How to Cope with Large Families

Carolyn, a dear friend of mine, suggested that I write a post about tips and strategies for dealing with a larger family. This is a question that I often ask, so I decided to give it a try.

It can be hard to manage five children under 10 years old in a family. You will also find lots of love and energy.

For us, parenting has been an ongoing learning process. We have also made major changes in how we manage our day-to-day lives. These tips could be applied to any family, but the important thing for us is their importance to the smooth running of our family life.

Sometimes in life, we might not do what is listed below for various reasons. Although the world isn’t in chaos and we still manage to get through each day, it can be more stressful, conflict and less fun. These simple tasks make our lives much easier, especially for dad and mum. ).

All family members should be given daily tasks.

Except for the baby, every child has age-appropriate tasks they must complete daily. These tasks are important for children to complete to learn to take care of themselves and help the family.

With a baby, school mornings are very busy. Before we set out on our walk to school, I make sure the table is cleared, and the dishwasher (if necessary) is turned on. If the children don’t help, there is no way I can do this. This post on Children’s Jobs gives a breakdown of our children’s work.

Menu plan.

All three children have healthy appetites and eat well. It cannot be easy to cook healthy meals when three kids are at school.

Communication.

There are many competing needs within our family. It is crucial that everyone feels heard and that their ideas are considered. We have been holding Family meetings for many decades now. Although we always find them helpful, it becomes more important as our children age.

Everyone needs to communicate visually to be aware of their commitments and schedules. A large family calendar is used with one column per person (mum and daddy share it – I haven’t seen any with more than six columns). A children’s schedule is prominently displayed for everyone to see.

Nightly preparation

Tasks that can take me 30 minutes at night take up to an hour when I do them with the kids. I find that nighttime preparation is key to smooth mornings. After the children have gone to bed, we prepare the lunch boxes, organize the school clothes, fill in forms, and set breakfast tables.

Accept assistance!

My two sisters, who live in Melbourne, have provided me with regular support this year. My youngest sister visits once a week to help me after school. It is very helpful to have someone else around, especially when Mr. I is swimming or is not home until 7 pm.

My oldest sister is there Wednesday mornings to look after my baby while the toddler and I go to a kindy workout. It’s wonderful to be able to do something together. My mother-in-law also assists by allowing Mr. I to go out at night and have some time to ourselves. She then babysits the children for us.

It is a blessing to have such a supportive family.