I'm especially interested in large families. How do you manage to get everything done: get everyone…

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I'm especially interested in large families. How do you manage to get everything done: get everyone ready, feed them, drive them to activities, help with homework, make dinner, sort through clothes, and so on? I have two kids, and I feel like I can't get anything done... Of course, it would be easier if it weren't for music school and extracurriculars, but then again, how can they not go?
Сейчас мы в гостях у родителей мужа, а в том же доме живет его сестра с дочкой. Девочке 13 лет. Она…
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Ekaterina
Who said we have time 😂
Right now, while they're still little ones, I don't have time for anything, especially when they have colic 24/7... But if they sleep well during the day, I do everything quickly then, or if they wake up, I put them in the bouncer and bring them to the kitchen with me to keep cooking and stuff....
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Nadezda
They go to their clubs on their own. They sort their clothes, get ready, and can even make dinner.
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Agapova Inna
My oldest has school in the morning. My middle and oldest have after-school activities in the evening. During the day, it's homework and cooking while the youngest sleeps. And the main factor – it's not just me with a big family, my husband is one too. 😀
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Talantseva Evgeniya
I had everything close by, I walked to school and clubs myself from the 1st grade, and did my homework by myself, without help. Now my son only has kindergarten and clubs every day, and we do homework together. I also take him around, and my husband helps out sometimes, but it's already difficult, and school hasn't even started yet.
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Elena
They go to school and come back on their own. The after-school activities are not far from home, in the same neighborhood. They do their homework themselves, ask if something is unclear, get their own clothes from the hanger and put them away in their closets, clean their rooms, heat up their own food, and wash their own dishes afterward. Cooking takes 1.5-2 hours, that's if you're rolling dough and not stepping away. And there's no way to get everything done!
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Zuhurova Shabnam
They walk by themselves, everything is within walking distance, I don't drive anyone around.
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Talantseva Evgeniya
Talantseva Evgeniya By the way, my sister has a lot of kids. They're very independent, she works, and they do everything themselves. She has a first grader, and kids in 7th and 9th grade 🫠 I'm amazed, she also goes to dance and fitness classes.
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Svetlana Kovshova
Things are crazy here. We moved, and it seemed like we thought of everything – school and daycare within walking distance. But there isn't a single damn club nearby, we have to drive everywhere! 😄 I have to drive the older one, the little one got sick, I'm falling apart, and I have no idea where I'll put the third one, and we don't have a car yet, ugh.....
So my husband took the older one, and I called a taxi for her to get home from the club.
When we lived near the clubs, I used to send one of them to walk everywhere.
Dinners and ironing are sacred 😄
Everything else can wait....
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bagan kristina
Talantseva Evgeniya And how are the kids doing in school?
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Talantseva Evgeniya
Talantseva Evgeniya It's okay, all three of mine got good grades, though it's still early to judge the youngest since he just started.
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Ekaterina
I thought it would be easy, my older kids are independent. But it turns out it's not that simple
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Ekaterina
I have one, and I'm still working. All the classes are on the weekends. He goes purely for development — chess, boxing, programming. My husband and I have no weekends 😩 I'm so tired.
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Ekaterina Barinova
Ekaterina Oh yes, I wanted to go on my second maternity leave so quickly, but I don't know how to go back to work and continue developing the kids once I'm out. I don't have any help nearby, but staying home is also really boring.
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bagan kristina
Svetlana Kovshova Oh yeah, if everything was close to home, it would already be much easier, but no, I have to go all the way to the middle of nowhere...
It's good that the taxi driver agreed, not all of them agree to drive a child alone.
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Ekaterina Berezanskaya
Easy peasy, because it's not just me who has a big family, but my husband too:
1) The older kids did and still do their homework themselves; they only needed our help occasionally, while the younger ones are looked after by specialists (a tutor + a teacher).
So there are no major problems, everything runs smoothly like clockwork. And if my parents offer to help with driving or accompanying the kids to competitions, it's like a fairy tale.
2) Regarding food: 50% of the time we order food or eat out, and the other 50% we cook together, 25% each, so I don't spend all day at the stove. Besides, the older kids can easily make themselves a snack independently – cook or order it themselves.
3) My husband and I have a clear schedule for driving the kids to their activities, specifying who goes where, when, and whom.
And again, the older ones can get there on their own, using a taxi or public transport.
4) My husband and I pack the kids' bags together + the kids are taught or are learning (the younger ones) to be tidy and independent. The older sons can iron their own uniforms, put clothes in the wash, change their bedsheets, etc.

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Ekaterina
Ekaterina I definitely don't want to go on maternity leave, no matter the perks. I need to raise one child and make them a person. My nervous system is shot
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Evgeniya
My eldest has been getting around on her own since she was 11, though I'd meet her at the bus stop if it was dark. I take the youngest with me while we wait for our middle one to finish her classes. I haven't really touched homework in a while either, unless she doesn't understand something and asks for help. I cook meals for 2-3 days at a time. Getting a dishwasher has made life so much easier! The only thing I can't keep up with is the laundry. Before one load is dry, another pile has already built up. By the time I've washed that, and it's drying, another pile is ready. We changed the bedding, and that was a disaster! I'm going to get a dryer; I hope it saves me. And I really love Saturdays and Sundays when none of the kids have to go anywhere!)
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Ekaterina Barinova
Ekaterina You know, it's not even about managing everything. It's more like, whatever I get done, I get done. Work isn't everything, as they say. But my health declined after my second child, and I just can't seem to recover. The accumulated fatigue is really taking a toll now, and I wonder how women have so many kids. Sometimes I think my body was only programmed for one. Even though both pregnancies were planned and I prepared for them.
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