Richard Richardson68 said:Like I said, though... man, I’d really love to hear it too. Just... if it ever happens.
while guys with five kids under their belts have nothing better to do than hang out on this forum since we all know most people are just scrolling through this stuff on their lunch break at work
Richard Richardson68 said:Or put it this way: you're better off having one or two standout examples rather than five mediocre ones (and I mean mediocre in terms of resources and gear, obviously, not necessarily their manners or brains...).
honestly, I have no idea where you're getting that from
Of course there are women out there whose dream is to have a huge family—and hey, good for them if they're working toward that
I’m not saying it doesn't happen, but trying to push it as this "ideal" standard for everyone? It’s just plain ridiculous
People can find fulfillment in so many different ways and through all sorts of paths. Forcing one specific lifestyle on everyone as the only "right" way to live is honestly pretty laughable
I mean, there’s really no point in me sitting here preaching about the struggles of multiple pregnancies or having a massive family... let the women who have actually lived through it
Karen Rodriguez3 said:👍 Back in the day, having five kids was one thing when most people lived in tight-knit communities where there were always at least three or four other women around to help with the house and the kids while the men did the heavy lifting. I mean, wealthy families always had nannies, obviously. But now? Now it's standard for couples to live on their own, and usually, both partners are working at least eight hours a day. It's not even the same thing—it's basically an impossible mission.
Plus, I feel like as we've raised the bar on parenting—thanks to everyone actually realizing how much early childhood shapes your entire life—we've started prioritizing quality over quantity.
It's honestly better to have one or two kids who get your full attention rather than a whole pack where everyone just gets the leftovers.
And we all know the deal with massive families—kids pretty much end up raising themselves... or just raising each other, anyway, because parents simply don't have the bandwidth or the energy to give every single kid the individual focus they really need.
Richard Richardson68 said:In this modern day and age, they're already shoving baby bottles into infants after like ten days, and then you've got these dads jumping for joy like it's nothing.🙂
Honestly, there's such a massive outcry and smear campaign against formula lately... it's like women who don't breastfeed are immediately branded as "bad moms" or just total failures.
If you look at some of the attacks on women who don't nurse over on the parenting forums, it's basically turned into a political issue at this point.
I even heard someone suggest they should pull formula off the shelves at Target and make it prescription-only through pharmacies.
I’m telling you, you’re totally romanticizing the whole thing—you honestly have no clue what this looks like from a woman’s perspective.
I was watching this documentary about moms with big families lately,
and man, these women are just completely spent. They’re running on maybe a few hours of sleep, totally drained and chronically exhausted. They're basically pushed to the absolute limit, both physically and mentally. They can't even afford to have a breakdown because if they do, the entire household just collapses... plus, they know they've got years of this ahead of them until the kids are finally grown.
But nobody ever talks about it. It’s like a total taboo.
Richard Richardson68 said:Look, I'm a guy, but if I were a woman dealing with this, I wouldn't have a single kid by now😁
Is that maybe why people think this way?
Well, since you're a guy, you won't exactly be dealing with milk production—so no middle-of-the-night nursing sessions for you. And honestly, no matter how much of an optimist you think you are, your body isn't going through the physical exhaustion of pregnancy. You'll just be standing there watching from the sidelines while your better half goes through the whole ordeal.
Look, folks, we aren't talking philosophy here... this is straight-up math
If one person is running about one load of laundry a week... two people are looking at maybe 2 or 3 loads Now, if you throw a kid into the mix, you’re adding another two loads a week—because kids basically live in dirty clothes
So, you just multiply that by the number of kids you've got
A family with five kids is dealing with at least one massive mountain of laundry every single day—wash it, hang it, fold it, and shove it all back into closets And that’s just the laundry, nothing else
It’s pretty much the same deal with almost everything else in a household that happens on a daily basis
Richard Richardson68 said:Look, I'm a guy, but if I were a woman dealing with this, I wouldn't have a single kid by now😁
Is that maybe why people think this way?
Honestly, if you’ve actually seen how a massive family operates up close, you’d realize it’s just daily grind stuff... it’s not some romanticized dream where a huge family somehow sustains itself while a bunch of little elves handle the cooking, cleaning, and earning the paycheck while everyone else naps.
Richard Richardson68 said:Look, if I could actually pull off having four kids, why would I even stop at that? Why break the streak? 😁
I know people where even one kid is way too much. They’re just totally lost in space and time. Their lives are a complete disaster zone of bad organization, zero free time, and nothing but constant complaining and misery...
So, how many kids do you actually have? And if you do, what's your actual role in their lives—how much are you really stepping up when it comes to the day-to-day grind and the actual parenting part?
