Couple claims world's largest family

Good Point but...
I think you make a good point. I just know that with my three - finding time to spend not just alone with them but taking care of them and playing with them and doing things that help take care of them...laundry, meals, paying the bills, etc...gets pretty doggone hectic. But there are people who do handle more kids better than I - I see it all the time. I just think there is a limit to money and time.....only so much time before the influence you exert over your children is gone...and if you are spending it doing butt loads of laundry and washing dishes from a huge meal...well...it just seems that time must be short for them to get to know the children well...of course there are more to do chores - so it probably is huge that they have so many...more hands to help I guess.

As far as love is concerned...well...the concept that I love my children is always there...loving them well is a different thing. I love my kids. I cannot help it. It is there from the time they were born. Loving them well comes about when I can see their needs and meet them as a parent should. Encouragement, discipline, playtime, teaching...these are all ways of loving my children well. I just think the more you have the harder it is. That's all. No way I can prove my point...I don't have 17 kids. And that is not my burden to bear either. People know when they love their children well...and hopefully they know when to stop having them so that they can continue to. Otherwise - they will be sorry - and most of the time it is too late when they figure it out. A child has already fallen away - because lets face it...whether you have one or 17 kids - discipline is the hardest thing to do. We don't want to. We want to enjoy and play with our children and it is exhausting to be consistent and teach them how to behave. It will be the first thing to go most of the time. So the older I get the harder it is...the more kids you have the harder it is. One or more of those kids is going to suffer more than likely because they were not watched carefully enough and not disciplined as they should have been. They will either fall prey to drugs, pre-marital sex, or alcohol. They may come out of it fine...but I don't want my kids to have to deal with it at all. I don't think any parent does if you ask them. That takes vigilance. I am sure it can be done...it would just be incredibly difficult and exhausting. I pray that is not the case. And, this is after all just my opinion as well. I know there are super parents out there that can handle pretty much anything you throw at them...I just think it is harder - next to impossible with 17 to do it well.

largest family

HELLO ,

I THOUGHT MY MOM HAD THE MOST CHILDREN. MY MOM AND DAD HAD 22 (TWENTY-TWO) CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!! A TOTAL OF 24 IN THE FAMILY WITH MY PARENTS. MY MOM ACTUALLY HAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US. SOMETIMES I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH SHE LOVES EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US. BUT IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE. YOU SHOULD SEE CHRISTMAS AND THANKSGIVING AND EASTER, IT'S A BANQUET PARTY!!! . HALF OF US ARE MARRIED AND MY BROTHER HAS 9 ALREADY AND IS SUPPORTING THEM WONDERFULLY. OUR FAMILY HAS SEMI-TRUCK BUSINESS. GREAT PAY!!!!!!!

LARGEST FAMILY

HELLO AGAIN,

YES, I AM ONE OF THE 22 CHILDREN.......JUST SO YOU KNOW, I HAPPILY MARRIED FOR 9 1/2 YEARS AND SO FAR I HAVE SIX ( # 6 )WONDERFUL CHILDREN. MY HUSBAND AND I SPEND TIME WITH THEM, ME IN THE MORNING AND AFTER SCHOOL AND MY HUSBAND AFTER WORK, WHILE I GET DINNER SET. THERE ARE RULES THEY LEARN FROM WHEN THEY ARE SMALL AND OF COURSE KIDS LEARN EVERYTHING FROM THE OLDER ONES GOOD AND BAD BEHAVIOR. WELL, IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING EASIER EVEN THOUGH I MANAGE MY HUSBAND'S CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS AND HE WORKS OUT IN THE FIELD. I WORK IN THE HOME OFFICE EARLY IN THE MORNING UNTIL 9-10 A.M. KIDS WAKE UP CHANGE THEM, WE SING WHILE I GET BREAKFAST DONE, PRAY, EAT, CLEAN THOUGHTER (KITCHEN AND THE REST OF THE HOUSE). LET THEM PLAY FOR 1 HOUR, THAN IT'S NAP TIME. I MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS CLEAN, PUT A LOAD TO WASH/DRY AND MAKE DINNER. BY THE TIME THE OLDER KIDS GET FORM SCHOOL (#3 SO FAR) MOST OF THE TIME DINNER IS READY WE EAT, TALK ABOUT SCHOOL AND DO HOMEWORK TOGETHER, BY THIS TIME, THE LITTLE ONES WAKE UP AND JOINS US. WE ALL CLEAN AND MAYBE WATCH A DVD FOR HALF AN HOUR UNTIL DADDY GETS HOME SO I KEEP THE HOUSE CLEAN OR THEY PLAY IN THEIR 20X20 ROOM, OR BATH TIME EVERY OTHER DAY OR MORE IF NEEDED. DADDY GETS HOME HUGS AND KISSES AND PLAYTIME FOR EVERYONE. OF COURSE I HAVE A BABY THAT I BREAST FEED AND WHEN-EVER NEEDED I FEED HER AND TELL THE LITTLE ONES TO KEEP HER ENTERTAINED WHILE I DO MY CHORES. OF COURSE THEY DON'T DO A SUPERB JOB IN CLEANING BUT IT HELPS OUT 90% OF THE TIME. IN OTHER WORDS, CLEANING IS VERY EASY FOR ME AND I GET DONE FAST (THE CLUTTER IS OUT OF MY WAY). WE GO TO CHURCH ONCE A WEEK AND EVERY SUNDAY MORNING AND NIGHT. SUNDAY IS FAMILY DAY, WE GO TO THE RESTAURANT COME HOME SPEND SO TIME TALKING/SINGING TAKE NAP GO TO CHURCH AT 6 P.M. SATURDAY IF FAMILY CLEAN-UP DAY (YES EVEN DADDY HELPS OUT) AND THE EVENINGS WE HAVE GUESTS OR WE GO OVER A FAMILY/FRIENDS HOUSE. OOH!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT GETS HECTIC SOMETIMES, I TRY TO PUT THE KIDS TO BED BY 8:00 AND THEY FALL ASLEEP BY NINE. MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE PEACE AND QUITE FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS, DON'T FORGET I STILL HAVE TO NURSE THE BABY IN THE MEANTIME. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO STAY ORGANIZED.

