the kids can play a full baseball game all by themselves

OK, maybe this is one of those things I don't get because I don't have kids. Or maybe this is one of those things I don't get because I'm not a member of a particular religion. Or maybe this is one of those things I don't get just because I'm me.

I saw this article yesterday. I have no idea how people decide how many kids they're going to have. I also have no idea how people decide when they're going to stop. But to me, there's something wrong with having 18 kids, though I can't pinpoint why I think that's "wrong". If someone can afford to raise and take care of 18 kids, why shouldn't they? If a woman really wants to pop out 18 kids in 23 years, why shouldn't she? Maybe the whole over-population thing is something I think about periodically. Maybe I just can't believe that two parents can adequately give 18 kids the love and attention they need to grow and thrive. Sure, there's that whole "the older kids can take care of the younger kids" thing, but I'm not sure I think that's a good idea. And this is coming from the point of view of being the younger kid. Some of my siblings, who are all older than me, spent a lot of time caring for me because my parents weren't available. Were they forced to do things that kids really shouldn't have to do that early on? Did they have to give up some aspects of their own childhood because they had to be the "adult" for me?

I know that in some religions, no form of birth control is allowed except for abstinence. I think some allow the rhythm method (Is it still called that? Was it called that before? You know, the one where you abstain during the time when the women is probably most fertile.), but I think some don't even really allow that, though I'm not sure about that. So in that case, I guess chances are, you're going to get pregnant more often than most other people. The father is quoted as saying that they're just accepting as many kids as God sees fit to give them. I've heard some people defer to God in things that I think makes sense, and I've heard people defer to God in things that I don't think make any sense at all (winning a reality game show? really? seriously.). I'm not sure what category this falls under for me. On the one hand, I can see that if your religion doesn't allow you to use birth control, and you're not willing to be celibate, then babies are gonna be made. But 18 kids just doesn't sit well with me. I guess the saving grace is at least that they're all in one family, as opposed to the people who are spreading their seed around/allowing different seed to be spread to them.