Raising a Large Family in a Small-Family World

BISmart strategies for the larger-than-average family./B/IBRBRDespite the growing number of large blended families and a rise in multiple births, contemporary cultural expectations}as evidenced by housing and transportation sizes}are geared toward two-child families. In ITable for Eight: Raising a Large Family/I, Meagan Francis}extremely proud mother of four sons}offers advice, encouragement, and tips for living that work in the real (small) world, including:BR}Determining how big a house a family Ireally/IneedsBR}Running the house effectively, efficiently, and peacefullyBR}Methods for ensuring all the kids get the attention they deserveBR}Smart-money tacticsBRBMeagan Francis/Bis the mother of four and a full-time professional writer. Her articles have appeared in such publications as ILiterary Mama, Salon, Brain, Child, Parenting/I, and IBaby Talk/I. She is the writer of }Mama-Rama,} a weekly syndicated column that takes a fresh look at modern motherhood, and her essays have been reprinted in the anthologies ILiterary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined/Iand IThe Best of Brain Child/I.