You Don't Need a Big House to Have a Big Family

Kids don't want to be isolated anyway.

Photo by Abbilyn Rurenko on Unsplash

The average family in the US has 1.7 children. I’m not sure what people do with the other .3, and it’s kind of gruesome to think about, but we are a dying culture. Literally.

There are many excuses for a low number of children, but often, the size of the dwelling is cited as a limiting factor. But you shouldn’t let that stop you. I’m not saying you need to cram eight kids inside a two-bedroom apartment, but you can make do with far less than you think you can.

Younger children love to share rooms. My own boys even share a bed most of the time, despite having bunk beds. This may surprise you, but your kids don’t like to feel alone, and a smaller house can help with that.

Smaller houses have more benefits. They are cheaper to heat and cool. They allow you to spend your money on more land.

And they allow more moments of serendipitous contact between members of the household. It’s hard to grow close without closeness, especially when everyone is sequestered in their own caves, looking at their phones. Alone.

Here’s a quick test for the size of your home. If you have to text a family member to come down to dinner because the thought of walking to them seems daunting, your house might be too big.

Of course, more contact means more potential friction. Things won't be perfect. More tussles. More fights. More arguments. But this also means more opportunities for learning. More opportunities for reconciliation. More opportunities to show sacrificial love.

You’ll bump elbows more, which isn’t always pleasant, but it’s much better than isolation. Man was not meant to live alone and your children, as long as you cut off fighting and bitterness properly, will grow up closer and better able to cope with other people. And you just might find that, during the teenage years, they prefer to be around family than cooped up in their room. After all, that’s what they’re used to.

So don’t use a small house as an excuse. Up to three kids can share a single bedroom easily, and perhaps more, depending on their personalities. It’s like having a sleepover every night with their friends.