Being in a large family

In our parents’ and grandparents’ time, large families were very common. In fact, a family with just five children was considered small. This was because many families had seven or more children! A large family means many advantages for the children. Having lots brothers and sister is fun. There is always someone to play with. If the family is big enough, one can even form a football team! It is extremely enjoyable to play as a group. Another advantage of a big family is that there are always older brothers and sisters to help with the homework. This is very important as many children tend to complete their homework only at the last minute. They can also discuss their studies among themselves. On the other hand, children have to share many things. These include sharing rooms and getting hand-me-down from older siblings. Having many children, the parents may give each child less money. When there is food on the table, it must be shared among everyone. Children may think this is terrible but again it can be a very good training as they learn to share and to appreciate. They learn to give and take. Again, these are important life-skills. People say that when a family is large, there will be a lots of fights. This may be true. It is normal for children to argue or quarrel with one another. However, it is also normal for the fights to end quickly. Two children may quarrel. The next minute, they may play together. This is often true. Therefore, in a large family, children learn how to make up after a quarrel. The only real problem in large families is that there is never enough time for the parents to spend time on each child. Even time has to be shared! Still, once the children are all grown up, they usually remember their childhood with happiness. The sharing and the fighting, the arguments and the playing are all remembered joyfully.