Giftedness never affected our family plans, but I can see how having four gifties has both positively and negatively affected us as a family when I listen to parents of only one or two on this board. Our spacing (now ages 23, 21, 14, 12) also affect things. With one SAHP, we don't have money to do some of the enrichment we'd like, and of course, we don't have the time with each individual child. I've been a SAHM approximately forever and so my career will probably never return. All that said, I wouldn't trade it for the world. My kids enjoy each other's company immensely and always have. They like having smart friends and siblings (the only one tested is PG, but they all seem about the same level, albeit with some differing interests). They cheer each other on, expose each other to different interests, and help each other. I grew up one of five and dh one of three, barely middle class, so maybe we are just used to it. No matter how smart one of my kids turned out to be, I can't imagine moving across the country for school, taking a second job to pay for enrichment, etc... we grew up knowing that we were gifted, but that didn't make us more deserving/special, if that makes sense. My kids probably won't reach their maximum intellectual potential (but at the same time, they're not doing poorly-both younger ones have been invited to NUMATS grand ceremony, both older ones are pursuing graduate education and were very successful in school), but I feel like they have gotten a lot of other things in life through having a big family. It would be fun to have an only and see what would result from devoting all our parental energies to him/her, but I do think it's been good for them and for me to be part of a big family-as a parent, I don't take as much credit or as much blame, lol.
