A WOMAN has revealed people’s cruel reaction to finding out she is a mum to seven kids.
Maddie Shawcroft, who welcomed the latest addition to her sizeable brood two months ago, has revealed that onlookers will often point at the large family.
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The 31-year-old, who lives in Alabama with their husband Patrick, 33, and their offspring, gave birth to her first child – from a previous relationship – when she was 18 years old.
Riley, now 13, was soon joined by half-siblings Daxon, seven, Elliana, six, Oliver, five, Atticus, three, Juniper, two, and two-month-old Rosalyn.
Of people’s reactions to seeing the family out together, the mum-of-seven said: “A lot of the time, we get judgemental looks from people, and people make negative comments which do annoy me.
“People always point at the kids and ask if I know how that happens, and I say I do know and I must like it. So if they want an awkward conversation, I’ll give them one.
People always point at the kids
Maddie Shawcroft
“Strangers also ask if we have a TV and if all the kids are ours. It gets frustrating, especially if I’m having a bad day.”
Maddie said she finds the comments “really hard” since the size of their brood is a “personal choice.”
However, sometimes she does receive words of support, with people occasionally calling her a “super mum.”
She and her other half spend an average of £250 per week on the family food bill and stick to hand-me-downs as their offspring grow.
The couple met at church in 2012 – and while Maddie didn’t ever want more than three children, Patrick had initially wanted an even bigger family.
However, the dad soon realized that it was “hard” raising kids, and so was eventually happy to stick to seven.
The busy mum revealed that they have always got pregnant “really easily” and only need to have sexual intercourse without protection one time before falling pregnant.
As such, she has since had her “tubes tied” – a procedure for female sterilization where the fallopian tubes are permanently blocked or removed to prevent fertilization.
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