Inside the hectic life of Australia’s biggest family

When Jeni first met her husband Ray, she was certain of one thing — she never wanted children.

“Ray wanted at least four kids. I thought that was crazy. Like, who has that many children?” Jeni told Mamamia.

Now, over three decades later, they are the proud parents of 16 children.

$600 every week on groceries

If you’re from Australia, you might have heard of them, but for me, it was a real shock when I first started reading about The Bonell Family.

Life for the Bonell family, who are raising 16 kids in Australia, is anything but ordinary. From feeding their large brood to coordinating the chaos of daily life, Jeni and Ray Bonell have mastered the art of juggling it all — and with a healthy dose of humor, too.

The Bonell family, from Queensland’s Toowoomba, is made up of nine boys and seven girls – Jesse, 35, Brooke, 34, Claire, 31, Natalie, 30, Karl, 28, Samuel, 26, Cameron, 25, Sabrina, 24, Tim, 22, Brandon, 20, Eve, 19, Nate, 17, Rachel, 16, Eric, 15, Damian, 14 and Katelyn, 10.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan once joked, “You know what it’s like having a fourth kid? Imagine you’re drowning, then someone hands you a baby.” So what’s it like to have sixteen kids?

Jeni, the mother at the helm, spends a staggering $600 every week on groceries just to keep their pantry stocked. With inflation hitting hard, that budget has crept up by $50. For a family of 18 (with 8 kids still living at home), it takes a lot to keep everyone well-fed.

The weekly grocery list is nothing short of impressive: 17 three-litre bottles of milk, 14 boxes of cereal, 45 tubs of yogurt, and a whopping four dozen eggs.

“We go through 50 litres of milk each week and one to two loaves of bread every day,” says Jeni.