Everything is so expensive with several kids!! We have a new water park in town. I complained that it is too expensive for families and was told that it is pretty cheap, only $5 a visit!! Well there are 8 of us!!!! We are not spending $40 just to go swimming for a couple of hours! My dh just took 3 kids to the movies. It is a matinee and ONLY $5.50 each. That is still $25 for a couple of hours entertainment (not to mention the DQ I promised my little one for NOT going! I really hate for my kids to miss out on things, but people do not seem to understand that when you have 6 kids it is not just a few bucks, it is a few bucks X 6 plus mom and dad!!!

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~Happiness is a large family~

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I read that these days you are considered a large family if you have 3 or more kids! I think that the last 30 years of the "2.5 kids" being the average has made society forget the larger families. I have 3 kids and I would say that's medium. The argument I've heard about the shrinking of the American family is that we have very few families farming and running family businesses, so the need for cheap family labor has all but dissapeared. I grew up friends with a family of 17 ( yes, I said 17!) and they are a very happy family and had the same things everyone else had and had a SAHM until the youngest started school. I still see the mom and several of the kids at the pool, and the grown up girls are have large families too; there are 3 girls all within 4 years of me, and they each have at least 4 kids and 2 have 1 on the way as well. They were saying that they get rude comments quite frequently, which is so sad I think society has grown to be for small families and not only that they are judgemental of larger families when it's none of their business! They said the comments they hear most often is that it's irresponsible of them to have so many kids and that bigger families use more resources. I say if you can afford them financially, physically and emotionally, more power to you, no one has the right to say a word. I have to say that when choosing to have large families, figuring in family entertainment is one of the aspects to be weight in the choice. We do very little that costs much because we have a hard time with the costs just for our family of 5, so family movie trips are rare as are trips to amusement parks and the like.

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~*JAMI*~ GO RED SOX! WORLD CHAMPIONS!

Absolutely! I grew up in a time before carseats and even seat belt requirements. We certainly never had to worry about an airbag going off. We had two adults and four children in my family. We simply piled everyone into the sedan or the back of the pick-up truck to go somewhere. After the seatbelt laws went into effect - one kid per seat position - my parents did end up getting a station wagon. Besides, the kids were getting a bit bigger my then and we needed a little more leg room.

Now I'm a grandmother and I own a mini-van. When we go visit our grandchildren, everyone needs a carseat and no one can sit in the front. Plus we have 5-yr old DD. So there are times when a seven passenger mini-van isn't even big enough.

So, yes, it isn't just admission prices or the cost of entertainment. It is transportation, too. Imagine trying to fly your family of 8 somewhere. Ouch!

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I do agree that today it does seem that society doesn't cater to a larger family. I am getting ready to have my 4th, and have had negative comments made to me. I even had an obgyn make a comment about birth control to me! The same day, the nurse there asked me if I wanted to keep the baby! I was pretty shocked about the comments. With my first three, even a perfect stranger would be happy for us, but now, it's like...oh! You've got your hands full. My husband and I would like to have a large family.
I will say that we have lived in several cities, and it seems that where we live now, is a great place to find free and very fun activities to do. We've joined the museum, and found free spray parks to go to in the summer for the kids. Also, the YMCA has helped us have family activities to do. We've started trying to do things at home and Grandma's to learn from like planting a garden and such. It's too bad that things are so expensive these days! Good, luck! It sure is becoming hard to go places and pay for admission!

Sorry you are going thru this, it's too bad they don't have some kind of large family discounts for you so that large families can be included in the fun stuff too.

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"Go on, get outside, get the stink blown off ya!!"

I know there are some things I go to where the cost is X$ per adult and Y$ per child, with a family maximum of Z$. So for families like yours that would help. Or memberships to zoos, museums, etc usually include everyone. But yes....you're right....for everything else I don't see how big families do it. I know now that my two teens don't want to go to dinner with dh & I very often, I"M GLAD!!! Not only do we get alone time, but we don't have to buy 4 adult dinners!! And when we went to Colonial Williamsburg, paying for four adults (which most places count as over about 10 now) there and at Busch Gardens broke the bank. So I can't imagine having to do that with 8 people. That would be so hard. So there probably are some negatives in that sense, but just think of the rewards...6 kiddos to love on you & take care of you when you're old!!

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hey, i only have 2 kids, and family entertainment is not geared at all for larger families! they charge way to much, they do need to have a family rate. even here in our town the best they do have is a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids), is 15.oo for the swimpark. to me that should cover 4 kids 2 adults should be the better rate.being part of a small family, i personally think they charge to much for any type of family entertainment large or small, but its especially hard for all you larger familys! i agree taht there needs to be something better priced for the larger families out there!

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Kimberley

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I do see some places that offer family memberships - such as the MN Zoo, museums, etc. whereby larger families would actually get a better deal than smaller families. Our YMCA has family memberships, so our family of 4 pays the same as a family of 10. On the flip side, movies, eating out, etc. would be incredibly expensive for a large family.

I think families today have to look at the financial aspect of having kids differently than our ancestors did. 100 years ago, kids were a financial benefit - they could work on the farms or help out with the family business. Now they're a financial drain. Today you really have to consider whether or not you can afford to have a large family if you do want one.

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We don't do a lot due to the size of our family....that is we don't do a lot at the big fancy places. We still hit the park, or the beach (our's is $1/person or $45 for the family for the summer) and the kids are just as happy as going to a waterpark. Going out to eat is quite expensive now (even McD's = $25 for the family), but I still allow myself the sanity at least once a month. We haven't been able to do a family movie for some time (due to the age of the youngest), but ya know....the kids don't miss it either.

Just think ~ in your family doing these extra things end up being a "treat", whereas in some other families it ends up being an expectation. I would hate to have that be the norm.

ETA: to answer your original question - Yes. I think that society makes it less expensive for smaller families, but I would never have made another choice. In fact, even knowing what I know today as far as costs go, I would still have more kids if the opportunity presented itself. IMO - the importance of family outweighs the importance of being able to afford a waterpark or "cool" jeans.

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Very good point!!

We have (I guess what you would call) a medium sized family with three kids. And we live very close to Orlando, and could probably go twice a year, but we don't. So that when we do go they appreciate it!!

Family memberships are nice, and when the "big kids" were younger that was great. We even had a membership to MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry). But as they get older, as I am sure it is in your case....those things aren't "fun" anymore....

I feel for you.....I don't know how larger families handle it all.

I cringe when we do plan a "theme park" and one of the kids say "can we bring a friend".....you want to say YES, but in the back of your head you are counting up all the money you will spend.....

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