Do you ever fight with your siblings over who gets to use the bathroom first in the morning? Have you ever asked for a new dress? Have you ever spent a day out with your family? All these situations are common for average families but when you have six, seven, ten kids, everything is much bigger. Getting everyone ready in the morning can be harder than a military operation, and trying to balance the accounts can be difficult when you spend £1000 a month on clothes or £40 for having a cheap meal out. Big Family Values shows the everyday life of big families, with their joys and sorrows.

The first episode compares the lives of three big families in the UK. Finding time for housework and staying with your kids can be really challenging when you work ten hours per day six days a week, as Corrine testifies. Single mum of 7 children, living in a small house in North London, she struggles every day to make her living and give her family a sense of normality. While space is what the Kelly’s want for their 6 kids: they believe that living in the countryside is the best place to grow up. In Louise and Clive’s family in Lancashire ‘Every day is wash day’, even if the mum is ‘pretty organized.’

What apparently looks like an extreme situation is normal for these big families. Although it could be stressful to maintain a balance, feed a large family and even take some time for yourself, these parents are determined: they want only the best for their kids. Listening to one of the ten sons showing his gratitude for his parents’ devotion could make us think that maybe happiness can be achieved even if you don’t get everything you desire.

Eleonora Peruch

Image Credit: Radio Times