Balancing Love, Time, and Resources in Parenting

The role of a family in our society and in the lives of each individual can't be overstated, because it plays a significant role in binding us together, regardless of how large or small a family is. Its impact is still enormous, and that's why you see almost everyone is trying to start their own family almost every weekend, be it a polygamous or monogamous family. What matters is the love and shared experience, and in this article I'll be telling you about my preferred type of family.

To start with, it's worth noting that being in a polygamous family doesn't necessarily mean it'll be a large family. I can vividly remember one of our neighbors who got married to three wives, and, despite the amount of wives he had, all his children are just 5, making a total of a family of 9; meanwhile, another neighbor of ours who practices monogamy gave birth to nine children on their own, making a total of a family of 11 for them.

Although I'm not a fan of polygamous family practice, I felt I should chip that in, so we won't all just conclude that polygamy insulates a large family, but then talking about a large or small family, I don't think there's any measurements or standard amount of individuals a family must have that'll make us refer to them as a large or small family, but then after checking Google to see the standard set by the society, I guess my immediate family can be called a large family.

Although I would have preferred to call it a medium family, I'm from a family of five children, with both parents, that totaled us to 7, which, while growing up, I believe is large, but then I've come across families with far more individuals in that household. I remember a friend of mine who was from a family of 27; I was like, Wow, how do you keep up or even recognize one another? That's like a community on its own.

It's not like I'm discriminating against them; it just seems too large in my opinion. I mean, even I used to question why my parents had five children while growing up, although now I've grown to love all my siblings, but then,
It can be annoying seeing how we sometimes struggle, and I can't help but wonder if life would have been fairer if we weren't as much as we are, but then, like I said, I love my family, and those initials thought they were that of a child who just wanted the best for himself.

But then, talking about my personal opinion on family, I, for one, want a compact family. I mean, left to me, I don't want more than two children, but I understand some women or people used to want more, and that's why I can slightly give room for one more to total the numbers of my children to three. I understand children are a blessing from God and give us joy, but then I just want a situation where my kids aren't too much.

Regardless of if I'm wealthy or not, I won't be going overboard on that decision. Well, let me not sound certain because of an unexpected occurrence in a situation where my wife gives birth to twins or triplets after I've had our one or two children, because that'll kind of just increase the population of the family, but then left for me, I don't want more than three children.

I want a situation where my children are not too much, and I can have time to cater to them while still having enough time to myself and my parents. When it comes to parenting, money isn't everything that you need to cater to your children; it also demands your time, attention, and more. Having a large number of children will continuously reduce the time you can have to yourself; with few children, when they're grown, you'll have much time for you and your partner to live life again to the fullest.

All photos are mine.