Large Family YouTubers

[alysee]

Does anyone else watch large families on YouTube? We have 6 kids, so I know what it takes to feed large family and I am always so disturbed how little the families eat, how fanatical families eat(nothing processed) or the exact opposite of only processed foods and nothing fresh. I understand we only get a small glimpse into their lives but I want to see normal large families. 

My kids eat processed food but we also eat a ton of fresh stuff and if my kids are hungry and it isn't a snack or meal time, the kids are still allowed to eat. Some of these videos snd families make it seem like the kids are forced to scavenge and sneak food in order to get their nutritional needs met.

It just makes me sad because these kids are going to have lifelong food insecurity. 

[Guest]

I haven’t ever watched any, however I did just watch whatever random one came up top (Fields Full House) and her dinner seemed reasonable. Roasted chicken, oven fries, garden green beans and broccoli. 🤷🏻‍♀️ That’s pretty much a meal I would have made when I was raising kids, though an average sized family. 

[Katy]

A few years back a former pastor the Dad something podcast did a series of expose videos about families on YouTube exploiting their children. All the families we used to watch and really liked either pulled their kids off Youtube at that point or backed way off and decided to only show brief clips at unusual times like family vacations rather than showing daily antics. 

[alysee]

11 minutes ago, Quill said:

I haven’t ever watched any, however I did just watch whatever random one came up top (Fields Full House) and her dinner seemed reasonable. Roasted chicken, oven fries, garden green beans and broccoli. 🤷🏻‍♀️ That’s pretty much a meal I would have made when I was raising kids, though an average sized family. 

I haven't seen this family but I will have to watch their videos. That does seem reasonable. I also like Mama to five. She eats similar to what my family ate when we ate meat. 

[ArteHaus]

Yes, absolutely. I don’t know why but large families are really interesting.

I usually like watching Farmhouse on Boone. I think they have 7 with one on the way:) She is a very from-scratch in her approach to feeding a large family. There is certainly a farm-from-scratch “trend” or vibe, I guess, that has been circulating for years now, especially for large families. It is just lovely and inspiring.

I have seen some large family YouTubers have grocery hauls/meals that are cringy, but I think folks are doing their best (mostly). I am always shocked that I spend as much on groceries as a family of 8 or 10, not sure how that happens😣 Perhaps, it boils down to organic food vs inorganic? Land and groceries are generally $$$, I try not to judge them harshly.

I have also watched, recently, the Radford family from the UK (more television-y), but whoa. Twenty-two kids! I think there was a grocery episode, and it was underwhelming, but bless their hearts, they were providing and working as a team to care for an extremely large brood:)

 

[Mona]

I occasionally watch Jamerill Stewart who is a homeschooling mom of 9. I stumbled on her channel because she did a couple of Azure Standard hauls and I was just getting started and wanted to see what people were buying and why. Then I watched her batch freezer cooking days. She did a bunch of those. I wasn’t necessarily watching because she had lots of children or because she homeschools, but it is interesting to see how she manages all the things. I need to get organized so I can do a batch cooking day.

I used to watch Farmhouse on Boone, too. She inspired me to try sourdough. 😂 I was so glad my sourdough finally died. I was so done feeding it. 

Edited May 20, 2023 by Mona

[Beth S]

She has lots of kids (some have flown the nest), but she cooks a LOT, quickly.
Long-time Youtuber, with 142K subscribers.
She puts things in individual servings sometimes . . . and sometimes it's sped up.
She's very optimistic, and a Christian, so she shares Bible Verses, but it's very encouraging.
Her kids are mostly off-camera.

[ArteHaus]

6 minutes ago, Mona said:

I occasionally watch Jamerill Stewart who is a homeschooling mom of 9. I stumbled on her channel because she did a couple of Azure Standard hauls and I was just getting started and wanted to see what people were buying and why. Then I watched her batch freezer cooking days. She did a bunch of those. I wasn’t necessarily watching because she had lots of children or because she homeschools, but it is interesting to see how she manages all the things. I need to get organized so I can do a batch cooking day.

I used to watch Farmhouse on Boone, too. She inspired me to try sourdough. 😂 I was so glad my sourdough finally died. I was so done feeding it. 

Oh you tried the sourdough?? I am too chicken, even though I bake a lot of bread from scratch, the sourdough is intimidating to me and I don’t know why! I think it is healthier though?

