What do you consider to be a big family?

[momma2three]

I think 4 or more. It's not uncommon to have 4-5 here, but it just seems like once you're past 3 you need the bigger car, the second hotel room, the extra large table at the restaurant, and so on.

[lea_lpz]

4+

I don't see many families bigger than 3 children, and those I do have around 4-6.

[airforcefamily]

5+

 

With one child everyone asked when we would have a second.

With two children (different genders) everyone assumed we were done.

With three children there were no comments about us being a big or small family.

With four children we had comments and we started feeling like we were outside the norm.

With five children I can't leave the house without people asking if they're all mine, hearing how I "sure have my hands full", and seeing people counting. We're now a large family. We have arrived.

[Abeilles]

Five or more is big to me.

[Pawz4me]

Four or more.

[Audrey]

More than 2.

[4kidlets4me]

6+ is big to me. Around here more than 2 and people are staring.

[FeFe]

We have four children (and I know several families with four kids). So, five or more would seem big to me.

 

But I think for society in general - four or more is large.

[Plucky]

I consider 6 or more big, although people think my four are a lot. When they are all teens that is fun - cause mom to go insane fun.

[Melissa in Australia]

Over 5. I come from a family of 8, that was a large family. I have 5 children, I do not consider it large.

[PeacefulChaos]

6 or more kids is what I would consider a large family.

[TranquilMind]

6+ children?

 

This.

[amyrobynne]

For me to see or hear about in non-Catholic circles, I'd say 4. By 5, definitely. Although I've been pleasantly surprised at how many people ask if we'll be having a 4th (usually said while referencing the fact that our 3 kids are all boys). I haven't had too many people assume I'm done having kids and I thought 3 would be about the end of the acceptable range from random strangers.

 

With the Catholic families I know, families aren't big to me unless they have at least 6 kids. The 72 families in my Catholic homeschooling co-op average 4.8 kids each, according to the directory. There are more families with 7 kids than with 2 kids and no onelies. The most is 10.

Edited September 23, 2012 by amyrobynne

[anneofalamo]

I have 7 and think it is HUGE!! lol they eat everything, fill our living room, fill our van, fill the dining room, we take a whole row in church, I have to buy 2 of everything, cause most things are in packs of 6. We are a big family, and I love most every minute of it! :lol:

[Denisemomof4]

6+ children?

 

:iagree:

[besroma]

More than 5.

[Tap]

5-6+

[QueenCat]

More than 4 children.

[Mimm]

Four kids or more. I'm from a large family and did not consider four or five kids very large when I was younger. But now when I see someone with four or more kids, that's when I start to take notice and think of them as a big family.

[Crimson Wife]

The 72 families in my Catholic homeschooling co-op average 4.8 kids each, according to the directory. There are more families with 7 kids than with 2 kids and no onelies. The most is 10.

 

That is because Catholic moms of smaller families are often made to feel unwelcome in this type of group. If you don't have "stairstep" children and at least 4 of them, the other moms will often make negative assumptions about your commitment to the Church. :glare: Even if the reasons why you don't have more kids to show for the number of years you have been married are things beyond your control :(

[Miss Peregrine]

6+. I have 5 but I don't think of us as a large family.

[thebarefootamazon]

4+. I seem to notice more of my church friends having 4 but most other people in my life have 2 and think any more is insane.

[phathui5]

Five and up.

[UmMusa]

How can those of you with 5 or more not think of yourselves as having a big family??

[LucyStoner]

In my city, in my social circle pretty much no one has more than 3 kids. All of the families I know with 5+ are families I know from my past work in social services, often they were recently arrived refugees or were an aunt or grandmother raising her kids plus her nieces and nephews or grandkids. FWIW- I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic church till 2007-8 and even in the congregation more than 3 kids was extremely rare after the 1980s.

 

So 4, while not all that large, seems pretty darn big around these parts.

Edited September 23, 2012 by kijipt

[JennyD]

4+

 

Where we used to live, 1-2 was the norm, but here it's more like 2-3. I do not have any RL friends with more than 3 kids.

 

My mom grew up in a family of 5 kids, which was considered "big" even at that time, where she lived.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

4 or more children.

[Seeking Squirrels]

My first thought was 5 or more. I asked DH and he said 10+.

 

But he grew up around much bigger families than I did. I had* one sibling and my parents are each one of three. Their siblings each had 0-3 kids. MIL is 1 of 14 and FIL was one of 9. Most of those siblings went on to have at least 3 or 4, usually more, though DH is only one of two.

 

*"had" because when I was 14 my parents split and remarried so now I have 7 siblings: 1 full, 4 step, and 2 half. But it's never felt large as we're all spread out and no more than 4 have ever lived together.

[BakersDozen]

How can those of you with 5 or more not think of yourselves as having a big family??

 

I didn't feel like I had a large family until I had #7. Up until then we had what was considered a small (1-3 dc) or average (4-6 dc) family. At first I thought with #6's arrival that we were large but quickly found from talking to others that having 6 dc (where we live at least) is very common and not at all large.

 

When I had #s 7-9 I felt slightly large, meaning I had to restock my kitchen with larger pots and pans. :D Even then I didn't feel like I had a truly large family.

