The More The Merrier Research Final Draft1 - Copy - Copy2mla

Torres 1
Laura Torres
Mrs. Allyson Hurst
English 1101
10 April 2024
The More the Merrier
I am sure you have heard the saying, “The More the Merrier.” I took a little time to find out
a some history about that saying. Interestingly, it was first recorded in 1530 and made its way
into many books of proverbs. It means exactly what it states, the more people involved, the
more fun will be had. Thirteen percent of Americans are in a family with four or more children.
Studies are showing that the size of American families are shrinking. This fact saddens me. I
am a mother of nine children, and I have invested time into researching why being part of a
large family is not only fun but is also beneficial. There are several reasons why being raised in
a large family is favorable.
One of the important life skills that children raised in a large family learn is how to share.
Sharing is important for many reasons. Sharing is an essential social skill to build healthy and
strong relationships. It helps children make and keep friends. It teaches them to play
cooperatively by taking turns. It also helps them to negotiate and cope with disappointment.
Sharing teaches children about compromise and fairness. In a large family, children are
presented with many opportunities to learn and practice sharing. In our home belongings, rooms,
time, and food are shared, including most of all, love. In a large family the focus changes more
from what is mine to what is ours.

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Being part of a large family also means being part of a team. Teamwork is another great
life skill practiced every day in a household with lots of siblings. “Teamwork is essential to a
company’s success,” says John J. Murphy, author of Pulling Together:10 Rules for High
Performance Teamwork. “Each individual has unique gifts, talents, and skills. When we bring
them to the table and share them for a common purpose, it can give companies a competitive
advantage.” Murphy also says, “behind every genius is a team.” We could easily replace the
word company with family in his quote. Teamwork in large families is learned and essential in
the daily function of the family unit. Teamwork enables better problem-solving skills. Science
reinforces the idea that many brains together are better than one. Dr. Patrick Laughlin, a
researcher at the University of Illionois at Urban Champaign stated that “We found that groups
of size three, four, and five outperformed the best individual. We attribute this performance to
the ability of people to work together to generate and adopt correct responses, reject erroneous
responses, and effectively process information.” Kids growing up around a lot of brothers and
sisters naturally develop the ability to work as a team. This skill alone will benefit them in
raising their own family, in competing on sports teams, in schoolwork, in their career, and any
other challenges their life journey presents them with.
It is a given fact that as a member of a large family social skills are developed. Social
skills are important because they can help you communicate more effectively and efficiently and
as a result help you build, maintain and grow relationships. Well-developed social skills are
important both for personal growth and professional growth. These skills help you communicate
your needs and wants more clearly and effectively. They help you have better and potentially
more relationships. They help you navigate tricky social situations. They help you be
considered for better career opportunities and help you to overall feel happier. When growing up
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in a large family, the skills are perfected because you always have someone to play with and
someone to fight with. Everyone has their own personality traits and learning to live with many
different personality types is a skill in and of itself.
As a part of a large family, you automatically have a large support system. Having a
good support system is so important for many reasons. It gives you a sense of belonging. With a
good support system in place, we can thrive and not just survive. Having loved ones to
encourage you and cheer you on allows you to accomplish goals and flourish in life. A strong
support system also reduces stress. There are so many factors in this life that cause stress and
anxiety and having a support system in place helps to alleviate those things and the impacts that
they have on our health. Venting and spending time with loved ones helps increase our mood.
Having a large support system improves our overall health and wellbeing. Knowing that we are
not alone helps with physical and emotional health. Having a lot of siblings gives children the
feeling of being connected and always part of a community.
The quality of inclusion and the realization of the idea that there is always room for one
more is something valuable that is also learned in large families. Learning and knowing the
importance of this quality is one that leads to more meaningful friendships and increased
appreciation and acceptance of individual differences. This skill of inclusion helps to create
within an individual a respect for all people. It is important for children to develop this quality
because it will allow them to live a more peaceful life in our diverse society. Within their family,
they must learn to include and accept many different individuals and their personality traits.
Inclusion fuels acceptance.
Responsibility is a characteristic easily learned among a large family. It takes help from
all members of the family to function properly in a household with lots of members. Our kids
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learned how to do their own laundry at the early age of 6. Each child has a dish day which
means they are responsible for cleaning the kitchen and all the dishes for the entire day. All the
other household chores are divided and shared among the whole family. A popular proverb says
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.” Our goal as parents should be to teach our children to successfully function on their
own in this world, teaching them responsibility is the key to that. Shaping and molding
responsible and respectful children sets them up to be able to achieve their individual goals in
life. Teaching kids' responsibility at a young age will help them grow into confident and capable
adults.
Some days are long and challenging, and others just fly by and are filled with joy. Being
a mother of 9 is who I am, and I would not change it for anything in this world. Conducting this
research has allowed me to put together some information that I can share with my children to
help them appreciate our family and one another more. I am thankful and hopeful that these
positive aspects of being raised in a large family will benefit them throughout their lives.

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Torres 1

Mrs. Allyson Hurst

The More the Merrier

a large family is favorable.

from what is mine to what is ours.

other challenges their life journey presents them with.

different personality types is a skill in and of itself.

feeling of being connected and always part of a community.

Inclusion fuels acceptance.

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