You’re right, I think that is the appeal, how other women manage their household. It is so interesting to gain insight or just little bits and tips from other women who have nailed a certain aspect of homemaking. On the other hand, I have watched so many freezer meal videos. It seems like the answer to all of my homemaking struggles, but I just don’t ever do it. It does have a lot to do with being organized, which is a work in progress for me🥴

[Murphy101]

I have never watched much reality tv in any form. I watched the first 2 episodes of the Duggers way way way back in the day when a fellow large family mom recorded it on her VCR and snail mailed it to me. And I hated it. Firstly, I wasn’t rich so nope nothing they did was going to translate to my reality. Secondly, I wanted to punch the whining, annoying and useless father in the cajonés. Thirdly, I have a strong aversion to turning older siblings into third parents. So that was the end of the that.

I watched the first season of The Amazing Race.  But then I got annoyed bc it was too much personal back stories and I was only interested in the challenges and race.  That was the last reality tv I watched.

My general rule of thumb for watching something is that it NOT be reality. I HAVE reality in my life already. I do not need more of it.

That aside. I have repeatedly had people ask if we would be willing to be filmed over the years. Or give an interview. To which I’ve always given an emphatic hell no.  For one, I don’t trust it won’t be spun some weird way. And for two, I have had 11 kids, 4 still home being homeschooled at this point. The 20-30 something year old mom I was with 5 under 6 in an 1100 sq ft house and one car and a husband who traveled more than he was home is not the late 40s mom of 7 kids in their 20s, 2 teens, an 12yr old and 6 yr old in a 2800sq ft home, 4 cars and a husband who we pray never takes a job requiring travel again bc we narrowly missed ending up divorced. For third and actually biggest reason, I hate having my picture taken or being put in a spotlight, and I’m so grateful to have been born and most of my early adult years being before digital and social media, that I would not purposely put my kids in a limelight.

Most of my “parenting” was nothing more than practical necessity.  I did what needed done and there wasn’t much money or time or energy to do anything else, much less to “do it all”.  At the time I always felt like I was never doing enough, but looking back - we had enough and enough was all we needed.  My biggest regret is I wish I could go back and tell younger mom me to worry less about all the stuff that doesn’t really matter anyways.

Of course now I worry all the time that I’m not worried enough and poor youngest is feeling abandoned by her mother’s midlife crisis and all the siblings moving out.  So I got her a passport and now I haul her everywhere with me.  Which results in a 6 year old that talks like a moody teen or smart ass 20-something or a cranky 49 year old perimenopausal woman and likes to travel but is always tired bc she gets motion sickness and isn’t reading well yet because frankly homeschooling has taken a back burner for her teacher the last couple years but she can say “sh!t” in Korean when she breaks a glass putting away dishes. So I’ve got that going for her.  But seriously even all her older siblings agree she’s the best edition I made.  If everyone knew how awesome kid #11 is, they’d all want one.

Anyhoo.

My family isn’t your family. Never was. I have no idea what your family needs are. That’s why God made you their mama and not me.

While you worry about kids having food insecurity issues. That mama might have grown up seeing health problems around food and be worried about not raising her kids with that issue.  There’s not a mama alive who isn’t trying to carry her kids while also carrying the two ton weight of her own personal hell-filled baggage.

And that’s why I don’t watch mommy reality.  

[Mona]

5 minutes ago, ArteHaus said:

Oh you tried the sourdough?? I am too chicken, even though I bake a lot of bread from scratch, the sourdough is intimidating to me and I don’t know why! I think it is healthier though?

You’re right, I think that is the appeal, how other women manage their household. It is so interesting to gain insight or just little bits and tips from other women who have nailed a certain aspect of homemaking. On the other hand, I have watched so many freezer meal videos. It seems like the answer to all of my homemaking struggles, but I just don’t ever do it. It does have a lot to do with being organized, which is a work in progress for me🥴

Getting the sourdough going was the easy part. Making all the things from it to use it up was the hard part especially since my dh didn’t like the taste of sourdough 🤦‍♀️. I know she made pancakes, pizzas, bagels, bread, etc. but it wasn’t always convenient to cook from scratch all the time which is why I love the idea of batch cooking and freezer meals.

I make all my own bread and muffins from freshly ground wheat now after listening to Sue Becker’s talk on the benefits of it. She’s another large family homeschooling mom who started her own business and used to speak at homeschool conferences. (The BreadBeckers)

I’ve been trying to get organized for years and then tried to get rid of my stuff that wasn’t “sparking joy” 😂 however, the rest of my family is not on board with letting things go, so I feel like I will never be organized. 😞 

[Drama Llama]

I have never watched a YouTube of a family, but my kids only ate at snack and meal times.  They weren’t forced to scavenge, they just knew to get their fill so they could last a couple hours.  

[alysee]

24 minutes ago, BandH said:

I have never watched a YouTube of a family, but my kids only ate at snack and meal times.  They weren’t forced to scavenge, they just knew to get their fill so they could last a couple hours.  