Where does it say in the Bible God will not give you more than you can handle?

and don't say Corinthians 10:13 because that says you won't be tempted beyond what you can bear.

is your name brian ray?

he likes to type in all caps too.

Can you handle this....?

Chai said:

Where does it say in the Bible God will not give you more than you can handle?

John 16:33 (New International Version)
33"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Hey there Chai...You are right
God does not say he won't give us more than we can bear. I am not sure where that came from - except the Corinthians verse you quoted - somebody just took it and adjusted it apparently - I hear people say it all the time. The problem with that is when Sh** happens - they get mad at God because they think He lied. God has actually promised us trouble and trials. But our hope is that he has overcome the world. We do not hope for what we see. We already know it. We hope for what may come...our hope is in the promise of Heaven...this world though it has wonderful moments - it's just hard.

But we do have help....

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

and

Matthew 11:
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I love these verses - they are so comforting when I struggle with whatever. Kids, Hubby, finances - ick...they are just so peaceful and calming to me. I have to have SOMETHING!

By itself, that's no reason to have 22 children.

I might as well say I'll smoke 3 packs of cigarettes a day and drink a 5th of rye.

If I get cancer or a wet brain, God'll make sure I can handle it.

If you want 22 kids, and can support them, have 22 kids. Don't make it God's problem.

You don't have children because of God...you have them because you have sex while you were ovulating.

:wink: :wink:

I'm with you! I do believe God gave us common sense to use. If you think you can handle it...go for it. I just think there are all kinds of other factors for having kids than, loving children and wanting lots of them! I can't imagine that my uterous would last that long....not 17 kids worth. I am impressed.

Tongue in cheek (I hope)?

Family of 17
I think we are all different and if someone prefers to have 20 kids its their choice and we must respect that. They are not coming to your house to ask for anything so why give a hoot. And for your information, those of you complaining about the father asking for assistance from the government, in an interview, he said he doesnt receive any kind of help. He works hard to support his family on his own.

I have 42 children with the oldest one being 12 years old. 20 are natural and 22 are adopted from different countries. 14 have disabilities. I am nowhere near done and am only on child benefit which everyone gets but times 42 is quite a lot. Other than that I am not on any benefits. I just think where would the disabled children I adopted be if they had just been left in a care home or orphanage. I don't know because none of my kids have hit teenage yet but my oldest kids have always have always said they enjoy a big family and the fact that there is always someone to talk to or play with. We try to keep the heritage of our adopted children to we are almost always celebrating something. We have a large garden and that is where they stay most of the year.

Twenty "natural" children under the age of 12.

Fascinating.

And the twenty-two adopted children mostly stay in the garden.

Also fascinating.

you doubt?

I can only hope that it's warm in the garden, and that there is a folk festival sized collection of porta-potties.

The word "garden" is code word for agricultural fields and the 22 "adopted children" who spend most of their time in the "garden" are illegal immigrant farm workers.

Msolga -Not very well I'd assume. Im the youngest of 12 an often felt ignored and forgotten as a child!

I wonder......if I had more than 10 kids and wanted to immigrate to another country, for whatever reason, do you think we could get on our new country's welfare plan straight away?

To a certain degree - yes. You have the right to healthplans, schools, housing, and other things depending on the country you go to.

Holy crap.

Hmmm, old thread of mine from 2005.

Seems to have legs...