If you actually want a big family, one parent basically has to grind all day long while the other is stuck at home 24/7—cooking, cleaning, tidying up, just handling everything single-handedly
Kids aren't cheap, let's get that straight I’m not saying they need to be spoiled brats with iPhones since they were in diapers but, say, they need new shoes constantly because they grow out of them so fast plus clothes and everyone needs their own bed—and if you want them to have their own beds (not even kidding, they'll eventually need their own rooms or at least a desk for school), you need actual space, which means a massive house or an apartment and if you want to fit everyone in the car for a trip, you're looking at a huge SUV or maybe a Ford Transit van😁 None of this is "bourgeoisie" nonsense; it’s just basic necessity if you're aiming for a large family
And I don't even want to get into what happens when one of those kids gets sick and you're stuck hovering over them indefinitely
Realistically, having kids takes a ton of energy, time, and love... especially when there are a lot of them. At that point, it becomes a 24/7 battle
But how would the guy know? He's at the office while the biggest "battle" is happening at home... he's the one sleeping while the baby cries through the night... he's the one watching from the sidelines while his wife pushes herself to the absolute limit through endless pregnancies
And yeah, a woman who is constantly pregnant or breastfeeding can't really hold down a job, let alone build a career... so the other partner has to earn double to feed everyone... which means working harder and longer, only to come home wired and exhausted, collapsing onto the couch
Anyway... it's the kind of life everyone claims they want
It’s funny how guys always seem to jump in just to lecture you on why having five kids is the absolute dream—not only is it "great," but they act like it’s somehow selfish if you don't aim for at least five
Honestly, if one of them tried that with me, I’d just tell them to go ahead and have the first one, then I'll handle the other four myself
brisktiger56 said:That’s more of a DM kind of question—everything on the internet is a secret, anyway😉. Nicknames exist specifically so people can dodge using their real names... which basically makes this forum feel like one big masquerade ball . There’s this old song from way back... I can barely recall the lyrics through the mental fog... but Google knows it. The chorus goes something like this, and it was posted here.
Life is a masquerade, everyone hides if they aren't sure of themselves.. Life is a masquerade, people are wrong, it's easier to live under someone else's mask...
Some girl wrote a blog post adding this bit:
I just happened to turn on the radio... purely out of boredom... When suddenly, this amazing song comes on, "Life is a masquerade"! It made me stop and think... We all want to be someone, we want to be somebody sometimes, we want to be loved and respected like someone important...
That’s what you call hypocrisy... trying to be both an angel and a devil at once... Honestly, it's just nonsense. There are very few people on this Earth who are actually WHO THEY ARE! It’s better... obviously... To be yourself than to hide behind some mask and pretend to be something you're not... And I've said it a billion times: I'D RATHER BE HATED FOR WHO I AM THAN LOVED FOR WHO I'M NOT!!!! And I'm sticking to that! What makes anyone better than me?
Nothing, really...
I wasn't asking for a home address or anything, just which country
Like, what if some girl is in the States and I try to ask her out on a date 😁
Anyway, whatever... I'll stop derailing the thread
Sam Hayes said:Hehe, I really wish I could tag along with you—if only I lived in New York City instead! 😁 I actually made it out there this past winter, and honestly, it was pretty cool 👍
so where are you based if you don't mind me asking
Sam Hayes said:No, I don't truly believe it would help me—I don't think anyone can help me at this point, I guess😂 It would certainly be nice, though—that much is for sure.😁
It probably wouldn't do much for the long haul, but man, it would be killer in the short term.
You coming with me? I stare at that moon through my window every single night—just out there, staring back—basically trying to convince every living thing to come along for the ride. But apparently, grown adults don't really vibe with "going to the moon" or whatever... and honestly, screaming into the void by myself isn't exactly my idea of a good time. 😁
So? We doing this? Let's go—time to make some noise.
It’ll kill you—you'll get there eventually, just later. 🤣
swiftmarlin72 said:Look, I’m speaking for myself here, but honestly? It’s probably true for everyone else too... we all have our own jobs, our own lives, our own messes to deal with—plus, we're sports fans, which basically makes us the biggest headache the country has to deal with. I already mentioned this, but you really need to call people out or at least drop a reminder here. People just get lost in the shuffle sometimes... take it as some friendly advice from me.
Hey, I've got my own life and my own stuff going on too, and I don't plan on bothering anyone or dragging them along by the arm.
This is just a heads-up that the drive is still active (and it wasn't just posted here—it's been shared on other forums where people were actually showing interest before)