Parents of the year? Life in isolation with 11 kids
LOCKDOWN has tested the patience of many parents.
But few will have had 11 to teach, keep entertained... and keep out of the fridge.
Alexis Brett, 41, and husband David, 46, have a brood of ten boys and one girl, their youngest child, baby Cameron.
With children ranging in age from 19 to 16 months, It is safe to say the couple, from Dingwall, Ross-shire, have had their hands full this year.
Constant raids on the fridge, rescuing baby Cameron from the stairs, and having a nearconstant cycle of mask washing has made it an eventful year for the family.
Cameron shares the house with brothers Campbell, 19, Harrison, 1 , Corey, 15, Lachlan, 12, Brodie, 11, Brahn, 10, Hunter, eight, Mack, six, Blake, four, and Rothagaidh, three.
Mrs Brett said: ‘It’s been quite hard going at times. David has been at home shielding, so he was here to help quite a bit. But it was quite hard going, between home schooling, constantly cleaning up and the kids eating all the time.
‘ There’s only so much you can do.’
Like many parents faced with young minds, Mr and Mrs Brett attempted home schooling – with the equivalent of a third of a standard classroom size.
Mrs Brett said: ‘I did try my hand and we spoke to the headteacher.
‘We didn’t stick to a particular routine. There’s been so much going on in the world, we didn’t feel we needed to worry too much. There have been no detrimental effects.’
After first becoming a mother when she was 22, Mrs Brett went on to have nine more babies in 15 years – all of them boys.
She and Mr Brett were the first British couple known to have had ten boys in a row.