Oh for sure, my kids have regular meal times and snack times but I understand that kids might be more active one day or maybe going through a growth spurt so they will need more than the 2 snacks and 3 meals I normally provide. 

[Drama Llama]

Just now, alysee said:

Oh for sure, my kids have regular meal times and snack times but I understand that kids might be more active one day or maybe going through a growth spurt so they will need more than the 2 snacks and 3 meals I normally provide. 

I think it's unlikely that your kids will be more active or growing faster than my kids are at this point (almost 13, and almost 16, both multisport athletes).  They probably eat more as a "snack" than most humans do as a meal, and what they eat at a meal makes Cheesecake Factory's portions look tiny.  But they still follow a routine of just eating at meal and snack times.  

[ArteHaus]

1 hour ago, Murphy101 said:

I have never watched much reality tv in any form. I watched the first 2 episodes of the Duggers way way way back in the day when a fellow large family mom recorded it on her VCR and snail mailed it to me. And I hated it. Firstly, I wasn’t rich so nope nothing they did was going to translate to my reality. Secondly, I wanted to punch the whining, annoying and useless father in the cajonés. Thirdly, I have a strong aversion to turning older siblings into third parents. So that was the end of the that.

I watched the first season of The Amazing Race.  But then I got annoyed bc it was too much personal back stories and I was only interested in the challenges and race.  That was the last reality tv I watched.

My general rule of thumb for watching something is that it NOT be reality. I HAVE reality in my life already. I do not need more of it.

That aside. I have repeatedly had people ask if we would be willing to be filmed over the years. Or give an interview. To which I’ve always given an emphatic hell no.  For one, I don’t trust it won’t be spun some weird way. And for two, I have had 11 kids, 4 still home being homeschooled at this point. The 20-30 something year old mom I was with 5 under 6 in an 1100 sq ft house and one car and a husband who traveled more than he was home is not the late 40s mom of 7 kids in their 20s, 2 teens, an 12yr old and 6 yr old in a 2800sq ft home, 4 cars and a husband who we pray never takes a job requiring travel again bc we narrowly missed ending up divorced. For third and actually biggest reason, I hate having my picture taken or being put in a spotlight, and I’m so grateful to have been born and most of my early adult years being before digital and social media, that I would not purposely put my kids in a limelight.

Most of my “parenting” was nothing more than practical necessity.  I did what needed done and there wasn’t much money or time or energy to do anything else, much less to “do it all”.  At the time I always felt like I was never doing enough, but looking back - we had enough and enough was all we needed.  My biggest regret is I wish I could go back and tell younger mom me to worry less about all the stuff that doesn’t really matter anyways.

Of course now I worry all the time that I’m not worried enough and poor youngest is feeling abandoned by her mother’s midlife crisis and all the siblings moving out.  So I got her a passport and now I haul her everywhere with me.  Which results in a 6 year old that talks like a moody teen or smart ass 20-something or a cranky 49 year old perimenopausal woman and likes to travel but is always tired bc she gets motion sickness and isn’t reading well yet because frankly homeschooling has taken a back burner for her teacher the last couple years but she can say “sh!t” in Korean when she breaks a glass putting away dishes. So I’ve got that going for her.  But seriously even all her older siblings agree she’s the best edition I made.  If everyone knew how awesome kid #11 is, they’d all want one.

Anyhoo.

My family isn’t your family. Never was. I have no idea what your family needs are. That’s why God made you their mama and not me.

While you worry about kids having food insecurity issues. That mama might have grown up seeing health problems around food and be worried about not raising her kids with that issue.  There’s not a mama alive who isn’t trying to carry her kids while also carrying the two ton weight of her own personal hell-filled baggage.

And that’s why I don’t watch mommy reality.  

Eleven kids is awesome, and homeschooling them, kudos to you:))

I think that there is reality TV, then there is the vlog/blog world, which in recent years has changed to certainly be more contrived, admittedly. There are a couple of aspects that I find interesting. First, art. There are some women who vlog on YouTube who do an absolutely phenomenal job with cinematography, and are able to portray the mom life, which is often derided as boring, cliche, or whatever, as a work of art. The homemaker is presented as an artist, using the home as her artistic medium, and I find that so refreshing and inspiring. Hamimommy comes to mind here. It is like an unreal-real fabulously romanticized, homemaker life. It can be inspiring, but I know that there is cinema wrapped up in it as well. Sometimes, I have certainly walked around my own home, and have found it so lovely that I want to photograph or film the way the sunlight flickers across the room as my littles ones have their schoolbooks everywhere and the flowers are fresh….but that certainly isn’t every single day, lol, and even on that day there is a pile of laundry ruining the picture. I am sure that is how many vlogs are born, you want to share what you find beautiful in your world.

