Do you think most couples with 5 or more kids set out to have as many as they do....or do they just not use birth control and wind up having a boatload of offspring?

Honestly, when I see that many, I take in details. Are the kids dressed ok? Do the look unkempt? I do judge based on how the kiddos appear. I think that a lot of people do seek that many, and Bless 'em. But there are other groups, most often, his, mine and ours that are not projecting that anything in that mix was really planned.

Depends. I think some set out of have that many and with others, it just happens. At the school I worked at last year, there were a lot of large families. The men in the communities where many of this kids came from were pretty transient and bed hopped a lot, leaving children and significant others behind most times. The kids had aunts an d uncles their own age and younger and most were related. When two kids in the community want t date, they have to check and make sure they aren't related. Some of the parents just pop out these kids and farm them out to relatives and there's a high rate of alcoholism and children born with fetal alcohol effects.

from people i know/knew, with a lot of kids, don't plan on having that many

It really depends. Some people want large families and either actively breed or may just let nature take it's course. If you have 5 or more kids without meaning to though? It's one thing if they wanted 4 and the 5th was a "surprise" but if every year or so it's, "oops, we're having another baby."

I work with a guy who has six kids; the last few times his wife was pregnant, he would sort of casually throw it out that 'she's pregnant again.' The last time someone asked him if it was planned, and he sort of cynically shook his head no.

I mean, I don't know. I can only put myself in the scenario to say that I can't see myself planning another one after number three.

"Accidents cause people"

I know lots of big families. For most of them, it's a mixture of planned and letting nature take it's course. I know one family that had 16. I can definitely say that was planned cause the mother gave God an ultimatum and he really took her seriously.

And FTR, all the big families I know dress the kids VERY well. Big families are a blessing.

Beats the hell out of me which way it goes, last week at the library I was behind a family with six kids ranging from 2 teenagers, to three ten and under and a baby...and I was thinking 'huh, that's rare' it is around here anyway, I think the norm is somewhere between 3 and 4 kids.

A friend of mine has 6 boys. They wanted 5 children, the sixth was to try for a girl.

Tony Marino wrote:

A friend of mine has 6 boys. They wanted 5 children, the sixth was to try for a girl.

Damn, how the hell do you get 6 boys in a row?

Supernova wrote:

Tony Marino wrote:

A friend of mine has 6 boys. They wanted 5 children, the sixth was to try for a girl.

Damn, how the hell do you get 6 boys in a row?

LOL thats what he said too!! Boys run dominant in his family, he comes from a family of 4 boys his mom wanted a girl but she got all sons!

I dunno. It depends. I just think there isn't any reason to keep having babies when/if you can't afford to.