callumf

As my fourth child is due on Bonfire night I found myself sat here at work thinking about what might have been etc etc.

What if I had only had one child? Or two?

So what do you think are the pros and cons of small families [no siblings etc] or large families?

I come from a small not particularly close nit family myself - theres only three of us alive [ apart from my children ] with no cousins aunties uncles etc etc.

So I have no idea what a big family is apart from childhood memories of when there were elderly relatives alive [about 6 or 7] and we all seemed to have lots of fun.

So what are the pros and cons of small vs big amounts of children?

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sigged by Firebird of Stratics! Thanks!

Gwyndolyn Quaintly

I was an only child until I was 10. That sucked.
I got "everything I wanted" and was brought on foreign holidays 4 times a year. By the time my sister arrived I was so 'far ahead' of her that we weren't able to relate as something resembling 'sisters' until she was about 10 herself(at which point I was married)...and then our next sibling arrived.
So I have a brother 19 years my junior. He's a few months older than my daughter, and he's meant to be her uncle. Ohh the MADNESS of it!

Being an only child is sucky. Children should grow up with siblings around them - so as they're at such an age as to be able to relate to one anther as friends and comrades and peers...not as some oddly detached generation-apart guardian-and-mentor-types.

Editted to add:
Hm. Maybe it's different if you're poor (politically incorrect or what?) It's probably a better idea from a PURELY FINANCIAL point of view to stop producing children if you're not in the position to clothe and shelter and nourish and educate and shower them in Disney Dvds etc. Having a large family mightne't be too clever then, alright. Oh- or if you're one of those people who just can't 'cope' with children. Never a good idea to make a baby you don't WANT to have, I suppose. But other than that? Yes. Go on. Go forth and multiply, etc etc.

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cherry

i have siblings and when younger was fun........as we grew older got more complicated we have less in common so less important. For me my immediate family (ie partner and son) and friends are much more important than my wider family, in the sense you can chose friends who you can relate to and get on well with.
Having said that i would chose to have a sibling for my son as its more fun to grow up with brothers and sisters than not to. And sometimes siblings do seem to have great relationships when they are older too.

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Cal Soulshadow

I'm the only child of an only child. My dad had three siblings but my mother's side of the family consists, now, of just my mother. Her dad died before I was born but her mother lived with us until I was 13, when she died (at 86).

Not having siblings meant I was more at ease with adults, like my parent's friends, than I was with kids my own age. I did have friends but I wasn't especially gregarious and could amuse myself quite happily.

I guess it's made me independant, and I'm also someone who needs my own space. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have siblings.

I think these days, with costs so high and most mothers working to make ends meet, there will be a lot more only children.

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Aeribian IV

Anybody but me see the title and thing bad thigns?

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Taggart

Sally I bet

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Sally Buttons

Lies!!!

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Gwyndolyn Quaintly

I think that would be a problem specific to those in the audience who feel the need to compare their teenyweeny to those of the bigger boys. Bless.
Size isn't everything, cherub, so don't fret. Well that's what they say.
*rethinks that*
Well that's what all the boys with teenyweeny ones say anyhow. *nods*

Edit:
Oh yes. This is not a babble thread. Stay on topic please. Kkthxbye.

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Aeribian IV

Eh?

What do you mean?

I was talking about the UK's budget deficit

What are YOU thinking about?
Really, theres a forum for that sort of thing...

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Gwyndolyn Quaintly

Honey, if you're bothered that much by the teenyweeny vs possibly vast Budget deficit of ye olde Uk that it makes you think 'bad things' then your special forum for special topics is right over there...
*gestures politely*

This thread is about family sizes. Have you got a big one? Or a teenyweeny?
Stay on topic, please.

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Sally Buttons

Aeri couldn't stay on topic if he was superglued to it!

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Aeribian IV

Well, surely at least Sallys part of the conversation is relevant to children and whether to have more!

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Futt

Mine is Teeny Weeny. And I like it!

We're still talking about family right?

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http://www.futt.org/

Cal Soulshadow

If you're talking bad things, then there would be no need for a topic, since the answer is bleedin' obvious.

PS Gwyn, being an only child doesn't suck.

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Lenore

Familys what you make of it. A big family can be stressful or full of fun a small one can be lonely or stick really closely together. As has been said as long as you can provide for them and are all happy then all is good