There is also a downside to that. I literally just watched a Farmhouse on Boone episode where she was responding to someone who commented on social media about how content like hers makes women feel inadequate (paraphrasing), like everything has to look perfect all the time, and you have be this perfect homemaker type. I get that, somewhat, but I feel like some content can be used as a learning tool, so I can’t knock most mommy reality bloggers/vloggers. 

Also, as someone who didn’t grow up with a SAHM there is a lot that I feel like I/we/others could learn from women, especially if we haven’t see it in our own family. I love my mom, but she worked, and consequently, we didn’t get a lot of homemade food, bless her heart, or knowledge about homemaking/homeschooling. I want to give that to my children (albeit imperfectly), but I use to feel lost (not so much anymore), as I had to learn it all on my own. 

So for me, I enjoy the homemaker company and insight of some (certainly not all) of the mommy reality YouTubers (I am the only one between mine and my husbands family!)

Lastly, I absolutely agree with you, that every mommy is “carrying the two ton weight of her own personal hell-filled baggage”. That’s so factual, and apart of the struggle (of life in general?). The last thing people need is harsh judgement when most of us are trying our best. I don’t think the OP was being too judge-y, I think she just didn’t go much into depth about the specific videos, or what she had seen.

Edited May 20, 2023 by ArteHaus

[HomeAgain]

I do worry about food with some of the family youtubers, and it's not even the large family ones, per se, but the ones that have a blend of certain characteristics:

• education isn't valued
• dual income is highly discouraged, no matter what the needs
• a strict idea of gender roles

These are the ones who often end up with food insecurity or poorly balanced meals, no matter the family size.  I don't know what the common thread is and why it happens, but it feels like discouraging creativity and thought carries over to the table.  There's no adventure or trying new foods or flavors, so a childish food palate never grows up and the adults cooking only make what they know will be eaten by themselves, and therefore their children. 

[KungFuPanda]

I've accidentally watched a few because they seem to be the ones producing meal prep videos and meal prep and freezer meals greatly interest me.  I've watched The Dougherty Dozen because I like her method of getting a jump on all of the meals at the beginning of the day. In about one hour in the morning she gets breakfast made, lunch packed, and dinner started.  That's just an excellent idea in my book.  I've also watched the Jamerill freezer cooking videos.  It's the logistics that interest me.  Meal prep really suits my feast or famine energy style.  I don't see a lot of kids on these videos but I guess it's because they're getting a lot done in the kitchen and are doing it at a time with fewer interruptions.  I think the one lady just wakes up before everyone else.

Since these are cooking videos and I don't actually see all the people, I'm not sure if the portions line up to the number of people.  The lunchboxes look full. Unless you're talking about the Fun Cheap or Free lady and they'll have half a chicken for a dozen people.  She's all kinds of wacko. I've watched her purely for the insanity.

Edited May 20, 2023 by KungFuPanda

[alysee]

I didn't want to name specific families because I realize I am only getting a small glimpse into their lives. My assumption could be wrong.

[Murphy101]

12 minutes ago, ArteHaus said:

Eleven kids is awesome, and homeschooling them, kudos to you:))

I think that there is reality TV, then there is the vlog/blog world, which in recent years has changed to certainly be more contrived, admittedly. There are a couple of aspects that I find interesting. First, art. There are some women who vlog on YouTube who do an absolutely phenomenal job with cinematography, and are able to portray the mom life, which is often derided as boring, cliche, or whatever, as a work of art. The homemaker is presented as an artist, using the home as her artistic medium, and I find that so refreshing and inspiring.
 

No need for kudos. I just so happened to have met my husband young and been ridiculous lucky fertile. Honestly I’m too lazy to send my kids to a school. I’m super stressed just listening to my friends talk about theirs in school. LOL

hmm. I can appreciate the skills while also thinking that’s… idk has nothing really to do with motherhood. I do like to see mothers/wives portrayed as more than mothers/wives regardless of their jobs.  The trope that well she has kids/is married so of course she can’t ever go have coffee with her friends or go on a girls trip or whatever bothers me considerably.  That’s a trope I have worked hard to not live and have taught my children is a false reality they don’t have to live either. 

12 minutes ago, ArteHaus said:

Hamimommy comes to mind here. It is like an unreal-real fabulously romanticized, homemaker life. It can be inspiring, but I know that there is cinema wrapped up in it as well. Sometimes, I have certainly walked around my own home, and have found it so lovely that I want to photograph or film the way the sunlight flickers across the room as my littles ones have their schoolbooks everywhere and the flowers are fresh….but that certainly isn’t every single day, lol, and even on that day there is a pile of laundry ruining the picture. I am sure that is how many vlogs are born, you want to share what you find beautiful in your world.

ah. I can understand that. Taking time to appreciate what is beautiful in our own worlds helps us not get bogged down by all that isn’t beautiful in it. 

