A mom-of-14 has revealed that she is planning to have as many children as God blesses her , despite frequently being criticized by trolls who slam her for not being able to ‘love all of the children.’
Karen and Deon Derrico have had four sets of naturally-conceived multiples — quintuplets, two sets of twins, and triplets — as well as two non-multiple kids back to back, and offer a peek at their home life in the TLC series Doubling Down with the Derricos.
Surprisingly , Karen, 43, and Deon, 52, have their hands full, the mom-of-14, says she is planning on having as many children as ‘God blesses her with.’
Although the parents insist both they and their large brood are happy and healthy, they still face backlash from critics who claim she isn’t able to give each child one-on-one time and that her home is too ‘chaotic.’
Now, Karen has fired back at trolls while revealing her plans to expand their family.
When they first began having children, their family grew at a ‘normal’ pace, however, soon enough, Karen found herself giving birth to multiple children at one time.
They had Darian, 17, Derrick, 12, then had twins Dallas and Denver, 11.
Then, the times got even crazier when she conceived quintuplets, Deniko, Dariz, Deonee, Daiten, and Daician, nine.
After that, Karen gave birth to triplets, Diez, Dior, and Carter, six, however, Carter died just two hours after birth.
Speaking to Insider, Karen – who has had two miscarriages and has never had IVF – revealed that the ‘baby factory is still open. ‘
She explained that when she and Deon first started seeing each other in 2001, she told him she would have ‘as many children as God blesses’ her with, adding that she is determined to keep her promise.
Although Karen is ready to expand their home, she knows it won’t come without criticism from strangers.
She revealed trolls most often claim she ‘can’t love’ all of her children, her house is a mess, she is ‘overwhelmed’, the multiple pregnancies are ‘harsh’ on her body, and that ‘black families are different.’
Karen said people most often say having 14 children means she can’t pay attention to them, however, the mom disagrees.
She noted that both she and her husband work from home so they are able to homeschool the kids, and help them find their passion.
The mom-of-14 said she helped nurture her daughter Darian’s love for writing at a young age, and she is now attending the Tisch Summer High School Dramatic Writing Program at New York University with a full scholarship.
She said: ‘That growth came from years of me nurturing her. So when people say I can’t love all these kids, I show them how I give them love. I find the things my kids are passionate about and then I bond with them over it.’
Next, she fired back at trolls who assume her house is always a mess due to the number of children running around.
She revealed they spend $3,500 a month ‘easy’ at the grocery store, going through about 15 packages of waffles and 20 rolls of toilet paper a week
Karen – who was a preschool teacher – revealed her time leading a classroom helped prepare her for keeping an organized home, despite having a large number of kids.
She said: ‘If I can keep a classroom in order, I can keep a home in order too.’
The mom explained that she has taught all of her children to clean up after themselves, adding that they never leave a room messy.
She also revealed that they put rules in place, such as no yelling and strict bedtimes, to ensure there is no chaos.
And while many people suggest that the pregnancies are too hard on Karen, she begs to differ.
She said that she knows she has been lucky to carry all of her kids naturally, adding that she has never experienced morning sickness, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
Karen claimed her OB-GYN said her healthy diet helped her give birth to healthy babies, adding that her body was ‘made for this.’
Karen explained that the stereotypes that surround black families include: Absent dads, or uneducated children. However, she said that her family is proof those aren’t true
The last criticism the family faces is that ‘black families are different.’
Karen explained that the stereotypes that surround black families include: Absent dads and uneducated children.
However, she said that her family is proof those aren’t true.
Both she and Deon grew up with single parents, so they work extra hard to show their children how healthy their relationship is.
She revealed they spend $3,500 a month ‘easy’ at the grocery store, going through about 15 packages of waffles and 20 rolls of toilet paper a week.
The amount of money that we spend on groceries, oh my gosh. $2,500 to $3,500, easy,’ Karen said in a clip.
All of Deon and Karen’s children were conceived naturally and Karen wants to have even more kids
‘In a week we go through 15 boxes of waffles, 20 rolls of toilet paper,’ added Deon.
‘Eighteen loads of clothes a week,’ Karen chimed back in.
Ensuring they could provide for such a big family was an essential part of having so many children, they noted.
‘I am a stay-at-home mother, and my phenomenal, handsome husband over here is a real estate investor,’ said Karen.
‘We chose to have a large family. We also chose to make sure we could provide for our large family,’ she added.
