In Spain, the average number of children per woman barely exceeds 1.1, according to the latest data from the INE. Large families are becoming less common and, when we talk about more than three or four children, people always ask the same thing: how can they balance work with caring for so many children and how can they meet all the expenses.
But there are some houses that achieve it, yes, with a lot of effort and millimeter organization. And it cannot be easy to cope with the price of the current shopping basket with so many children, who only multiply this expense. This is the case of Virginia and Rubén Peinador Morquecho, parents of 14 children and protagonists of an interview on the YouTube channel Pedro del Castillo. In total, there are 16 at home. So many, that more than once they have been confused with a school.
“We entered a museum and they told us that the entrance of groups and schools was from another side. But no, we are not a school,” they say, laughing. The anecdote is repeated every time they go out together. Even when Rubén comments that he has 14 children, the reaction is usually one of surprise: “One told me he had four and he expected my mouth to open. When I told him I had 14, he was the one who remained like that.”
Two washing machines a day and two packages of macaroni for one meal
Daily logistics is probably the biggest challenge. The family has been living in a larger house for five years, after the previous apartment became too small. Still, organization is key.
“I use two washing machines a day and some dryers,” explains Virginia. The system has evolved over time. Before, clothes circulated throughout the house and the process of washing, drying, ironing and putting away became chaos. Now they have centralized everything on the ground floor: “There you wash, fold, iron and then go directly to the rooms.”
The rise in electricity has also affected them. Virginia tried for a while to run the washing machines at night to save money, but the stress of staying up late wasn’t worth it. “I try to do the whole laundry thing in the morning so that in the afternoon, when the children are home, I have more time to spend with them.”
Identifying clothes is not easy either. Many times he uses sizes to know who each garment belongs to. With older people, he admits, he gets more confused.
In the kitchen, the numbers are also impressive. “We use two packages of macaroni if we are all there,” Virginia explains while showing a pantry full of non-perishable products, all labeled so as not to lose control. Pasta, rice, tomato, oil… The purchase is divided into two: a large and generic one with basics and another every two or three days for bread, fruit or more specific products.
For dinner, the scene is almost choreographed: 24 sandwiches prepared in a chain. “While one does one thing, another does another. It’s simple, healthy and easy,” they say.
They only have one salary and the car is financed
Rubén works as an alarm technician and is the family’s only permanent breadwinner. “We can do this because we adapt,” he summarizes. The house is for rent and large purchases are planned for the long term.
The car, for example, has been a recent and very thoughtful acquisition. They have been without a vehicle for more than two years, organizing themselves on a daily basis around the city. Now they have a 9-seater, financed for 8 years. “We pay something every month. Another car is unthinkable until we pay for this one, or unless we win the lottery,” jokes Rubén.
When they all need to travel together for a long trip, they rent a second seven-seater van. The whim of a sports car was left behind a long time ago: “I liked the sports car, but I have no other choice than the mental van.”
Tasks separately and together
At home, the organization does not depend only on the parents. At the beginning of the school year, they review a cardboard with the distribution of household tasks. Kitchen, garbage, breakfast… everything is assigned.
“They collaborate to the extent they can according to their age,” explains Virginia. And if someone tries to shirk, there are consequences that affect the whole: “If you don’t prepare breakfast, the other person is late. If you don’t take out the trash, the other person takes out twice as much.”
Cooking is the least popular task. Even so, they assume it as part of learning. The idea, they say, is that they understand that coexistence implies shared responsibility.
Diversity and support network
Two of their daughters have disabilities: María, with visual impairment, and Laura, with Down syndrome. During Laura’s pregnancy, they were warned of the high probability that she would be born with this syndrome. “As we love each of our children, we are also going to love her,” they remember.
Virginia admits that she had “five minutes of mourning” the night she was born, due to the uncertainty of whether they would know how to care for her properly. “Then he is just another son who needs other things.”
Laura goes to an association in Burgos where she receives stimulation sessions. In addition, Virginia promotes an Instagram account to make Down syndrome visible and participates in a radio project on disability. Although he studied Journalism, he decided to focus on taking care of his family: “I consider that what I have to do is be at home.”
“We are adapting”
It has not always been this way and, although the interviewer sees his current moment as the most complicated having 14 children of so many different ages, Rubén answers that they had worse times. “We were unemployed for 2 years and we already had 6 children,” he remembers about another past moment in which they had it more complicated. “So it was harder financially, but it wasn’t overwhelming in the sense that it wasn’t a chosen situation. You adapt.”
After 20 years of marriage, they say they never set a specific number of children. “We were clear that we were going to have the children that God wanted.” There have been 14, “although two did not arrive,” referring to the fact that she had 2 abortions, and now they have a family with children from the age of 19 to only 1.
Why do you consider them to be a big family? “Because of the diversity and richness it brings us,” Rubén responds. “Each one is a piece that, if we put them all together, works,” Virginia concludes, leaving a clear reflection: The family is like a puzzle, it needs all the pieces to fit to look better.