12 minutes ago, ArteHaus said:

There is also a downside to that. I literally just watched a Farmhouse on Boone episode where she was responding to someone who commented on social media about how content like hers makes women feel inadequate (paraphrasing), like everything has to look perfect all the time, and you have be this perfect homemaker type. I get that, somewhat, but I feel like some content can be used as a learning tool, so I can’t knock most mommy reality bloggers/vloggers. 

This is a huge thing I dealt with so often in large family circles. Which were dang small circles back when I first started homeschooling before social media and forums.  This idea that if I was a good disciple then that meant I had to make sure to have a good image so that other women would be inspired. Well I’m really not one to lie to women that if they are godly enough, June Cleaver enough, tidy and organized enough, use the right homeschool curriculum enough that they will manage to train or educate out children from having original sin and free will to make decisions in life that I disagree with. I saw a LOT of that mentality in homeschooling over the years. And a lot of broken families abandoned by their so-called homeschool support groups that didn’t want to be tainted by the reality.  This life experience has done nothing to encourage me to watch large family or homeschooling or Christian reality of any kind. Nothing but genuinely happy for you if you’ve not had that experience. I’m just leery from what I have seen play out IRL too often. 

12 minutes ago, ArteHaus said:

Also, as someone who didn’t grow up with a SAHM there is a lot that I feel like I/we/others could learn from women, especially if we haven’t see it in our own family. I love my mom, but she worked, and consequently, we didn’t get a lot of homemade food, bless her heart, or knowledge about homemaking/homeschooling. I want to give that to my children (albeit imperfectly), but I use to feel lost (not so much anymore), as I had to learn it all on my own. 

As someone who wasn’t raised by a SAHM or even emotionally functional parents, I do get that. I say all the time, my FOO didn’t teach me what to do in life, but boy howdy did they teach me a lot of what NOT to do. LOL

It’s really hard as a young person and mom to build a foundation that we were not given before we became adults and parents.  I had to learn how to build relationships and community from nothing because what I started with was not what I could healthily sustain and not what I wanted my children to live.  I made a lot of mistakes. I tell my kids about all the mistakes all the time and that I know they will make mistakes too, but for cryin out loud, at least make different ones bc I warned about the ones I made. LOL

12 minutes ago, ArteHaus said:

Lastly, I absolutely agree with you, that every mommy is “carrying the two ton weight of her own personal hell-filled baggage”. That’s so factual, and apart of the struggle (of life in general?). The last thing people need is harsh judgement when most of us are trying our best. I don’t think the OP was being too judge-y, I think she just didn’t go much into depth about the specific videos, or what she had seen.

I didn’t think anyone was being judgy or harsh. Just saying I can’t watch or listen to these things without some analysis going on bc I have a fix it personality.

You watch that and think her kids are going to have food insecurity.  Which you ain’t all wrong either.  I watch it and think that 1) MY kids can out-eat everyone I know and people think I make way too much food. But my kids are also the skinniest people everyone knows. 2) huh. Curious. I’d love to know the reasoning for why she does what she does.  What’s her baggage?  I wonder if she has a good friend to help her unpack some of that? 

But I have my own food mommy wars issues. You know the first thing they say to cut is your grocery budget when you are struggling. You know what you can’t cut when married to a type 1 diabetic?  Food budget.  Because cheap food budgets are almost always carb heavy and it saves me nothing on groceries if I have spend triple on insulin.  We did cut a lot of things from our groceries. Snack foods. Premade foods. Eating out. All drinks except coffee grounds and tea to brew. But that comes with its own price to pay too. Food is a HUGE social function in almost every culture so never eating out can be isolating.  A major problem if someone needs to network.  Making food at home instead of premade doesn’t have to take forever but it does take the luxury of time and kitchen supplies and trial and error learning efforts. I have all that NOW but it was a huge learning curve in my 20s.

Also having the materials and know-how to be artistic is an investment by other people. Parents into children. Friends for friends. A husband with a job for a wife at home. Or a wife with income from someone that she can use for herself. In a society that asks how much money is it worth - often investing that time and money for a mom at home is viewed as wasteful. It’s not at all. But that’s a social battle that needs to be addressed. Neither a person or a skill should be valued based on its monetary production.

