Russia Gives Money, Awards for Big Families

The AP and other news sources around the country (we heard about it on NPR) reported a few days ago that Medvedev had invited moms and dads of large families to the Kremlin to honor them with money and kudos.

Apparently Russia is facing the "threat" of a huge population decline and Medvedev wants his people to go forth and multiply.

The award is called the "Medal of Parental Glory."

I'm not sure a massive decline in homo sapiens is really so much a problem--perhaps it's a solution--if you take a longer view of what's going on with global warming and environmental devastation caused by people but it does seem rather warm and fuzzy that large families are being honored.

Our favorite part of what Medvedev said is that the award should be given to both parents, not just the mothers.

We need more international recognition of the importance of fathers in parenting. Right on Russia.

Now, do you think that family with the 16 children could be convinced to park their cars and bicycle?

The More the Merrier?

Large families are all over the news and the internet, thanks to the birth last week of 8 human babies at once to an unwed, unemployed mom of 6 in California (oy vay, as if Californians don't already get a bad rap), to say nothing of Angelina Jolie's recent additions to her family.

Which is why there's a long article in the New York Times about large families "And Baby Makes How Many? In the Era of Shrinking Broods, Larger Families Can Feel Attacked."

Writer Kate Zernike interviews several moms of large families, with as many as 12 children, and she writes:

With anecdotes of a boomlet in larger families in places like the Upper East Side of Manhattan and select pockets of suburbia, large families are presumed to be either really rich, having children as status symbols, or really poor, living off the dole and completely devoid of culture.

I found this article very interesting (and it features a photo of a friend of mine, Meagan Francis, who is expecting her 5th and is the author of "Table for Eight," but I read it wondering about the dads? We see them in the pictures but not a single dad of a large family is quoted in the article.

So what do you think of large families? Do you want to have more than 2 or 3 children? Do you think large families are culturally irresponsible or do you think they are a celebration of happiness? We'd love to hear your thoughts!