Gre up in large family? Did you have much one on one time with MOM or DAD?

Question

Those of you that grew up in a large family: did you have alot of one on one time with Mom and Dad? If so, do you think that this effected your interpersonal skills as you were growing up? Did you have to fight to be noticed? Did you feel like the lack of direct conversation with your parents made it harder to communicate with other people in life? Should parents in large families spend time individually with their kids, or would that create jealousy?

(Why am I asking this? To better understand the relationship my wife has with people due to her isolation as a child as part of a huge family.)

Answer 1

I came from a large family(15 children). I dont think any child has alot of one on one time but when we did get it it was great. My Mother and Father tried to do it as much as possilbe and always made us feel special. Jealousy rarely played a part in our growing up. I think I am more open to people and ideas. It seems to have made most of my family more open and friendly. One example of the time spent with Mom and Dad was on Friday night shopping trips. They always took just 2 of us with them and we went out to eat and got alone time with them. I would not change a thing about my childhood.

Answer 2

Coming from a large family and not having much one on one with a parent actually has nothing to do with relationships one has with others. But it could cause other issues, both good and bad.

I have 10 children, we are a very social family, very involved with our community and our church. Our children are very social and have wonderful, active lives. Sports, faith, Youth Group, friends here, going to friends houses, relatives, cousins, etc. However, we don't get a lot of one on one and have to focus our attention on the youngest or whoever needs us the most at the time.

Your wife might have issues that are not even remotely due to a large family. There might have been problems in the family. I come from a large family, my cousins and friends come from large families (Catholic and Italian), I have found that as adults we are all active, productive and very emotionally healthy. So there must be other issues there that you might not be considering.

Answer 3

uh well i live with my little sis and little brother and 3 stepbrothers and 2 of my cousins live with us but i think that it depends on the parents cause my dad trys to talk with each individually but since were all teens except my little sister he mostly hangs with her which we dont really care cause we have friends to hang out with and stuf i thnk when ur younger u want to hang out with ur parents but when ur a teen then not so much probably.