Perth mum, 27, with eight kids shares busy nightly routine
If you think your household is busy, wait until you see inside this family’s home. But this Perth mum has shared her secrets to raising eight kids.
By the age of 22, Chloe Dunstan had three children.
Not long after, the Perth mother and her husband Rohan welcomed triplets, and then twin babies joined the clan.
If that sounds exhausting to you, imagine what it’s like for the Dunstans.
In most households, getting the kids ready for bed can often be a stressful task, but for the Dunstan family it is that much more chaotic.
However, running a smooth household all comes down to one thing – organisation.
In a YouTube video that has already clocked nearly 1 million views, Chloe, 27, shares a glimpse into her busy night-time schedule, that often starts at 4.30pm.
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While she begins her dinner prep, and her twins are asleep, her other children between the ages of five and eight are tasked with tidying up the play area.
On this occasion, Chloe makes pasta for dinner, along with eggplant, zucchini, baby spinach, diced tomato, onion, pasta sauce and textured vegetable protein (TVP) as a meat replacement.
She opts for quick and easy meal solutions that are simple to make, but also nutritious, she says.
“The babies have a nap in their rockers, while the others do some tidying up,” Chloe explains in the clip.
“At the same time, I’ll cook the dinner for the kids.”
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After the kids have tidied up, 6pm rolls around when it’s time for dinner. The children gather around the table to enjoy their pasta, and only on some occasions will Chloe and her husband have time to join them.
On busier days, they don’t have dinner until all the kids are asleep, which is a few hours later.
Straight after dinner, the kids take turns having baths and popping on their PJs, while Chloe bathes and feeds the twins.
The kids also brush their teeth and once they’re ready for bed, she reads them a book with their current favourite being The Gingerbread Man.
Over the years, Chloe said she has collected more than 1000 books which are seen in the video to be perfectly colour-coordinated on a 25-hole bookshelf.
By 8pm, the kids are tucked in bed and Chloe says goodnight before enjoying some time watching television with her husband.
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“It’s definitely gotten easier over the years with the night-time routine as all bar the twins can now dress themselves,” Chloe said.
“With the triplets there for a bit when they were young, it was a lot of work. But I think with big families you have to do whatever works for you.”
In May last year, the busy mum told Daily Mail Australia her children love being part of a big family and can’t wait to have more siblings.
As for their education, Chloe said her children are homeschooled “but we keep it really relaxed”.
“The kids do a bit of school work, and then mostly focus on doing the things they enjoy like drawing, art projects, science projects, playing and spending lots of time outside.”
She explained that it all comes down to “teamwork” in her household.
“It can be a lot with a career, home schooling and homework, but we manage it well together and doing all of this means we can maximise family time, which is really important to us.”
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