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There are several benefits and downsides to raising children in both large and small families which can help or hinder a child's development, and how close their bond to their parents is.
Raising children in a large family can be helpful to children's social development because having a lot of siblings to interact with constantly will help a child to develop faster, and will mean they encounter and experience things through their older siblings faster then other children. There is also the factor that they will always have their siblings to protect and look after them while they are growing up, which can help them to be more confident.

However raising a child in a large family unit as a parent can make your bond with them weaker as you don't have as much time per child to interact, meaning they might not be as close to you in the future. This can make them more independent which can be good, however they are also more likely to separate themselves completely from the family in their teenage years, from a need to be the center of attention.
Raising children in a smaller family is in my opinion better because it lets you form a closer bond with the child, which will last all of their lives, and without the protection of having a lot of siblings in for example a school environment will make your child more self reliant in themselves, rather than because you aren't that close to them.

Learn more about this author, Scott Heritage.
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