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Originally Posted By Kathy G

We are definitely a big family, we have one bio-son, have adopted a sib group of 3 from foster care and are fostering (and hoping to adopt soon) another group of 3. We never planned to have this many, we thought maybe 3 or 4 kids total, but the bio-moms kept having more and the state kept wanting to put siblings together. So we either took the new ones or were faced with loosing the ones we have had and formed attachments with, so here we are. Now the problem is we keep getting "smart remarks" from idiots who say "Why would anyone ever have so many children?"

I think we are doing fine although we do have our struggles. However, it is most difficult to deal with these people when they make these comments in front of the children. Part of the difficulty lies with the ages of our kids, the oldest is 8 and they all stairstep down from there. So it really does "look" like we need to learn about birth control.

Now the question, how do we keep people from looking down their noses at our family without making the children feel an worse? For instance when we go to the grocery store and use our WIC vouchers which are provided for the children by the state. We get comments about having so many children and we "can't even afford to feed them".

If any one has any great come-back for these people please let me know. Otherwise can you please educate your family and friends that things are not always as they seem. We are merely tring to give these kids a family, be it a big family, that they otherwise would not have had. And yes, we do have more children than my husband and I ever dreamed we'd ever have, but when it comes to "too many children", the sad truth is there are still too many children that will always want for a family (big or small) that they wmay never have. So please educate others that there are families like mine that do not need comments about birth control etc. We truly want and love all 7 of ours, and work to care for and provide for each of their needs, then to get these comments from people who have never stepped out of their perfect glass houses into the real world just gets under my skin.

Thanks for letting me vent...
Kathy