[mommyoffive]

38 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I've accidentally watched a few because they seem to be the ones producing meal prep videos and meal prep and freezer meals greatly interest me.  I've watched The Dougherty Dozen because I like her method of getting a jump on all of the meals at the beginning of the day. In about one hour in the morning she gets breakfast made, lunch packed, and dinner started.  That's just an excellent idea in my book.  I've also watched the Jamerill freezer cooking videos.  It's the logistics that interest me.  Meal prep really suits my feast or famine energy style.  I don't see a lot of kids on these videos but I guess it's because they're getting a lot done in the kitchen and are doing it at a time with fewer interruptions.  I think the one lady just wakes up before everyone else.

Since these are cooking videos and I don't actually see all the people, I'm not sure if the portions line up to the number of people.  The lunchboxes look full. Unless you're talking about the Fun Cheap or Free lady and they'll have half a chicken for a dozen people.  She's all kinds of wacko. I've watched her purely for the insanity.

You should watch some of people who cover her. 

[alysee]

42 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Unless you're talking about the Fun Cheap or Free lady and they'll have half a chicken for a dozen people.  She's all kinds of wacko. I've watched her purely for the insanity.

She is for sure one. She also is pure chaos. I can't comprehend how someone buys things from her or even believes her. She has an entire grocery store amount of food in her house but only serves minuscule amounts of food.

Edited May 20, 2023 by alysee

[ArteHaus]

52 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:

 

But I have my own food mommy wars issues. You know the first thing they say to cut is your grocery budget when you are struggling. You know what you can’t cut when married to a type 1 diabetic?  Food budget.  Because cheap food budgets are almost always carb heavy and it saves me nothing on groceries if I have spend triple on insulin.  We did cut a lot of things from our groceries. Snack foods. Premade foods. Eating out. All drinks except coffee grounds and tea to brew. But that comes with its own price to pay too. Food is a HUGE social function in almost every culture so never eating out can be isolating.  A major problem if someone needs to network.  Making food at home instead of premade doesn’t have to take forever but it does take the luxury of time and kitchen supplies and trial and error learning efforts. I have all that NOW but it was a huge learning curve in my 20s.

Also having the materials and know-how to be artistic is an investment by other people. Parents into children. Friends for friends. A husband with a job for a wife at home. Or a wife with income from someone that she can use for herself. In a society that asks how much money is it worth - often investing that time and money for a mom at home is viewed as wasteful. It’s not at all. But that’s a social battle that needs to be addressed. Neither a person or a skill should be valued based on its monetary production.

Yes, there is much nuance in feeding one’s family (or what that looks like to individual families), and there is often stress and guilt around it. Feeding too much or too little, healthy or not healthy, processed in processed, etc., and trying to find a balance for one’s family can be difficult, especially in large families.

The sad truth is that food is very expensive, and I mean fresh, organic food. You are so right, cheap food budgets just rarely equal quality or healthy. Years ago my husband went through a terrible illness (back to normal now:), which required a grocery budget that absolutely could not be altered, so I absolutely understand where you are coming from. I don’t buy any premade food or processed food (like not in a grocery shop) and our grocery bill is…exorbitant. We also eat out from time to time😬 So, yeah it is hard to knock those families because who knows what that woman is dealing with/working with, and is just trying to get it done and get her children fed. 

And omg, yes what a huge learning curve these things have been for me as well (especially in my 20’s, lol)

It would be nice if everyone had a little garden to grow their own fruit and veg:)

You last paragraph hit the nail on the head. How true. It is absolutely an investment made by other people, especially for the homemaker who doesn’t make her own money. And most importantly, “neither a person or a skill should be valued based on its monetary production.”  Absolutely-

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

16 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

You should watch some of people who cover her. 

That might be a mistake for me.  I don't want to know about her life.  I just want to be motivated to get the bulk of my cooking work for the day over with early in the morning. 😆 It makes it feel doable.  If she can do this for a dozen people in a tiny kitchen while having her coffee, I can certainly pull it off for 3-5 people.

[Elizabeth86]

9 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

That might be a mistake for me.  I don't want to know about her life.  I just want to be motivated to get the bulk of my cooking work for the day over with early in the morning. 😆 It makes it feel doable.  If she can do this for a dozen people in a tiny kitchen while having her coffee, I can certainly pull it off for 3-5 people.

She also served her family nachos in a kiddie pool. 😂

[Jean in Newcastle]

Getting tips for how to do things for a large family (which has helped me with my small family) is great. The mom shaming which often happens in the comments sections of those things aren’t so great. If someone told me that I had to feed my difficult children (difficult because of food issues not otherwise) the “perfect “ way all the time, I would tell them to pound sand. 

[Brittany1116]

18 hours ago, alysee said:

She is for sure one. She also is pure chaos. I can't comprehend how someone buys things from her or even believes her. She has an entire grocery store amount of food in her house but only serves minuscule amounts of food.

