What's the record on children born of one marriage?

[mrmitchell]

My sister is married to someone who has 13 siblings. Most have their college degrees. They're good people. It's no big deal.

Yeah, if the family can handle their responsibility, more power to 'em

Jim Holt (the guy that failed in his Republican run for US Senator-AR last year), IIRC, also has a lot of kids (though not anywhere near 16.)

Both of these families are on pretty limited incomes--the pay for being an Arkansas state senator is around $14,000 a session, and one of them (Holt or Duggars) doesn't have another job. I'm sure the wife pitches in but either way they're both saving every last penny as I understand things.

And they should be. You thought paying college for one kid was bad...

[Lancer]

Looks like a fine family to me...

I wonder if she had a few at a time along the way. Two of the youngest boys look about the same age. Same goes for the boy and girl in front of mom. Also, the boy at bottom right and the boy just above him that sis has a hand full of.

Hard to tell. Now I'm seeing other possible combos, but they can't be much apart in age so it's hard to tell.

[DanS]

In Arkansas, you could build a 7,000 square foot home for pretty cheap, if you were doing the work yourself. Providing for such a large family is quite doable in most areas of the US.

[Lul Thyme]

Hell my mother had 12 siblings (they were 13), all from the same parents. That was almost normal back then. No big deal.

[Lancer]

How many were DLs?

[Dinner]

There has to be an old time case where a couple gets married at 13 or something and doesn't stop breeding until they drop. That could be especially bad if the woman has a lot of multiples (like twins or triplets).

[mrmitchell]

In Arkansas, you could build a 7,000 square foot home for pretty cheap, if you were doing the work yourself. Providing for such a large family is quite doable in most areas of the US.

In Arkansas with food stamps, welfare, and government housing, I bet you could live off $10 a month.

There's a damn waiting list for people to come on down to Camden and live in them...any Californian or other wealthy-location-citizen that doesn't understand, these people are not going to fall under financial ruin if they keep pumping out babies. Other implications of living with 15 siblings are probably worth considering, but the economics (except for paying for college) isn't a limit down here.

[DanS]

Even without government assistance, I bet these folks are living just fine.

College isn't a big deal either. That's where a little bit of gov't assistance comes in.

[Dinner]

There are some weird people in this world seeking records.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=14608739&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=the-50-weirdest-guinness-world-records-name_page.html

I couldn't find a record for the most number of children by a single couple though.

[Lancer]

In the Phils, not far from our home there's a family with 10 kids so far. No safety net... We send over extra food once in a while as do other families that have something extra to give. Still, it must be very difficult.

The father is a security guard and the mother runs a little sari sari store.

The margin of survival for the third world is so thin. Still, they are so happy...

[Dinner]

You'd need food stamps to pay for the food that many mouths would eat and I doubt he could make enough to pay for everything without being a welfare spunge. Land isn't an issue if you move far enough out there and you wouldn't need much of a job since welfare is paying for their inability to figure out how to use birth control.

Hell, I'm sure the government still has land in Alaska or New Mexico or something which it will give away to anyone crazy enough to settle on it. Some where on the southeast coast of Alaska wouldn't be so bad and the Jesus freaks could hide themselves away quietly out breeding all other forms of life.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Lancer
In the Phils, not far from our home there's a family with 10 kids so far. No safety net... We send over extra food once in a while as do other families that have something extra to give. Still, it must be very difficult.

The father is a security guard and the mother runs a little sari sari store.

The margin of survival for the third world is so thin. Still, they are so happy...

In the third world it is considered a safety net to have kids. That way if anyone gets sick or injured then there is someone to take them in. Or if the parents get old and want to retire then you have lots of kids to support hem.

[DanS]

You'd need food stamps to pay for the food that many mouths would eat and I doubt he could make enough to pay for everything without being a welfare spunge. Land isn't an issue if you move far enough out there and you wouldn't need much of a job since welfare is paying for their inability to figure out how to use birth control.

I don't think you have a good idea about their situation, dude. You live in San Diego, where things cost a lot of money. They live in Arkansas, where things don't cost a lot of money.

[Lancer]

"In the third world it is considered a safety net to have kids. That way if anyone gets sick or injured then there is someone to take them in. Or if the parents get old and want to retire then you have lots of kids to support hem."

Yes that's true. Things are changing though. Less large families around.

One thing though, it's nice having lots of kids around, playing games in the streets and such. Reminds me of when I was growing up. The Sullivans down the street from me had 12 kids! We played stick ball and they were they're own team. Hardly any kids where I live now. For one thing white people don't have them much anymore and Oregon is white, and for another the parents are too scared to let them play outside because society is so screwed up.

[mrmitchell]

You'd need food stamps to pay for the food that many mouths would eat and I doubt he could make enough to pay for everything without being a welfare spunge. Land isn't an issue if you move far enough out there and you wouldn't need much of a job since welfare is paying for their inability to figure out how to use birth control.

No, Jim Bob Duggars isn't on any assistance. My post just said he could be, and a lot of people come here specifically to get on it. I guess it wasn't totally lined up with the rest of the thread but I can jack my own thread if I want.

And DanS is right...you just don't understand how cheap things are out here. I complain about people moving here but it's better than living in CA and spending way too much on everything.

Some house value data for Pine Bluff:

Single-family new house construction building permits:
1996: 50 buildings, average cost: $32,300
1997: 55 buildings, average cost: $35,700
1998: 56 buildings, average cost: $59,300
1999: 50 buildings, average cost: $37,400
2000: 50 buildings, average cost: $38,100
2001: 69 buildings, average cost: $96,100
2002: 55 buildings, average cost: $50,600
2003: 57 buildings, average cost: $32,400