Mum says she copes with huge family by wearing earplugs to drown out six kids
A mum-of-six says she wears earplugs to help drown out the noise made by her large brood - well, if it works, it works. You can see her talking about her family here:
Sharon Johnson, 36, has had to come up with several tricks to make life less chaotic while bringing up Lusilia, 12, Sophia, 10, Pratt, nine, Coop, seven, Philp, six, and Nadine, three, along with husband Kerry, 36.
To help keep on top of things, each child is given a set chore they must carry out for a whole year; while they are all allocated just one cup, plate and bowl each to avoid Sharon being overwhelmed by dishes.
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The kids are also allowed just one-hour of screen time each week and have their own coloured-coded dressing grown to keep laundry to a minimum. Pretty clever, eh?
And when it comes to mealtimes, the family has a rotating dinner schedule, where each member gets to choose a meal.
Sharon, a stay-at-home mum, from Brigham, Utah in the US, said: “We unexpectedly became a big family so it has been an adjustment.
“We’re finally getting there and doing some of these things helps me with my mental load.
“My sister suggested the yearly chore assignment and I thought she was crazy but actually it’s great."
Sharon also swears by the weekly rotating dinner schedule.
“Each of the kids have picked out a meal for the week and we keep it the same until they get bored and want to change it,” she said.
“Then we’ll just replace that one meal.
“It doesn’t always go to plan and I’ll end up sticking in some chicken nuggets but it normally helps with my mental load and I don’t have to plan meals each week.
“The kids help out in the kitchen with their chosen meal rather than all of them every night so it doesn’t get overcrowded.”
And when it comes to evenings, she breaks out her ear plugs to help out drown out the noise of her kids.
“It can be a sensory overload,” she said.
“The ear plugs reduces it just enough that I can still hear them but just not as loudly.
“I limit screen time to half an hour twice a week but sometimes I’m flexible with it.
“As a family of eight we have to make stricter rules.
“Everyone knows the expectations this way.”
Claire Reid