Do you have a big family or a small family?

I have a biggg family. My mom is from a family of 14. All her siblings had big families. The ony thing I like about it is great family reunions. Welcome to Fluther.

Family gossip spreads like wild fire. A good & bad thing.

I grew up with a small immediate family. My mother is an only child and we rarely engage the other relatives. My biological father’s family is huge and though I have met them and occasionally visit, I’m more about my own “family” of friends made over the years.

To me, the advantages of a big family are having an instant party any time there’s a gathering, shared resources and feeling of security or community. This assumes everyone mostly gets along though. I feel lucky most of my family gatherings go so well.

Small. I was 1 of 3 and Hubby was 1 of 2. We had 2. Our extended family – nieces and nephews – is along the same lines.

I’m from a small family. I have my mom and sometimes my brother and aunt, but tbh, my family members hate each other. I don’t hate them, but I’m not social with them either. Things work better when we don’t talk to each other much. I’d hate to have a huge family because it would be loud around the house..

Are we talking immediate or extended family?

My immediate family is my mother and step-father (who has been “Dad” since I was 5 years old) and my three half-siblings. I also have another half-sister on the other side, who I only met 2 years ago. We’re getting closer, but we’re not as close as me and the siblings I grew up with.

In my extended family, I have 7 uncles on my father’s side (step father technically), and 4 uncles on my mother’s side. I have 13 first cousins on my father’s side, and 3 cousins-once-removed who are old enough to be considered my generation anyway. Plus 8 more cousins-once-removed who are the next generation. On my mother’s side, another five cousins and at least 4 cousins-once-removed.

Plus I have boatloads of more distant cousins, many of whom live in California, Italy, and Australia. I don’t see them particularly often.

My immediate family is small. I have my mom and my dad. No siblings. Only one of my grandparent’s is still alive. Those three are the only family members I communicate with. I don’t really talk to my aunt, my uncle or my only two cousins. I have some great aunts and uncles, but I’m not in contact with any of them. I’m 22 years old and the second youngest in my family. If I don’t have kids, my family’s gunna die off soon. Lol. Just a little bit of pressure, not a lot. DX

I am from a big family, I have five brothers and sisters. The upside is that if I am not getting along with one there are four others to pick from! The downside is that someone is always feuding with or gossiping about someone else. I have a fairly large extended family as well and the pros and cons are pretty much the same there as well.

I’m the youngest of six. I have four sisters and one brother. One of the best pros is that you have a lot of help when you need to move. :)

Family get-togethers are always fun, especially if everyone gets along. Cons? I honestly can’t think of any.

Small i suppose. I have 1 sister.

My mom’s side works like a big family, but is in fact rather small. Structurally, it’s about 7 or 8 nuclear families with strong communication ties. My dad’s side had been a big family, but the core has pretty much died off, and the extremities don’t contact each other beyond Christmas cards and the odd family crisis. He was born a full 20 years after his brother, so he’s not as well-connected.

My family is nuclear family but I like joint family

I grew up with lots of family around, my father and three of his brothers lived within walking distance of us and we got new cousins every couple or three years, until there was a total of 14 cousins, 4 Aunts and 4 Uncles. At major holidays the 5th Uncle came with his wife and 2 children. Plus Grandpa and Grandma. I got married and had the first child in my generation.

My mother’s mom, brother and sister with their families also lived near by and when both families got together, which we did on several occasions over the 15 year period we lived there, we had a grand total of 39 people. I have a picture of the last time we all got together in one place at the same time. (40 if you count my yet to be born baby).

After that we got split up for various reasons, mostly due to the big recession in the early 1960’s. One family went to Albuquerque, one to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, another to Grand Junction, Colorado, and one to California. I eventually went to California.

My family in California became my husband’s family, starting with the two Grandparents, him, me, our two sons and his sister and her husband. The eight of us grew to a total of 14 over the years with grandsons and cousins. There was also my Uncle and Aunt and their two girls who joined us for weddings and to visit when a new baby was born.

I missed them very much when Hubby and I and our youngest son moved away, but now two of my older grandsons live with me, plus one girlfriend and Sonny has married and has two boys, so with his wife’s mom and grandmother who live with them, we are up to 11 people at our family gatherings.

A couple of years ago, 5 of the folks from San Diego were able to visit with us, for a grand total birthday party of 16 people. It was a great time for all but one, who missed her friend/partner a lot.

Family expands and contracts over the years as new babies are born, older children marry and either bring in new people, or move away and seldom visit. Older members pass on, leaving a space at the table. After growing up so close as children, I haven’t seen my own brother in Texas or Sister in Seattle since our parents funerals in 1964.

I don’t think so that small and big family matters. I also have a small family and it’s great going.