 

Funny thing is, with #10 and #11 here I don't feel that our family is much bigger and am surprised when people comment on our family size. Maybe if we make it to the teen #s I'll feel slightly larger. But then we are not a rarity in our area as far as #s go; having 10+ kid stickers on one's van is not an uncommon sight around here. ;)

 

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."

LOL! I do this, too! People hear me say, "When I only had 7...8...9 dc..." and they respond with, "ONLY??" Edited September 23, 2012 by LuvnMySvn

[joannqn]

Six or more is large to me. I have four. I have a friend with six and a friend with seven. I've met a family with 13; 11 lived at home and they had an average size three bedroom home.

[UmMusa]

quickly found from talking to others that having 6 dc (where we live at least) is very common and not at all large.

 

So where is it you live??? (general area, i mean, not trying to stalk you)!

[razorbackmama]

5

[NASDAQ]

More than I have, of course.

[Mommy to monkeys]

4 or more = big family

 

6 or more = BIG! family

 

10 or more = huge family that won't fit in any standard model vehicle

[LibraryLover]

I think 5 and up.

[BakersDozen]

So where is it you live??? (general area, i mean, not trying to stalk you)!

Prescott, AZ. We were thrilled to get out of Phoenix and the rather open and rude stares and comments regarding our family size (we only had 5 for goodness' sake!). Here we found in the first week that large families are both common and welcomed.

[IsabelC]

More than four kids. Anywhere from 1 to 4 is normal around here. The largest family I know personally has 7.

[Roadrunner]

More than 2.

 

This.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I live in Switzerland and have 3 kids. I can't put my foot out the door without someone asking, "Are they ALL YOURS?" I usually look around wildly to see if any neighborhood kids have quietly attached themselves to my group, then realize that for some reason, three kids is significant around here.

 

Personally, before having number 3, I would have said 4 is large. Now that I have 3, I would probably say 5 is large.

 

I did already have to switch out my pots and pans though. :-)

[Donna]

I think 5+ is big.

[delaney]

I am in the "needs something more than a normal vehicle" category. We fit all 8 of us in the honda van just fine. So I guess more than 6 would be my answer.

[Pamela H in Texas]

How can those of you with 5 or more not think of yourselves as having a big family??

 

In my case, I'm sure it is the age spread. If I didn't have my big kids to help sometimes, I'm sure I'd feel, more often, that the littles are "more."

[*Michelle*]

We have 5 kids, 4 living. 4 seems to be the dividing line around here. In our parish, most families have 2-3 kids. As far as I can see, we're the sole family with 4. Then there are two families with 7+.

 

We get lots of comments and looks when out with our four, but I think part of it is that they're all little (5, 3, 2, and 3 months).

[higginszoo]

6-7 or more

[LucyStoner]

I didn't feel like I had a large family until I had #7. Up until then we had what was considered a small (1-3 dc) or average (4-6 dc) family. At first I thought with #6's arrival that we were large but quickly found from talking to others that having 6 dc (where we live at least) is very common and not at all large.

 

 

Maybe it is who we know that guides this sense of what is a large family. But in every state overall, your small is either the average or larger than average.

Edited September 23, 2012 by kijipt
Dropped a word and accidental multi quote!

[Impish]

How can those of you with 5 or more not think of yourselves as having a big family??

Well, I guess there are a few reasons.

 

One, my eldest isn't at home. He's in the Navy. So we only have 4 at home.

 

Two...*shrug* It's my family. It's normal for us. So, 'big' just doesn't seem to fit.

 

Kinda like...when I was a kid, 30 was old. Now that I'm closing in on 40, old is somewhere around 70. :lol:

[2squared]

For me, 5+ with a small age spread is big. Four wasn't an issue for me. We fit in our van easily; it wasn't much more work than 2 or 3. Five....whole 'nother world. We are sandwiched into the van. They are so much work now....laundry, meals, everything.

 

FWIW, where I live four kids is the norm. However, it is four kids spread over 10 years.

 

I remember seeing a family of 7 with an age spread just like ours once. We went to a Subway to eat, and I remember staring at them and counting. I couldn't help but think - WOW! They have a large family. Then it dawned on me....I had the same family. :lol:

[The Girls' Mom]

To me, it is more than 4. Four kids can still fit in a regular mini-van, etc. Once you hit 5, you have to start looking at other options :lol:

 

Although we've been "done" for 12 years, I still have dreams of having a big family!:D

[angela in ohio]

More than 5 children.

 

I also agree that the age spread has something to do with it. I know women with a few dc of their own, but they have step-children or their own children from a previous marriage who are older and out of the home, and I don't think of them as a big family.

[SuperDad]

 

Going from 3 to 4 was the point at which I felt like we crossed the cultural norm line.

Same for us.

More than I have, of course.

:lol: Funny how so many of us agree with that statement.

4 or more = big family

 

6 or more = BIG! family

 

10 or more = huge family that won't fit in any standard model vehicle

:iagree:

 

Now that this thread has 11 pages, would you consier it to be 'medium' or 'large' :tongue_smilie: