Is 4 children a big family?
Since having five or more kids is generally the cutoff point for being considered a “large” family, here are all the ways your parenting will change once you hit that pivotal plus-five milestone.
A plurality (41%) of moms at the end of their childbearing years now report having two kids, while just 14% have four or more children.
The number of kids that feels good to you is of course totally up to personal preference, your parenting style, and a lot of other very individual factors. For our lifestyle, I just love having 4 kids around. An Australian study found that parents with 4 or more kids were the happiest.
Grow your family to at least four children! According to a study out of Australia's Edith Cowan University, parents with the most life satisfaction (which means those who are the happiest) are those that have four or more children.
Logically it may be assumed that the more children a mother has, the more stressed out she will be, but a new study has revealed that this is not the case. In fact, mothers who have three children are the most stressed out - even more so than those who have four, according to a Today.com survey of 7,164 U.S. mothers.
"The survey finds that the majority of respondents believe that two children is the 'ideal' number for family happiness, but the majority of respondents also have two children.
Child number two or three doesn't make a parent happier. And, for mothers, he found, more children appear to make them less happy—although they are happier than childless women. For dads, additional children had no effect on their well-being in his study.
Answer and Explanation: The probability of a woman giving birth to four girls in a row is 1/16.
...
Characteristic | Average number of children per family |
---|---|
2019 | 1.93 |
2018 | 1.9 |
2017 | 1.9 |
2016 | 1.89 |
Some globally conducted studies suggest that families with three or more kids are the happiest.
What is the average family size in the US?
According to the 2021 American Community Survey, average family size has shrunk from 3.20 in 2007 to 3.15 in 2021. There are about 82.5 million families. The U.S. Census Bureau today released estimates showing there were 10.9 million one-parent family groups with a child under the age of 18 in 2022.
In a study conducted by Dr Bronwyn Harman from the Edith Cowan University in Perth, it was found that parents with four or more children are the happiest parents.

In the United States, midsized families (two or three children) are preferred over both larger families (four or more children) and smaller families (no children or one child), with larger families being preferable to not having children at all (Sensibaugh and Yarab 1997).
Based on the study findings, they suggest the optimal time between giving birth and getting pregnant again is 18 months, with a range of 12 to 24 months.
There are no appreciable differences in happiness for women with three or more kids; their levels of happiness are statistically indistinguishable from those of childless women.
When you have four children, they don't have any choice but to share. Kids share their parents' attention, their toys, and often their bedrooms. There are enormous benefits to sharing, too! Kids learn empathy and patience growing up in a home where they need to share.
A TODAYMoms.com survey of more that 7,000 mothers found that the least stressful number of kids is four, while the most stressful number is three.
According to some random online survey, the most stressful number of kids to have is three. In fact, having four is supposed to be less stressful than three kids.
According to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Western University in Canada, having a third baby won't make you any happier. While parents' happiness increases in the year before and after the first and second children, the birth of third children doesn't see the same increased happiness.
- Two girls.
- One boy and one girl.
- Two boys.
- Three girls.
- Three boys.
- Four boys.
- Two girls and one boy.
- Two boys and one girl.
Is two or three kids harder?
From my experience, adding a third child wasn't really that much harder than having two. If anything, I was busier, but we were already in baby/toddler mode to begin with. It was definitely an easier transition than having my first baby was. There was a lot less stress involved.
Having three kids is the most stressful.
A “Today Show” survey reported that having three children is actually the most stressful number for parents. This is bad news if you're thinking of stopping at three kids. But it's good news if you're planning on having even more children.
It's subtle, but it seems the more siblings a person has, the likelier they are to be happy. Sibling related happiness seems to even out past three siblings, but it's interesting to note that that the “3” response group also features the largest “Unhappy” response.
According to research, a woman can have somewhere around 15 to 30 babies in her lifetime.
P(B): The probability of having at least one boy = 1 - probability of having five girls = 1 - (1/2)⁵ = 31/32.
My general response is that it's a 50/50 chance that a woman will have a boy or a girl. But that's not exactly true – there's actually a slight bias toward male births. The ratio of male to female births, called the sex ratio, is about 105 to 100, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Two children. Research suggests that having two children is still most people's idea of the 'ideal' family size.
Most families have one or two children, but Utah has the most kids per family and New Hampshire has the lowest.
A family is said to be large when it has three children or more.
- Make It Fun.
- Start Young.
- Measure Time.
- Create a Family Calendar.
- Create Individual Calendars.
- Stay on Task.
- Don't Overschedule.
- Schedule Free Time.
Are bigger families happier?
After three, you just stop stressing. Another study confirms that parents with four or more children are the least stressed, especially when compared to parents with three kids. Those fears with the first child get less and less as you go along. Turns out, four is the magic number for less stress and more happiness.
- Start a budget and keep it updated. ...
- Put your bills on autopay. ...
- Take advantage of tax breaks and government programs. ...
- Learn how to say “no” ...
- Join up with other single moms. ...
- Try a sleepover exchange. ...
- Start or join a carpool share. ...
- Rely on close family members.
One study estimated a woman can have around 15 pregnancies in a lifetime. And depending on how many babies she births for each pregnancy, she'd probably have around 15-30 children.
In 2018, U.S. woman had 1.7 children on average. Data sources: Economic History Association; National Vital Statistics Report from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Around the world, the average person lives in a household of 4.9 people, but this number is much bigger in the sub-Saharan Africa (6.9 people) and Middle East-North Africa regions (6.2), and is smallest in North America (3.3) and Europe (3.1).
Three-child policy (Chinese: 三孩政策; pinyin: Sānhái Zhèngcè), whereby a couple can have three children, was a family planning policy in the People's Republic of China.
Fourth born children often develop the ability to deal well with people. This is probably a result of having to deal with all of those personality types growing up. They may also be great thinkers and able to manage challenging situations. They may also become analytical, hard workers and they can be pushy or passive.
Some parents cite religious or cultural reasons for having many children. Some say they just love kids and feel they can provide a big family with a stable, loving home. Some want to help a child in need so they add to their biological families through adoption.
There are pros and cons to both, but according to a study on happiness in family life, those who are in larger families are happier. " … members of large families say they are more satisfied with their lives than others and that they think they have stronger personal relationships than most people."
Cohabiting Couples – Fastest Growing Family Type.
What is the hardest age gap between siblings?
A 2-Year Age Gap
Sibling rivalry is strongest during these years and parents are often already struggling with a toddler who is developing a strong sense of identity and loves to use the word “No!”
Anything over 5 years is considered a large age gap. This could be planned or is sometimes a whoopsie or just situational, such as children from different relationships. A larger age gap doesn't mean siblings can't be close, it is just will be a different type of relationship.
Medium gap (two to four years)
You'll be (mostly) up-to-date with your knowledge about all things baby-related. You can save cash by re-using the baby equipment your first child doesn't need any more. It's the most common age gap so your mum friends are likely to have second children at a similar time too.
A nuclear family, elementary family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger extended family, or a family with more than two parents.
Some globally conducted studies suggest that families with three or more kids are the happiest.
Two children. Research suggests that having two children is still most people's idea of the 'ideal' family size.
A family is said to be large when it has three children or more.
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem and joint families.
Extended family households are most common globally
Around the world, extended family arrangements are the most common, accounting for 38% of all people. This is followed by two-parent households – where two adults live with minor children – which account for 33% of the world's population.
As of 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau counted about 83.9 million families in the United States. The average family consisted of 3.13 persons in 2021, down from 3.7 in the 1960s. This is reflected in the decrease of. In 1970, about 56 percent of all family households had children under the age of 18 living in the household ...
How many kids can you safely have?
According to doctors, just after 5 vaginal deliveries or even 3 c-sections, the woman's body does become weak. The risk of uterine rupture and bladder injuries is high and so is the chance of abnormal placentation and ectopic pregnancy.