Do large families beget large families?

Yesterday at church I saw George and his wife Kelly. We don't see them too often because they live in Clarkston, but they come up to Flint on occasion because his dad attends our church. George and Kelly have six children: four boys, a girl, and then another boy. The oldest is 16 and the youngest is two. After Mass, George and I got to talking (because we have a little something in common), and he told me something that really surprised me. He said that when he and Kelly had first gotten married, they hadn't wanted any children at all! But then his wife decided that if they were going to have any, they should get started and have them early. Once they started coming, they actually enjoyed it. He did admit that he would be happy to have had just five, while Kelly would have gladly had eight.

This got me thinking about the children of large families. Will they go on to have large families of their own? George is one of six, and he had six, but I think his brothers and sisters have three or four each. I am one of four, and my wife is one of two. We began this journey with no particular number in mind. My older sister is married to a man who is one of 17 children. (Yes, seventeen.) None of the seventeen rival their parents, but a few have 10 or 12. I'd say the average runs about seven or eight per family.

Of course, we are all practicing Catholics. That does not mean that we have to reproduce like rabbits. If there are serious reasons to space children, like joblessness or health issues, we can practice Natural Family Planning (NFP). It actually does work, (when we follow the rules. We just throw caution to wind sometimes.). Other than that, we are simply open to the possibility of creating a new life. It is our belief that this is the most complete form of the giving of oneself to another.

But I was wondering about our own children. Do I hope that my kids will have large families? My main hope is that they will be open to however many God chooses to send them, whether it is one or a dozen. I think that some people can be just as militant about having kids and s
ome are about not having them. I think a child is a gift and a responsibility, not a right.

I think that some young people who come from large families are put off by having a large family of their own because they saw how much hassle and hard work went into it. Oftentimes it seems that only-children or people from small families are the ones who want a brood. My wife and I can influence our children's attitudes about family by letting them see in the everyday things that we do that we are glad they are in our lives and that this is what life is truly about.

For the record, I'd like a big bunch of grandchildren!