How Sue Radford keeps her 22 kids well-behaved, from charging rent to always giving supper before bed
RUNNING any household with kids can be chaotic, but mum-of-22 Sue Radford certainly has her work cut out for her.
The Radfords are Britain’s biggest family, and squeeze their large brood into a 10-bed former care home in Morecambe, Lancashire.
Sue, 46, and Noel, 50, are parents to Chris, 32, Sophie, 27, Chloe, 25, Jack, 24, Daniel, 22, Luke, 20, Millie, 19, Katie, 18, James, 17, Ellie, 16, Aimee, 15, Josh, 13, Max, 12, Tillie, 11, Oscar, nine, Casper, eight, Hallie, five, Phoebe, four, Archie, three, Bonnie, two, and Heidie, one.
Sadly the couple's 17th child Alfie was still born on July 6, 2014.
But just how does Sue keep her large brood well-behaved? Here, Fabulous shares her parenting technique...
Charges rent
Life isn’t easy and certainly not cheap when you have 22 kids and are Britain’s Biggest family.
Sue and Noel have revealed that they do charge their older kids board if they stay in the family’s 10-bed former care home in Lancashire.
Speaking on their, Sue, Noel, and two of their daughters, Millie and Chloe, did a video on fans’ biggest assumptions.
One of the things Chloe had received from a viewer was that “you want to stay at home so you don’t have to pay rent.”
Chloe said: “Us older ones do pay a little bit of board. Granted it’s not a lot but I’m also trying to save up for my own house at the moment.”
Sue added: “We’ve always said if you want to buy somewhere, renting is a bit of dead money, so we’d rather you saved that money up and stayed at home a bit longer.”
Strict with bedtime
It can’t be easy to get throngs of excited kids to bed when they are all under one roof, but Sue has found a way to take it in her stride.
Speaking to , she said: “My top tip for getting your children to bed is ‘Routine Routine Routine.’”
The busy mum said that not only do her kids like it, but it makes your life “easier” when they get a bit older.
Supper before bed
Sue said that one of her vital tips is making sure her children eat supper before bed.
She explained: “To us, this is important as the children always seem to be hungry and they won’t want to go to bed feeling that way.
“Just a small snack (i.e cereal) will help them have a full night's sleep in our experience.”
Ignores mess during the day
Sue said that keeping on top of their house can be chaotic, but she has found a way to tackle it.
She said of the school holidays: “The house does get messy. It’s the school holidays, I think you’ve just got to accept that.
"I gut the house when the kids go to bed, rather than constantly doing it during the day.
"You would be constantly cleaning up after them, all day long, otherwise.
"It takes two to three hours to clean up after them all, the kids can make an awful lot of mess very quickly.
"The laundry is non-stop during the school holidays, too. I do about three loads-a-day in my 18kg washing machine."
Sets them an example with hard work
The superparents insist they have never received government handouts, and prefer to “work long hours” in the successful family bakery and online pie business to set a good example.
“It’s important that our children see us working,” Sue told MailOnline. “When they’re old enough, they go out to work themselves.”
She added: “Big families will always be tarred with the same brush. People will say ‘They must be on benefits’, but there are lots of very hard-working large families who support themselves.”
Sue added: “We have a strong work ethic, which comes from our families. Noel has worked since the age of 12 with a milk round and in a bakery and I still work part-time helping out with the paperwork.”
Run their home with military precision
Breakfast is split into two shifts and every day the family get through three big boxes of cereal, three litres of juice and 18 pints of milk.
Noel comes home at 8.15am to help out, and ferries the younger children to school in the family’s 15-seater people carrier.
Sue juggles taking care of her babies and toddlers that are too young for education, with around nine to 12 loads of washing a day. She gets through 30 bottles of washing liquid every month.
Gets organised the night before
Sue revealed that the key to making sure her household runs smoothly is preparation in advance.
As the kids went back to school after the summer holidays, Sue revealed she had laid out their uniforms and bags the night before to get ready for the school rush.
She wrote: “All set for the 5 primary school children going back tomorrow.
“I also can’t believe it’s Phoebe’s first day at school tomorrow she’s so so excited bless her. #bigfamilylogistics.”
The Instagram photo showed how everything was organised in advance, from their water bottles to socks laid out on top of their uniforms.
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In other Radford news, the couple recently celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary by buying a holiday home.
And Sue Radford shared a snap of ‘three generations’ of Britain’s biggest family as she cuddles baby daughter & granddaughter.