By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
THE Brady Bunch can move over, there’s a new favourite family in town and this one lives right here in Casey.
Margaret Pitts, from Narre Warren South, keeps a low profile tending to her 12 children, but when she found out that one of her daughters, Melissa, had nominated her for Australia’s Supermum award, she took some time out to speak about how humbled she was after receiving the news.
“I was so surprised, it was such a lovely thing for my daughter to do,” Margaret said.
“She always says I deserve things and wanted me to give it a go. It was so nice of her to do this.”
The national search for Australia’s Supermum is sponsored by Protect-A-Bed and has already unearthed an early frontrunner for the family holiday prize worth $5000. With 12 kids aged from eight to 28 and with three sets of twins – a pair of girls, a pair of boys and a mixed pair – mother hen Margaret has managed to raise and care for an extraordinarily large family.
“It’s a bit easier now that four don’t live at home anymore, but there was time where they were all here,” Margaret said.
“Every time a new child came along, you learn from your mistakes. By the time I had the twelfth one, I was so relaxed.”
With eight sons and four daughters all living under the one roof, Margaret admitted that things can get a bit unruly at home, especially around the dinner table, but said she wouldn’t trade her family for anything.
“It can get very noisy, but it’s great at home. The younger ones admire the older ones. Whenever they come along they have older siblings to look up to,” she said.
“I’m a family person and like to have my family close by.”
Margaret also said her children were quick to adjust to situations and always there to help in tricky situations. When her youngest child Joshua was born six weeks premature, Margaret wanted to be with him in the hospital all the time and had to rely on her other children to look after the household.
“I just cope because that’s my life,” Margaret laughed.
“When Joshua was born premature, I wanted to see him every day and needed the older children to stay at home and look after the rest of the family.”
And with a seemingly fool proof system for raising a family, did Margaret have any tips for prospective parents in Casey?
“The main thing is to have a routine, but know that you can still fall out of the routine and you don’t have to stress,” she said.
For more information on how to nominate for Protect-A-Bed’s Supermum award, visit http://www.protectabed.com.au/supermum.php