Jordan is a mess. Several months ago she did a click-bait video on a week's groceries for under $100. I think it was a collab with Walmart. It was really a grocery fill in type order, and everyone in the comments harped on it only amounting to about 3 nearly complete meals for a family half the size of hers, plus some random items. 

[gardenmom5]

On 5/19/2023 at 2:28 PM, alysee said:

Does anyone else watch large families on YouTube? We have 6 kids, so I know what it takes to feed large family and I am always so disturbed how little the families eat, how fanatical families eat(nothing processed) or the exact opposite of only processed foods and nothing fresh. I understand we only get a small glimpse into their lives but I want to see normal large families. 

My kids eat processed food but we also eat a ton of fresh stuff and if my kids are hungry and it isn't a snack or meal time, the kids are still allowed to eat. Some of these videos snd families make it seem like the kids are forced to scavenge and sneak food in order to get their nutritional needs met.

It just makes me sad because these kids are going to have lifelong food insecurity. 

Is that because they're being fanatical?  or is it the fact that processed foods are really just convenience foods and cooking from scratch is healthier, tastes better, and is *cheaper*?  (especially when trying to feed a larger family.)
I have five kids (big gap from #4 - #5).  so, even when it was just six of us, we cooked from scratch because it was cheaper.  Dh would be happy to do that now, but my health considerations mean choices must be made.  There are still things we refuse to purchase, e.g. spaghetti sauce, because homemade tastes so much better and doesn't have a ton of added salt, or sugar.  (seriously?  someone gave me a bottle of costco spaghetti sauce, it was sickeningly sweet.)

[Dianthus]

I enjoy watching Three Rivers Homestead. They have made from scratch meals that generally look unappealing to my family. I enjoy more of the homestead activities and she is such a sweet lady. They make everything from scratch because they have a child with severe allergies. I think they have 8 kids, but haven't watch lately.

I also watch The Happy Caravan, which eats healthy meals that look much more appealing and are more like me in that sometimes there are processed things ( chips or treats) added to the mix. They have 10 kids and I watch all their new videos.

I don't feel either family is exploitive. All kids are homeschooled and seem very well adjusted. Totally different families, but both seem lovely.

Edited May 21, 2023 by Dianthus

[Jean in Newcastle]

12 minutes ago, Brittany1116 said:

Jordan is a mess. Several months ago she did a click-bait video on a week's groceries for under $100. I think it was a collab with Walmart. It was really a grocery fill in type order, and everyone in the comments harped on it only amounting to about 3 nearly complete meals for a family half the size of hers, plus some random items. 

Like “reality “ shows, these YouTubes aren’t necessarily real. They get money from sponsors like Walmart and spent time putting together that show because of it- not because that’s how they feed their families when the cameras are off. This is true for any kind of influencer on any platform. If you’re going to use it for anything other than for entertainment then you need to be aware of that. And if you are watching for tips, use what you can (or adapt it) and discard the rest. 

[Brittany1116]

7 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Like “reality “ shows, these YouTubes aren’t necessarily real. They get money from sponsors like Walmart and spent time putting together that show because of it- not because that’s how they feed their families when the cameras are off. This is true for any kind of influencer on any platform. If you’re going to use it for anything other than for entertainment then you need to be aware of that. And if you are watching for tips, use what you can (or adapt it) and discard the rest. 

Jordan started more than a decade ago, maybe two, before the word "influencer" existed. She was on a TLC show about being a cheapskate and rationing their toilet paper. She built her blog and brand on tips for saving money, especially on food and fun. She has, or had, a large following for many years based on the fact that she did actually show what she bought and how she cooked and kept costs down. I hadn't watched her in about 5 years when I saw the video I mentioned, and quickly realized it was just an ad. 

[Mona]

38 minutes ago, Dianthus said:

I enjoy watching Three Rivers Homestead. They have made from scratch meals that generally look unappealing to my family. I enjoy more of the homestead activities and she is such a sweet lady. They make everything from scratch because they have a child with severe allergies. I think they have 8 kids, but haven't watch lately.

I also watch The Happy Caravan, which eats healthy meals that look much more appealing and are more like me in that sometimes there are processed things ( chips or treats) added to the mix. They have 10 kids and I watch all their new videos.

I don't feel either family is exploitive. All kids are homeschooled and seem very well adjusted. Totally different families, but both seem lovely.

