The title's a bit harsh, but most people have met a family like this, or seen them on TV .
These are the type of homeschoolers that really complicated my life growing up. Especially in the midwest, these families are more common than you might think. You'll know them by their matching, homemade clothes, their 15 passenger vans and their sheer numbers.
The question, however, is, what happens to the children in these families after graduation? Honestly, not much. They tend to hang around at home until they marry and begin having children of their own.
I grew up in a community filled with families like this, and found the "religous nut" stereotype to be one of the most frustrating. Once in a college environment, I found my self overcompensating, by being completely silent about my personal beliefs and afraid of being lumped into a category with "them."
It's important to remember, however, that if these families wish to live a life so different it turns heads in walmart, that is their perogative. As always, the best way to confront a stereotype is to break it. It is neither necessary to hide one's values or to push them on others.
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Haha, I totally agree with you on the stereotype of the x-x-large families, girls all in dresses with long hair and no makeup. I use to work at the ski slopes, and i'd always see these goofy girls skiing in skirts (bc they wanted to still be modest!), and they would inevitably end up on their rears with their skirts around their ears showing their bloomers for all to see. how modest!
granted, i know two families that are 'large' (8 and 9 kids respectively) and they are both some of my best friends. the girls both wore dresses (7 in the first family and 3 in the second family), but they would wear makeup, keep their hair trimmed and would wear pants when appropriate (i.e., sporting events!). But bc of the amount of ppl who are the nuts out there, most lump my two families into the same group of wacky nut-case homeschoolers, which is not the case.
ah well for variety! =)
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