While I respect all mothers who have large families, as I know how tough it can be at times, the one thing that does annoy me is when the older kids basically raise the younger ones. I have 6 children and while the eldest are 9, 10 and 13 and the youngest are 2, 3 and 4, other than simply keeping them entertained while I pop to the loo I have never expected ted them to help me.
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I have been very lucky with my children and the elder children do at times love playing games with the younger 3, I say at times as there are times when they want to be away doing their own thing.
Watching 19 and counting got me thinking, should the elder kids have to do as much as they do when it comes to looking after and raising the younger members of their family?
Michelle Duggar deserves a medal, but to be honest I don’t ever see her doing anything with her kids, I mean real things, not visiting places and churches. I never see kids clinging to her legs screaming, if they do another of the elder kids comes running to rescue.
I see kids aged 5/6 cutting the garden lawn with rather big lawnmowers, I see 5/6 year old carrying the younger kids around, while I agree that all kids should have responsibilities to some extent, but really are they expected to do too much?
My dad is one of 14 and he says his older brothers and sisters raised him; his mother was far too busy with the younger kids to have time for him and the others. This makes me sad as I know how important it is to ensure each child has dedicated time and one to one attention.
It is one of the values I hold most as a mother of a larger than normal family, that each child I have is mine to care for, raise and ensure I have plenty of time for. Maybe I do it wrong; perhaps the older kids should be doing more with helping to the raise the younger ones but why should they?
I would love to hear your views… should the older kids in the family help raise the younger ones?
