SuperDad Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 At what # of kids? Curious to see the responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 6+ children? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think 4-5+ only because when I see someone out with 4+ kids I think "wow, they have a lot of kids" and I know people think that about us from the stares and silent counting we get as we walk by, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 More than 5 kids is a big family to me. More than 10 is *really* big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia. Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 A few more than however many I have at the time. When I had 1-2 kids, a family with 4-5 kids seemed big. Now that #5 is on the way, 7-8 kids seems big. I tell DH that as long as we can all fit in the (8 passenger) minivan, we're not a big family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Four kids or more. I know that's not huge compared to many here, but I know so few IRL who have more than three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 6+ is a small big family 10+ is a big family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFwife Claire Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 6+ children? That's what I consider big. With 7, you need some kind of big vehicle. Like someone else said, as long as we could all fit it our 8-passenger Sienna, it seemed like we were just an average-size family! Now we're expecting #9, and I definitely feel like a big family. The food! The laundry! The time homeschooling! The food!!! It's a ton of fun, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Four kids or more. I know that's not huge compared to many here, but I know so few IRL who have more than three. :iagree: "Big" is a word of comparison. While 4 doesn't seem all that big to *me anymore, it is big compared to most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulubelle Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I would say 5+. Four seems to be the norm with church family and friends. Five or more is unusual for us to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Six kids or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Depends on where you are. Growing up, I had 3 brothers, and ppl commented on how big a family we were then. Now, I have 5 kids, and have heard it since I had 3. To me, a 'big' family is always at least 1 more kid than I have :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 6+ is a small big family10+ is a big family :iagree: Tho I gotta say I caught myself the other day actually saying, "... I only had the 7 youngest kids with me to get the tires changed on the van, so that went pretty easy." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 To me, a 'big' family is always at least 1 more kid than I have :lol: Ha... I used to say 4 was big... now that we're at 4, I say 5! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 (edited) I'm thinking 7 seems "a little" big. No longer can we fit in the "small van." The clean laundry multiplies like bunny rabbits. We have to more than double most recipes. And yet it doesn't feel like "big" in terms of spending time with people, tripping over people (though I did go look at a little bigger house today), even managing extracurriculars, etc. I went to look at a house today and there is a homeschooling family with 9 that lives two doors down. I didn't blink at nine. I probably would at ten though. LOL So maybe 10 is truly big while 7 is only "above average." ETA: I always feel like we're missing one. I don't know why. We'll see.... Edited September 22, 2012 by 2J5M9K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kesmom Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I've always thought 5+ seems big. My SIL has 6 and she said her family didn't feel big until she had 4 kids eating bigger portions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 More than I have. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 More than 3-4 I only know of 3 families in my entire town who have more than 4 kids. Actually, they are the only families I know who have more than 4 kids. The majority of people have 2 and 3 children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galatea Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 If adults are outnumbered by kids, it's a big family! :lol: j/k I think 5 or more is a big family these days. 100 years ago, that would have been 7 or more for anyone but a farming family. But families are smaller now in general. I grew up one of 8 kids. Six of their own children and my brother and I were foster kids. It felt like a big family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I'd say 5+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think 10+ kids is a big family. Less than that doesn't really phase me or seem very overwhelmingly large. Could be because I grew up in a large family. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I'd say 5+. :iagree: I know a fair number of people with 4 kids, but not many with more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotsofpumpkins Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 More than I have. :D :iagree: I have 6, and it doesn't feel that large to me. But obviously most of the world thinks it is large, because we've been getting stares and comments since we only had 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think 4 kids or more is a big family, but I'm not sure why I think that. I don't think it's negative to have a large family, though, so it isn't a judgment or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasia Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 5 is a big family around here. 7 or more seems huge to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Four children, because it's out of the norm for most areas. I have four, and I'm the oldest of four, so it seems normal to me, but I also know that four is not all that common. I think of one child as a small family, two or three children as average, four or five as large, and six or more as very large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Four children, because it's out of the norm for most