Cover Story
Below: Sally Kadifa gives her daughter Sophie, 10, a hug at Walter Hays Elementary as son George, 21, looks on.
Above: Sondra Zenger helps prepare breakfast for daughters (from left) Mara, 14, Nori, 12, Ali, 10, and Mia, 11, before they head off to school. Right: Holding baby August, Lillie Peery oversees dinner with her children (from left), Sam, 7, Maggie, 4, Lia, 2, and Ben, 5, at their Palo Alto home.
LIVING
Parents of big broods buck Palo Alto trends
Large by Sue Dremann | p hotograp hs by Veronica Web er
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little more than a century ago, women in the U.S. on average gave birth to seven children each. That number has steadily dropped to 2.1 children today, and in Palo Alto, the average family is downright petite — 3.06 persons, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. The reasons are many: the urbanization of the country, the rise of the two-income household, both sexes postponing marriage and families, and even concerns about population growth. Raising a child also is not cheap. It costs at least $266,770 per child for a low- to middle-income household, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The sum can be double for a family earning above $100,000.
But some Palo Altans are bucking the trends, opting to raise large families in a world where small is considered beautiful — or at least practical. Many were raised in large households themselves and found the experience rich and loving. Others hold strong spiritual beliefs that children are the blessing of a loving god. Their choices are not without consequences. With more children comes a greater scarcity of time and weightier financial decisions. Unlike their neighbors who have one or two kids, parents of big broods have to work hard to maintain family cohesion and to give each child adequate individual time, they said. Fathers with demanding Silicon Valley careers that pay for their families’ needs must balance work with a focus on being