hello, i wonder how many parents are single parenting more htan 5-7 children. i have 11 children from one marriage and i have been single with 9 of them for 2 years. i home school them , we have a 100x30 greenhouse we work so i can stay at home and provide adequate supervision and education. sometimes i feel like i am in a class of my own, but it is so much better this way. not being married. it was alot worse married. but i realize my chances of finding a mate that can even remotely understand ...well, i don't think they exist. but it is an intersting topic for me, large families and single parents. what do you think

Whoooooooa. I think you have your hands full. But it also sounds like you have a handle on it, good for you. I have one daughter and run my own remodel business and will try to think of your post everytime I think things are a little hectic. My hat is off to you.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by caroloceans11:

the challenges are about the same as 1. only 10x more!! everything is in shifts, and the laundry is endless. that is why i choose a form of farming so i could be at least on the property working ,so i could supervise the olders whatching the younger. it is simply a matter of management. with all of us ladies(there are 9 of us girls) and 2 boys among us. i lost my oldest 3 months after my divorce to a car accident. thanks for responding. its the first time i have ever posted. i think i even posted on the wrong section ,too

quote:

Originally posted by caroloceans11:
[qb][QUOTE]Originally posted by caroloceans11:

the challenges are about the same as 1. only 10x more!! everything is in shifts, and the laundry is endless. that is why i choose a form of farming so i could be at least on the property working ,so i could supervise the olders whatching the younger. it is simply a matter of management. with all of us ladies(there are 9 of us girls) and 2 boys among us. i lost my oldest 3 months after my divorce to a car accident. thanks for responding. its the first time i have ever posted. i think i even posted on the wrong section ,too[/qb]

Hi

I have a large family also. I have 6 children but when i sepeated I only had 2 left at home. I can't even imagine 11 all at home it was hectic enough with the 6 of mine when they were all at home. It sounds like you are doing an excellent job with it all congratulations and good luck

quote:

Originally posted by caroloceans11:
[qb][QUOTE]Originally posted by caroloceans11:

the challenges are about the same as 1. only 10x more!! everything is in shifts, and the laundry is endless. that is why i choose a form of farming so i could be at least on the property working ,so i could supervise the olders whatching the younger. it is simply a matter of management. with all of us ladies(there are 9 of us girls) and 2 boys among us. i lost my oldest 3 months after my divorce to a car accident. thanks for responding. its the first time i have ever posted. i think i even posted on the wrong section ,too[/qb]

Sorry to hear about your oldest. Still it's obvious that you are going on strong and that is very commendable. I guess as you indicate, having the range of ages helps some, having the older ones help with the younger ones. I've had my daughter with me for just over 3 years now, since just before she turned 8. At least now, we are more into a groove of our schedules with school and work, and thankfully she is quite a responsible 11 year old. With any luck, the teenage years won't be too bad. Oh, and yes I see by your response that you did post in the wrong section, but so be it. Heck, it gave me something to respond to

quote:

Originally posted by dsconstructs:
[qb]

Sorry to hear about your oldest. Still it's obvious that you are going on strong and that is very commendable. I guess as you indicate, having the range of ages helps some, having the older ones help with the younger ones. I've had my daughter with me for just over 3 years now, since just before she turned 8. At least now, we are more into a groove of our schedules with school and work, and thankfully she is quite a responsible 11 year old. With any luck, the teenage years won't be too bad. Oh, and yes I see by your response that you did post in the wrong section, but so be it. Heck, it gave me something to respond to [/qb]

yes, it has been very tough and losing my oldest was the biggest bad/good trip i have ever been on. it only sounds like i am doing good on a post. but all in all it really is nice in the sense that i have all my childrens hearts. that has been my biggest secret to raising youth(teens as some would call) is to keep their hearts. i realized today that i have already gotten 5 children past the 10-12 year range. the "teen" years are not that hard if you have their hearts. big deal,there. thanks for answering. nice outlet

A few words say a lot, having your children's hearts. I know I have my daughter's and hope that it will stay that way in all the coming years. We are close and open with each other, and have already made it through some "maturity" issues that probably normally are not handled by the dad. I just hope it all stays that way.

quote:

Originally posted by dsconstructs:
[qb]A few words say a lot, having your children's hearts. I know I have my daughter's and hope that it will stay that way in all the coming years. We are close and open with each other, and have already made it through some "maturity" issues that probably normally are not handled by the dad. I just hope it all stays that way.[/qb]

your daughter probably appriciates any concern. most kids do, they are not all nutted up over who does what just that it gets done. the parent who gives their heart away to the children is the parent who gets the heart. in your situation, you have it. children are just short, immature adults. we know how we like to be treated and they do to. your daughter will always feel like she can confide in you especially if she feels like her heart is with a safe person. and that could and hopefully is a parent. remember ,often our relationships with one or both parents reflects in future intimate relationships. i really believe that everything i put into the chldren WILL come back around. heard of karma a fantastic investment.

Yes, she is very appreciative of her life nowadays. She is very aware of the difference of where she was 3 years ago, before I got custody, and where she is now. That alone helps greatly. It's just a shame that an 8 then, 11 yr old now, has to be so aware of some of the darker things in life. But I also think it will all help her be stronger in life.
I still commend you for being able to do what you do for so many. That has got to take a pretty big heart. I know that relatively it isn't so hard to do that for just one.

quote:

Originally posted by dsconstructs:
[qb]Yes, she is very appreciative of her life nowadays. She is very aware of the difference of where she was 3 years ago, before I got custody, and where she is now. That alone helps greatly. It's just a shame that an 8 then, 11 yr old now, has to be so aware of some of the darker things in life. But I also think it will all help her be stronger in life.
I still commend you for being able to do what you do for so many. That has got to take a pretty big heart. I know that relatively it isn't so hard to do that for just one.[/qb]

you know, it is a strange thing, how the children who seem to have to grow up faster end up being the sweetest ones. my ex had us living in a bus for 3 years with 9 children(i gave birth to my tenth in that bus) ( we converted a school bus). and only the older ones remember, and believe it or not, i worry that my little ones wont have the grit that the olders do. go figure? now that i am divorced and i have gotten this house and acreage and the business and things are stable the children are secure and with that comes a whole host of stuff. but they don't forget. they know who is the better parent, even though they probably would rather not admit it. children are far more resilianrt than we want to believe because it shows us how much they really can do on their own. my children came up with the down payment on this house by planting 1500 hanging baskets(floral) and selling them. they made 7500 and we used that to buy the house. even the littlest one was helping in the soil bin.
your situation with her sounds nice and simple,keep it that way