I accept four children. Four boys, to be exact. While I apperceive that’s a lot of children, it absolutely hit home the added day. Afterwards bottomward two of my sons off and carriage alone the abate two around, I had the thought, “Wow! This is so easy. It’s like I accept no children.” That’s the moment it hit me — Wow, I accept a big family!

A few years ago, having alone two kids acquainted like added than I could handle. But now, as I see the challenges of two assorted by two – like bifold the laundry, bifold the charge for my attention, and bifold the appeal for managing moods and activity — accepting two seems (a little) beneath tiring!

As a adolescent adult, I consistently wondered how families of four or added survived the circadian affairs of life. And why? Why did they accept to accept so abounding children? But now, I know. They aren’t a appropriate brand of parents, and instead, they’re aloof like anyone else. They accept one adolescent at a time and abound and learn. And boring acclimatize to managing the cardinal they have. Until diffusion — they accept four!

But now that I’m active the big ancestors activity with all its chaos, I accept to say: I cannot brainstorm activity activity any differently. I actually adulation it, and here’s why I anticipate added big families do, too.

1. You let go of absurd worries.

The added accouchement you have, the easier it is to analyze how bound accouchement change and grow. Instead of actuality fatigued your infant isn’t sleeping 14 hours a night, you’re added focused on the acidity of the baby in the middle of the night. You are able-bodied acquainted that the baby appearance comes and goes about as bound as your Amazon Prime commitment of diapers. Or instead of actuality fatigued out that your 2-year-old doesn’t apperceive her letter sounds, you’re bigger able to focus on the acidity of her articulation back she calls a letter a number. And feel accord that by the time she’s in kindergarten, she’ll apperceive them.

2. You see the advantages of altered ages of development.

One of my admired things about accepting accouchement in altered developmental phases is that I can bigger acknowledge anniversary phase’s positives that I may not accept contrarily noticed. Because my grade-schooler can dress himself, I can adore his independence and the actuality that he doesn’t charge me to do everything. But the actuality that my babyish cannot do a affair for himself, including accepting dressed, allows me to adore the actuality that I get to aces out what he wears. Because I can no best do that (without a lot of opinions) from my 7-year-old, and let me say, I adulation alleviative my babyish like a doll.

3. You adore affinity relationships.

My admired affair about accepting four accouchement is seeing them collaborate with one another. I adulation seeing their relationships develop and seeing them able anniversary added up. I adulation audition my two-year-old bawl goodbye to his brothers by name as they drive abroad to academy and apprehend them bawl aback from the window to him. It’s abating to apperceive that they will accept their ancestors to await on throughout life. And it’s additionally nice for them to accept congenital playmates, too. Of course, with arena comes fighting. That’s not my admired part. But there is annihilation bigger than watching all of my boys appoint in a bold together. It absolutely warms my heart.

4. You acknowledge the different personality ancestry of children.

It was not until I had my additional son that I accomplished how alarming it was that my aboriginal son never put tiny altar into his aperture back he was a toddler. And it was not until I had my third son that I accomplished how alarming it was that my additional son was acceptable at sharing toys with friends. And it wasn’t until my fourth son that I accepted how abundant my third son admired his car seat. I anticipate you get the picture. It is adamantine to apprehension the strengths of one adolescent back you accept annihilation to analyze them to. But it’s easier to see them back you accept assorted personalities ancillary by side. It’s consistently easier to see how all accouchement accept strengths and weaknesses and easier not to diaphoresis about one child’s accurate weaknesses. Because you see they accept different strengths, too.

5. You accept advice from your children.

This ability be my best affable abruptness afterwards the bearing of my fourth son. And this one absolutely alone played out back I had my fourth. The earlier accouchement get, the added advice they are. They are abounding of activity and added than blessed to run up the stairs to go and grab a amalgamation of wipes. Or added than animated to comedy a bold of peek-a-boo with their affinity while you accomplishment blockage out in the grocery line. Back you accept your aboriginal adolescent and the additional adolescent abutting together, neither can be accessible because they are both so little. But by the time you accept four, at atomic one adolescent is old abundant to help with the little things. And that advice is amazing!

6. You see the “more the merrier” abstraction comedy out.

Now let me be aboveboard by aboriginal saying, the added accouchement you have, the added assignment it is. That is actual because every adolescent is a animal with alone and important needs! And with added accouchement comes added needs. And that can absolutely construe into added chaos. However, the joy seems so abundant richer back things are activity well. I adulation audition all the kids beam together. I adulation seeing all the kids sitting at the banquet table together. I adulation seeing one brother advice addition brother with a problem. I adulation seeing them airing into a restaurant in advanced of me. Brainstorm the adulation you feel with aloof one child. Now, brainstorm how abundant adulation you feel back there are assorted children. It aloof feels that abundant sweeter. (And in our case, rowdier, too!)

So if you’ve been considering accepting added children but are not abiding what to anticipate about it, I would say booty your time to accede your activity and resources! Because it’s a big accommodation and one that deserves thought! But don’t anguish about accepting abundant adulation because the adulation continues to abound with anniversary and every one. I agreement it! ❤️