areas. I have four, and I'm the oldest of four, so it seems normal to me, but I also know that four is not all that common. I think of one child as a small family, two or three children as average, four or five as large, and six or more as very large. :iagree: I have 4. In homeschooling circles I feel average. At community events I am definitely at the awe inspiring "large" level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amydavis Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 5 or more seems like a big family to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMommy Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I'd say 7 or more. Five is just normal for me (now), and I can always imagine our family with one more child, but if you ask me to imagine any more than that, it starts to seem really overwhelming. There was a time when I would have considered our five children to be a large family, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Four kids or more. I know that's not huge compared to many here, but I know so few IRL who have more than three. :iagree: Going from 3 to 4 was the point at which I felt like we crossed the cultural norm line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Xapis10 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I might call 6 kids "big." ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 5+ is a big family. 8+ is a really big family. *2-4 is pretty average in our area, which is relatively affluent and has a large number of LDS and Catholic transplants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Funny how we all come up with our opinions. We're watching Cheaper by the Dozen. They seem big for real. :) Maybe it is because they are SO LOUD though. We aren't very loud which probably helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyB Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 6+ seems big to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think that because our 6 don't seem like a lot to me, I tend to think 7+ is on the verge of officially big. LOL I'd probably say 8+ kids, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 3+ (over two) Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 :iagree: I have 4. In homeschooling circles I feel average. At community events I am definitely at the awe inspiring "large" level. Yes; you said it better than I did! I've noticed that the comments and silent counting of children increased a lot when we had the fourth child, so I think most people must consider four to be a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommy5 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 (edited) For a long time I thought of as 4+ as a big family ... now I lean more to the 5+ seem to be big for others because we have 5 and there seems to be so few that I know IRL that have that many. In my mind 8+ is a large family... Edited September 22, 2012 by mommy5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think 6 kids is the beginning of a large family. Iow- a "small" big family if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think 6+ is big. Because I have 8, I sometimes feel that over 10 is big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mélie Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I grew up with five siblings, but I still think of anything over four kids as a large family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Interesting question, and one that I've asked myself a lot. I used to think 4 kids was a big family. To a lot of people it is the beginning of 'big family' status since 3 kids is pretty standard. However, ever since I've had my fourth it seems I keep meeting people with 4 or 5 or like today, 8, children. So then I don't feel so 'big' anymore. But everyone around me always tells me how busy I am and need help and have a lot of work to do and, and, and... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 1-2 is small, 3-5 is medium, and 6+ is big to me. Having more than 3 is pretty unusual for our area except in a blended family situation, but I still think of families having 4 or 5 as medium-sized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I notice families of four, because they are unusual around here. I'd probably think of five or six as largish, and over that big. Somewhere around ten or twelve it gets really big. There is a really relative quality to it though, if someone my grandfathers age came from a family of seven I wouldn't think of it as big, and my parents came from families of four or five which I don't think of as big either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Four kids or more. I know that's not huge compared to many here, but I know so few IRL who have more than three. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristi26 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 8 is when I start to think it's getting to be a big family...my initial thought when I read the question though? 10+ for sure. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie131 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I live in an area where 1-2 is average so anything bigger than 2 is big for my region. When we went from 2-3 people thought we were nuts, when we announced we were expecting number 4 people thought we had lost our minds :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolMamaOfTwo Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 5+ for me, and I just asked DH and he said the same thing. We only have two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljenn Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think more than 4 would be big. Four is very unusual these days in So Calif, but when I was born in the 60s, it was normal. Now many people only have one or two around here. Five or more are almost unheard of around here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I have four kids. So, five or more. I know many ppl with four kids and it just seems normal. I also know a few ppl with 7-11 kids...now those families seem really big to me! I wouldn't be able to pull it off (but kudos to them...I'm amazed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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