I like Three Rivers Homestead. I haven’t watched in a while, but I think the mom also has an autoimmune disorder so she needs to be on a special diet. I’ve watched her Azure hauls and her spring gardening plans and ideas, but what most interested me was her “Yearly Pantry Clean Out Challenge” where multiple YTubers had to challenge themselves to eat only what they had in their pantry as a means to clean out the old before stocking with new. Some of them lasted 3 months or more and got really creative with their meals. They were allowed to make their own rules such as if they didn’t have a family cow for milk, they could buy milk once a week or some allowed a monthly budget of $25 or something like that. There were no steadfast rules. They just had do their best to clean out the old food and vlog their meals each week and report what they bought and spent. I hate it when things expire in my pantry. 

 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

That might be a mistake for me.  I don't want to know about her life.  I just want to be motivated to get the bulk of my cooking work for the day over with early in the morning. 😆 It makes it feel doable.  If she can do this for a dozen people in a tiny kitchen while having her coffee, I can certainly pull it off for 3-5 people.

They cover all the things that she has put forth about the kids on her youtube channel and other social media.  And go into that her cooking things are just staged and the kids don't eat it.

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, Elizabeth86 said:

She also served her family nachos in a kiddie pool. 😂

Or spaghetti served on a table.  And on and on.

[HomeAgain]

The nachos served in a kiddie pool might actually make sense here. 😄I have a teen boy who ate SEVEN tacos as a "snack" and then dinner 2 hours later.  No worries folks, he also ate two school lunches prior to that.

At least a pool of nachos would slow him down enough to give the rest of us a chance at the dinner table. 🤣

[alysee]

2 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

Is that because they're being fanatical?  or is it the fact that processed foods are really just convenience foods and cooking from scratch is healthier, tastes better, and is *cheaper*?  (especially when trying to feed a larger family.)
I have five kids (big gap from #4 - #5).  so, even when it was just six of us, we cooked from scratch because it was cheaper.  Dh would be happy to do that now, but my health considerations mean choices must be made.  There are still things we refuse to purchase, e.g. spaghetti sauce, because homemade tastes so much better and doesn't have a ton of added salt, or sugar.  (seriously?  someone gave me a bottle of costco spaghetti sauce, it was sickeningly sweet.)

Maybe? I dont feel that everything from scratch is cheaper? Especially if you're thinking your time is worth money. I will admit we have a large grocery budget because of my celiac disease. We also make food from our garden but it isn't cheaper when you take into account the time and equipment. I do it because I like canning and preserving.

 

[ktgrok]

5 hours ago, Brittany1116 said:

Jordan is a mess. Several months ago she did a click-bait video on a week's groceries for under $100. I think it was a collab with Walmart. It was really a grocery fill in type order, and everyone in the comments harped on it only amounting to about 3 nearly complete meals for a family half the size of hers, plus some random items. 

I watched her for a bit years ago, and it was the same then. She'd have some way low budget, but come to find out that was because they had a ton of other food at home already. So yeah...THAT week was low budget, because she'd obviously stocked up the weeks before. 

[KungFuPanda]

5 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

They cover all the things that she has put forth about the kids on her youtube channel and other social media.  And go into that her cooking things are just staged and the kids don't eat it.

Ah man. Now I have questions. It makes sense for moms with a lot of kids to do cooking videos. They’re cooking all the time anyway, takeout times 10 people probably isn’t a good back up plan, so they might as well monetize it and talk to a camera while they cook. HOW are there enough hours in the day to film and upload stuff if you have to come up with three non-prop meals for a bunch of people???

Update: I peeked behind the curtain. Ewww. Ick. I’m out. 

Edited May 21, 2023 by KungFuPanda

[Brittany1116]

2 hours ago, ktgrok said:

I watched her for a bit years ago, and it was the same then. She'd have some way low budget, but come to find out that was because they had a ton of other food at home already. So yeah...THAT week was low budget, because she'd obviously stocked up the weeks before. 

Maybe. I think a 2015 video where she spends $100 for the week and adds 2 packs of meat, a block of cheese, and 3 cans from her stockpile is different from a paid ad where she pretends to shop for a week of food with a budget of $100 during an inflationary period and can barely assemble 2-3 meals with it. Disingenuous at best. 

[busymama7]

2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Update: I peeked behind the curtain. Ewww. Ick. I’m out. 

Links please? I have watched Dougherty dozen a bit but am curious what you are talking about.  

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, busymama7 said:

Links please? I have watched Dougherty dozen a bit but am curious what you are talking about.  

You can find a lot of videos on these people's channels about DD.  A lot of others cover her too.

 

(7) THE DOUGHERTY DOZEN OUTRAGE over LATEST SPONSORSHIP 🔥 Public opinion is BAD. - YouTube

(7) STABILITY ACCORDING TO THE DOUGHERTY DOZEN - YouTube

 

(7) Dougherty Dozen Fired By MADD? | More Oversharing - YouTube