The more children, the better )
47-year-old Svetlana Kovalevic and her husband Peter are real record holders. The spouses have 19 children: the eldest is 27 years older than the youngest child. The Kovalevic couple both come from large families. Svetlana has 7 siblings, and Peter was one of the 15 children of his parents. Both believe that children are a gift from God and therefore do not promise the 19th to be the last.
The large and friendly family lives in Hlynne, Rivne Oblast. The woman had her first baby at the age of 19. And now her first four children have their own babies – Svetlana’s grandchildren. The number of her grandchildren in total is the same as that of her children – 19. The woman had all her babies with no surgery. Her husband was next to her in the delivery room when their first son – Nazar – was born, and he was the first to see the child.
Svetlana says, the last few pregnancies were much more difficult for her to endure. She was getting tired more quickly, but it was easier for her as her children were trying to help her in every possible way. There is no jealousy and selfishness in their family. The kids are friendly and take care of the younger ones.
Besides, they have a lot of livestock on the farm and each of the children has his/her own responsibilities and chores around the house. Also, they have a birthday every month. By the way, Nazar was born on his father’s birthday.
The Kovalevic family is no different from other villagers of Hlynne. According to the village head, more than 500 large families live in the village. Some elderly couples have up to a hundred grandchildren, so the biggest problem is to meet everyone’s accommodation needs.
