Is this Britain's busiest mum? Meet the mother of ELEVEN who refuses to claim benefits

By Daily Mail Reporter



Tania and husband Michael Sullivan, 38, will appear on the Channel 4 series 15 Kids And Counting tomorrow. They have had to buy a minibus to cope with the demands of their horde of children and regularly get through 20 loaves and 50 pints of milk a week

A mother who has just given birth to twins - bringing her number of children to 11 - refuses to claim benefits despite the size of her family.

Tania Sullivan, from Hoo, Kent, gave birth to twins Elizabeth and Anna in October.

Amazingly, the 37-year-old only gave up work as a recruitment consultant after the birth of her sixth child and home schools seven of her offspring.

She said: 'Our household can be chaotic at times but we wouldn't change it for the world.


Military operation: Michael and Tania have 11 children, but refuse to claim benefits. From left, Joseph, one; Ben, 18; Caitlin, 12; Stephanie, 17; Patrick, 4; Harry, 8; Eddie, 7; Sid, 6, and Oliver, two

'Some people use having lots of kids as an excuse not to work, but we manage. It annoys me when people assume we must be on benefits as that's simply not the case.'

Tania and husband Michel, 38, will appear on the Channel 4 series 15 Kids And Counting on Tuesday.

They have had to buy a minibus to cope with the demands of their horde of children and regularly get through 20 loaves and 50 pints of milk a week.

Mrs Sullivan said: 'Running our household is like a military operation,

'Luckily the babies are very placid and don't keep me up all night but it's still non-stop. I get up by 5 o'clock every morning - anything after that is considered a lie-in - and start the chores.


'By the time the kids get up, I've put on the first wash of the day, vacuumed and dusted the house and made them breakfast.

'We've even bought a minibus to drive everyone around as we outgrew our old people carrier.'

The couple met at school when they were just 13 and 15 and dated, before splitting up and reuniting in their 20s.

They never planned on having such a large family though.

Mrs Sullivan added: 'There wasn't some kind of "light bulb" moment when Mike and I decided we were going to have loads of kids, it was a gradual thing.

'I'd thought we would have a couple of children but having several miscarriages changed my perspective.

'I was utterly heartbroken every time - it never got easier. It made me realise how precious children are and how they truly are a blessing.'

Mr Sullivan has two children, Ben, 18, and 17-year-old Stephanie, from a previous relationship.

The family is completed by Caitlin, 12; Harry, 8; Eddie, 7; Sid, 6; Patrick, 4; Oliver, 2 and Joseph, one, as well as two three-month-old twins Anna and Libby.


source:dailymail