For Robert Grady, the more the merrier. After all he have nine children with ages from 18 years to 7 weeks old. Together with his wife Debra, they originally planned to have 12 kids. She actually gave birth to 10 children but unfortunately, one died during infancy.Robert never actually grew in a big family. His fascination to have kids was inspired by his uncle in Indiana who have 12 kids. “It was a big Catholic family. I was so impressed with the family, I thought it would be nice to have one.” he said.

He like to do things with his whole family.. Even though he is a registered nurse in the intensive care unit of San Juan Regional Medical Center in Flora Vista, he was blessed to work for long hours which he can have four days off in a weeks. He spends his free time with his family wisely by going to the grocery together, sports events or late night movie watching at home.

The only thing Robert is concerned is the trend nowadays -that is happening to the whole world - that people often disregard having a big family with concerns with the economic and financial situations.

Even though food and oil prices are rising in dramatical heights everyday, Robert is optimistic and does not worry about the future. He believes that his faith in God will provide for his family abundantly.

There is a saying in the Catholic church that says “A family that prays together, stays together.” It blends well with a new study from the National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at the Columbia University which reports that spending quality time with the family on the table improves physical, mental and emotional health for children and teens.

Children who eat together with their families are reported having better grades at school. They are also less likely to abuse substances like alcohol and cigarettes.

According to an article from Time Magzine, published in 2006:

“…The less often a family eats together, the worse the experience is likely to be, the less healthy the food and the more meager the talk. Among those who eat together three or fewer times a week, 45% say the TV is on during meals (as opposed to 37% of all households), and nearly one-third say there isn’t much conversation. Such kids are also more than twice as likely as those who have frequent family meals to say there is a great deal of tension among family members, and they are much less likely to think their parents are proud of them.”

Sources: www.time.com, www.swdtimes.com