Follow up to Catwalk's Question JFF (Big Family)

My mom (grandmother who adopted me) had eight.....six girls - two boys....many years between the first and the last. Six still living. Lots of really wonderful family memories. Lots of kid, grands, greats, and great greats.

My favorite memories...Thanksgiving and summer picnics. Use to LOVE Christmas, but it has just become way too commercial.

Blessings...

When I think "big family" 5 kids come to mind. If you cant fit them all in the car with ya, that's big, lol.

Hi M.!

All you need is ONE more than you have!!!

TRULY!!
lol
michele/cat

I guess it depends on where you are from. Here in Utah, people tend to have larger families. Most of my extended family have 5 kids. Because 5 seems "normal", I would say a "large" family would be one that has 6 children or more.

I agree with saying it depends on your area. I live in a suburb of Phoenix that has a large mormon population and I have 3 kids and most of my neighbors all have 3+. I'm an only child and wanted to have 4-6 kids but got a late start and for financial and health reasons didn't have more than my 2 (I have a step dtr too). I'm from CA and it seems like all my friends there have 1 or 2. I answered Catwalks question as "The Duggars"! I think they are a big family!

my house has 5 kids, 3 from my first marriage and 2 from my fiance's first marriage. we have full custody of all 5 of em and they dont visit the other parents very often and my youngest son doesnt go ever with his dad cause the courts wont allow it! i think we have a big family and i always considered 5 and up big, we arent dont either but i think 6 is gonna be our max! i was told that in the us if you have 10 or 12 kids, i cant remember now, you get special tax breaks and such, not sure if its true but im not gonna have enough kids to find out!

I was one of 5 and people thought we had a big family. My dad was one of 7 so it didn't seem that big to us. We have 4 now and people react to that like we have 10 LOL but around here, very few families have more than 2 or 3. I know a handful of families in my area with 4 kids but literally only two with more than that. So I would say that more than 4 is big nowadays.

I think you are right on the line with 4. 5+ seems big to me. I know some families with 3 or 4 kids but can't think of many with 5 or more that I know personally. But there are some in my area and I met some doing social work. I have 2 and that is plenty for me. There are probably some regional differences--I'm in the NYC suburbs. Around here you see differences depending on what religious or cultural group (some tend to marry young and have bigger families).

I have friends who come from a family of 13 and I even know a man who has 18 kids. I guess those were different times and birth control was not as easily accessible. I have 3 and that is plenty. My daughter says she is not having any. People in the east do not have many kids. So a lot would depend on your area.

In my neighborhood it seems like 3 makes you a big family. I am the only one with 3...well, at least with 3 and actually comes out of the house :) If we have 1 more we will probably be run out of the neighborhood.

I grew up in a very conservative Catholic parish, and we were the small family--we only had 5. Most families had at least 6

How's this-----
If you can't fit in a Suburban or Full Size van then you have a big family.
I have four, I fit in a Full Size Van so I'm not a big family yet. According to my criteria. :o)

I would say 5, 4 is the beginning of a big family to me but 5 seems big.

Around here, 3 children is a big family. Only children are not uncommon at all.

In France, where I studied for a time in college, 3 children is considered a "famille nombreuse" (large family) - and these families are eligible for special discounts mandated by the government on everything from food to tax write-offs.

LOL... depends on the area.

In my area "3" is considered large (as in whenever I have my son and his 2 cousins I get stopped all the time by people saying things like 'Bless You', or 'You sure have your hands full', or 'You're so brave to have so many', or 'How do you deal with SO many?' ???Huh??? 3 kids isn't rocket science

In other areas I've lived, 3 is considered completely normal/small ("Oh, you only have 3, so you should be okay.", or "The next few REALLY make things easier.", or "What are you waiting for? You don't want too big of a gap between them, you know.", or "Where are your other kids?" In these areas anything under 6 kids is a 'small' family.

ROFL...

4 is the "normal/small" number of children in my extended family, so I personally consider 5 to be the beginning of a larger family.

AKA I consider "big" to be 1 more than my own 'normal' or bigger to be 'big'.

But considering that the 'average' family now has 2.1 kids, I think my own is 'overestimating'. So it looks like "3" IS now considered "large".

AKA... with 4 I'm sure you're fine :)

I have no idea. I think some people consider three to be a big family. When I was a kid, you needed to have at least seven kids for me to think it was a big family...hehe.

My husband's mother is one of 17 kids. THAT'S a big family!! lol
I am one of 5 children and we were always considered a big family.
I don't know if *I* would consider 4 kids that many....but that's because of what I have come from. I bet someone with one kid would think your family is HUGE! lol