How to Raise Children En Masse When You Have Many Children
I don’t know how you do it, this is what the parents of many children often hear, say three or more.
The truth is, sometimes they don’t know either, but they do, and along the way, they’ve picked up some tricks and tactics. Here’s what some do to save time, energy, and sanity in their full houses. (Or at least time and energy. As my friend Laura, a mother of four, tells me: “There is no sanity to be saved”).
Color code for everything
Don’t your kids have a favorite color? Now they do it. To avoid confusion, fights, and washing (oh, how much washing), color everything from dishes to toothbrushes and assign a color to each member of your tribe. Here’s a nifty hack from Design Mom : Sew a loop of ribbon to your bath towels so you can hang them on wall hooks that are superior to towel racks when it comes to slipping and saving space.
Make your kitchen kid-friendly
Children can do a lot on their own if they can reach and access things. After they all pass the toddler tornado stage, stock up on kitchen utensils at their level – plates, cups and utensils can be placed in the low cabinet, while healthy snacks and small jugs of milk can be stored on the lower levels in the refrigerator. For cereals and muesli, you can even purchase one of these dry food dispensers, which you will find at the hotel’s breakfast buffet. It’s not exactly a hassle-free solution, but it’s less scary than watching a four-year-old pour a giant box of Kix.
Use commercial gear
On an online parenting group, a mom wrote that she was installing huge Kimberly-Clark toilet paper dispensers in her bathrooms, just like the ones you see in public toilets. Bulk boxes of giant rolls of toilet paper are much cheaper than Charmin packs at the grocery store, and you only have to change a fraction less. When I read this idea, I was amazed. This mother has clearly reached the level of DGAF that we can all aspire to.
Strategic systems are the key to success
When you have a lot of children, you need to create a sense of order so as not to drown. This applies to the morning hustle and bustle, sleep and washing, especially washing. Parents have developed many different systems that work for their large families: a “shelf and basket system” that uses “ laundry tubs ” for sorting and an extremely detailed weekly wash schedule . Laundry is a daunting task and you need a plan.
Have a shared sock drawer
If you have kids who aren’t very different in foot size, buy a bunch of matching socks and keep them in one drawer so anyone can grab a pair and leave at any time. No more stress from socks. Really.
Schedule all of their yearly checkups on the same day
Here’s a tip from blogger Kristen Howerton, mom of four: “Ignore the annual birthday exams and just take them once a year at the same time. Or maybe once every two years if no one thinks they are going to die. ” It is also suitable for vision and dental examinations.
Every child goes to bed at the same time
Several of the many moms said that it helps me a lot to put all the kids to bed at the same time. If you have older children who cannot sleep at, say, 8 pm, they can read peacefully in their room. When there are multiple children, adult decompression times are of paramount importance.
Let go of any idea of perfection
Everything will be crazy, wonderful and crazy again. Embrace chaos.