Inside the busy life of the largest family in Australia
One thing was clear to Jeni when she first met her husband Ray: she had no desire to have children. Ray desired a minimum of four children. That struck me as absurd. For example, who has that many kids? Jeni informed Mamamia. They are now the delighted parents of sixteen children, more than thirty years later.
You may be familiar with them if you’re from Australia, but when I first started reading about the Bonell Family, it was rather shocking to me.
Raising 16 children in Australia, the Bonell family’s life is anything but typical. Jeni and Ray Bonell have mastered the skill of juggling everything, from taking care of their huge brood to managing the turmoil of everyday life, and they do it with a good dose of humour. Jesse, 35, Brooke, 34, Claire, 31, Natalie, 30, Karl, 28, Samuel, 26, Cameron, 25, Sabrina, 24, Tim, 22, Brandon, 20, Eve, 19, Nate, 17, Rachel, 16, Eric, 15, Damian, 14, and Katelyn, 10 are the nine boys and seven girls that make up the Bonell family from Toowoomba, Queensland.
Jim Gaffigan, a comedian, once made a joke on what it’s like to have a fourth child. Imagine being handed a baby by someone when you are drowning. What is it like to have sixteen children, then? In order to keep their pantry filled, Jeni, the mother in charge, spends an incredible $600 each week on groceries.
That budget has increased by $50 as a result of the severe inflation. It takes a lot to keep everyone fed in a family of eighteen, including eight children who are still living at home. The weekly grocery list is very amazing: Four dozen eggs, fifteen boxes of cereal, forty-five tubs of yoghurt, and seventeen three-litre bottles of milk.
“We consume one to two loaves of bread every day and fifty litres of milk every week,” Jeni says.
For the Bonells, it’s all a part of the routine, but for others, it’s a logistical nightmare. The routine of the Bonell family’s home life is meticulously planned. Jeni laughs and says, “It’s hard to get a good family photo.” There’s always someone with their eyes closed, making a goofy expression, or averting their gaze, therefore you need an extra-wide lens.
However, we like those small eccentricities in the pictures. Although they aren’t picture-perfect, that adds to the enjoyment. Keeping up with the hectic pace of everyday life is more important than simply capturing pictures when you have sixteen children.
Imagine managing a household with 16 children, a full-time job, and part-time jobs. That’s Jeni and Ray’s reality. “I used to think that having young children kept me busy, but now that I have older kids, I’m definitely busier,” Jeni adds. It’s a balancing act to manage three separate schools, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and the academics of the older children.
Jeni wouldn’t have it any other way, though. “Life is good, even though it’s very hectic.” The Bonell family dynamic is perfectly reflected in their nighttime routine. Jeni chuckles and says, “Our evening routine is like multiplying an average-sized family by eight.”
Regardless of how the evening goes, one thing is always the same: dinner time. Jeni says, “Dinner is always great.” “Some nights we have eight people at the table, other nights we have more than 20!” The Bonells are experts at making the most of every dollar. Jeni is well-known for her inexpensive meals that cost between $2 and $10, and she frequently posts about her grocery trips on YouTube to help others manage their food costs.
Jeni says, “Everyone is struggling right now; we’re all feeling the pinch with the budget.” Jeni divides home chores using a chore chart to keep things organised and ensure that everyone, starting at age eight, contributes. From an early age, the children are also taught how to cook.
Jeni is proud to remark, “Our 12-year-old can prepare a roast dinner for 20 people with virtually no supervision.” In a home like theirs, the amount of laundry is likewise enormous. Every day, Jeni completes three full loads of laundry, or roughly six average-sized loads. Additionally, Jeni fills two shopping carts every week for groceries. She explains, “I always need one of the kids to help with the load.”
The Bonells have learnt to make sacrifices when it comes to their finances. Even though they have paid off their home mortgage, they still face financial pressures. “It’s costly and you definitely have to make sacrifices with your budget,” Jeni says, adding, “but we all work, and our family doesn’t live off the taxpayer.
However, we do get a lot of criticism for having so many kids.” Despite their strong religious beliefs and frequent church attendance, Jeni maintains that their large family isn’t just a direct result of their faith.
Jeni remarks, “God has a funny sense of humour.” But they don’t regret anything. Ray, an electrician, says, “It just feels right for us.” Individuals must act in their own best interests. Although it’s not for everyone, having sixteen children is what works for us.
Jeni and Ray manage to find time for themselves in spite of their hectic schedules. Do my wife and I get any alone time? I do, of course. “We schedule time for one another,” Ray smiles. “Taking care of one another is important.”
As Jeni and Ray become grandparents to two grandkids, the dynamic of the family is further complicated by the fact that their two elder children have now moved out and gotten married. It demonstrates how the Bonell family continues to expand. However, the love, laughter, and sense of community only grow stronger with each addition.
The Bonells have established a reliable routine in a household where order is essential. The Bonells manage everything, from making lunches and school clothes the night before to establishing a chore rotation schedule. “A child is added to the roster when they turn eight because we have a roster system,” Jeni explains. “They take turns helping with meal preparation, sweeping, mopping the floor, and packing up the table.” The air fryer pizza bites and egg cups are two of Jeni’s favourite snacks that she shares with her YouTube admirers. These snacks are ideal for school lunches, easy to make, and freeze well.
For the Bonells, it all comes down to putting in place a structure that enables everyone to participate and help out. And it’s evident that love, cooperation, and humour sustain the Bonell family’s success despite the turmoil of running a home of sixteen. The Bonells manage everything with a grin, whether it’s taking care of the kids, managing the house, or finding time for a quick coffee date.
The Bonell family ultimately demonstrates that anything is possible with a little imagination, a great deal of planning, and a lot of love. Raising sixteen children is indeed difficult, but Jeni and Ray see it as all part of the journey.
The Bonells know how to make it happen, whether it’s offering money-saving ideas for feeding a large gathering, managing the never-ending laundry, or simply taking pleasure in the chaos of family life. And all the while, they’re building a house that is full of laughter, memories, and unending love. Family, no matter how large, is always worthwhile, if that’s the one lesson we can all learn from this.
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