_Farms]

Do you have state vehicle auctions near you? You could probably pick up a large van/bus thing there.

 

[slackwater]

Quote:
It gets hard sometimes...is it worth it? Do you, your husband, or your kids ever regret the foster child(ren)?