Parents of UK’s biggest family opened up about why they had so many children
The parents of the UK's largest family have opened up on their decision to have so many children.
The Radford family have developed something of a reputation over the years after welcoming as many as 22 children into their home, with parents Sue and Noel facing some backlash recently after taking them on a £52,000 trip to Disney World, something which landed them in court.
Parents have long complained about the prices of travel during school holidays but in the Radford family's case, the added prices may well outweigh the fines given due to the sheer amount of school-age kids the couple have.
Sue got pregnant with her first child at the age of 13 and celebrated her 50th birthday in style recently as she and the kids jetted off to Florida, with the mum sharing on Instagram exactly why they opted to go during term time.
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In the wake of their return to the spotlight, having already starred in their own TV series 22 Kids and Counting, quotes from their book The Radfords: Making Life Count, have resurfaced.
Sue and Noel, who were both adopted themselves, have suggested that their own childhoods had nothing to do with their decision to have so many, with all of their children arriving biologically.
During one chapter, pie maker Noel writes: “A lot of amateur psychologists may think the reason me and Sue have had lots of kids must be linked to the fact we were both adopted, but I don’t think there is any connection.
“Unless someone comes along and sticks some electrodes on our heads, and says after doing some tests, ‘Oh, this is why you’ve got so many kids’ we’re just not going to believe any of those theories.”
Both suggest that they see their own adopted parents as their mum and dads, with no real desire to reach out to their biological parents, and Sue added that her own adoption didn't influence her wanting to have such a large family.
She revealed: “Well, that’s just not something we ever thought about.
“No, there is nothing in that – because I don’t even think about my birth parents. I don’t give the fact that I was adopted any thought at all, and never have.”
In a previous interview with OK Magazine, Sue also suggested that she isn't planning on putting the baby bottles down anytime soon, as they'd be willing to adopt to grow their family even further, having already seen two of their daughters have children of their own.
She said: “We adore being surrounded by kids, so I’d love to adopt or foster. We’re not having any more of our own so it’s definitely something we’d think about when ours are older.
“When they started to move out, it was hard as a mum and strange not to have them all together.
“I dread the thought of an empty nest but I know it will happen one day. You can’t hold your kids back – when you love them, you have to let them live their dreams.”
James Moorhouse