A super mother of 16 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren has described how she homeschools all of them – admitting there is ‘no normal day in her household‘.
Charity founder Lyette Reback, 44, from North Palm Beach, Florida, has 10 daughters and six sons between the ages of two and 21 with her husband David Reback, 49, who is a broker with his own realty company.
She gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to her first daughter Daly Kay, now 21, when she herself was just 21 and has since had 12 more biological 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, including latest addition Vaughn, two, as well as adopting four others.
Her other 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren are daughters Ryli, 20, Bliss, 19, Kemper, 17, Glory, 15, Trinity, 13, Liberty, 11, Sojourner, eight, Victory, six and Verity, four, and sons Courson, 12, Judson, 10, Shepherd, 10, Ransom, eight and Stone, five.
Family ties! Lyette Reback, 44, and her husband David, from North Palm Beach, Florida, have 16 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, with whom they are pictured
Room for everyone: The couple’s family includes 10 daughters and six sons, who range in age from two to 21
Self-care: Mother Lyette says she still manages to find time for herself despite homeschooling all the 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren
Special: She says that she and her husband see raising 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren as an ‘incredible opportunity’ to do something ‘amazing in the world’
It means Lyette – who grew up as an only 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 – has spent ten years of her life pregnant, gaining and shedding a total of 600lbs in 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 weight and going through labor – without a single C-section – a dozen times.
The mother of 16 regularly ferries her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren around in a minibus – taking them to 88 different sports practices a week.
Despite having her hands full, the super mother – who has written a book about parenting – still finds time to work out and go for dinner with friends thanks to a strict chores schedule.
Lyette admitted that when she was younger she would have thought to have 16 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren was ‘crazy’ – but believes it’s the ‘best job in the world’.
‘If I had known then that by the time I was 40 I would have 16 kids I would have thought it was crazy,’ she said.
‘If the number of 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren we have comes up in conversation or people see us out and they don’t know our family, they are like, “holy mackerel”.
Quiet moments: Lyette is pictured at home with five of her sons in their bedroom, which features two bunk beds
Travel plans: The Rebacks have to travel in their own minibus when they all go out together
An out-there idea: Lyette admitted when she was younger she would have thought having 16 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren was ‘crazy’
Perfect role: The mother says that she believes raising 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren is the ‘best job in the world’‘
‘At first, when there were four or five little girls it was, “Oh my gosh, you are crazy, how are you doing that?”
‘People would joke or say things like, “Don’t you have a TV in your bedroom?”.
‘Obviously, these remarks were either out of incredulity or they proposed my ignorance, but I am not stupid.
‘Now some of them are a bit older and they are doing well in life it seems it’s less of a freak show and they are saying, “Oh, maybe you’re not a weirdo.”‘
But the couple seems more than happy to defy convention, with Lyette revealing on her blog that they got engaged after just ten days when they were just 19 years old. Two years later, she fell pregnant with their first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.
Rules: Lyette says she has created a strict chore chart for her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, so that she can have some time to herself
Unique: The mother-of-16 says she knows that she and her family live a different life to most, but insists that their set-up ‘works for them’
All aboard! The family are seen piling into their minibus as they go out on a trip together
A big brood: The couple has 12 biological 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, who Lyette gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to naturally, and four adopted 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren
Lyette explains how she and her husband David, who took over his parents’ luxury realty company, see raising 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren as an ‘opportunity’.
‘David and I were blessed to be able to have 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren and I we really, truly believe that raising 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren is an incredible opportunity to do something amazing in the world,’ she said.
‘I fully understand we have chosen to do life differently than most, but it works for us. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘I wake up each morning and think, “I can’t believe I get to do this”. Raising 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren is the best job in the world.
‘I don’t know if we will have anymore. We never put a number on it – we just take it one day at a time.’
Dedicated: Lyette has spent ten years of her life pregnant, gaining and shedding 600lbs a total of in 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 weight, and going through labor a dozen times
Baby of the bunch: The family’s youngest 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 is Vaughn, who is just two years old (pictured right, with Lyette)
Looking ahead: Lyette says she is not sure whether she’ll having any more 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, but admits that she and her husband haven’t set a specific number either way
Going their own way: Lyette and David don’t have any household help and they homeschool all of their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren
Lyette starts each day at 5.30am by saying a prayer and writing a to-do list before homeschooling the 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, who learn maths, science, languages, history, and art.
The deeply-religious family also ensures that they all devote ample time to Bible study sessions.
On top of their schoolwork, those kids who are old enough attend at least one sports club a week; in total, they attend 88 different practices in just seven days.
They also abide by a chores schedule which sees Trinity, 13, make three meals a day for the family, with Liberty, 11, as her sous chef.
The family gets through $650 of groceries from a wholesaler a week, including 12 gallons of milk, up to 100 eggs, 40lbs of chicken, and 40-50lbs of potatoes or rice.
While they are busy in the kitchen, Courson, 12, is helped by his brothers to do the laundry – washing, drying, folding and sorting 42 loads a week.
Working through the madness: Lyette describes life at home as ‘organized chaos’, admitting it can be challenging at times
Off they go! The family has a 17-seater Dodge Sprinter to ferry around all the 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren to their various activities
Unexpected: Lyette had her first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 when she was just 21, but said she never thought she would have 16 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren
Happy: However, she insists she ‘wouldn’t have it any other way’ when it comes to having a large family
The other tasks, like scrubbing the bathrooms and vacuuming after meals, are divided between the remaining Reback 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, who get their jobs done between classes.
In addition, the youngsters attend community events, forums, art performances and volunteer with their mom’s charity supporting America’s Gold Star families.
Lyette and David, who don’t have any household help but do have two tortoises and a dog, ferry them to and fro activities in their 17-seater Dodge Sprinter.
Despite their hectic schedules, the family manages to eat most meals together and squeeze in a weekly movie night, and Lyette says she tucks each 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 into bed at night.
She said: ‘It is challenging. There is no normal day in the Reback household.
On the go: Lyette says she is ‘constantly running at 100mph’ and admits ‘sometimes it’s overwhelming’
Eat up! The family of 18 – 16 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren and their two parents – manages to get through $650 of groceries from a wholesaler a week
Family time: Despite their hectic schedules, the Rebacks manage to eat most meals together
Frantic: However, Lyette says it can get so busy she can ‘barely even remember’ her own name
‘I’m constantly running at 100mph and sometimes it’s overwhelming. It’s kind of bananas but it is somewhat organized chaos.
‘It can get so busy that I can barely even remember my name at times but it is always worth it.
‘With chores, sometimes I’m just like, “Oh my gosh, I would pay someone to do this right now,” because it’s so hard to get them to do it the right way.
‘But at the end of the day, is the goal to have a tidy house or responsible 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren? I just really want them to have a solid work ethic.
‘I will throw a load of laundry in when I wake up though. It isn’t like Courson is just slaving over it all day but that is his job and he does take it seriously.
‘They’re human beings, not robots, and it isn’t always perfect or pretty but that fact is the same whether you have two kids or 20.’
Pampering: Pictured are Lyette’s daughters getting ready in their bathroom together
Doing their part! All of the Reback 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren help out with chores around the house, including doing the laundry
As well as being a mom, Lyette writes a blog called ‘The Rebacks’ and manages Believe With Me, a charity supporting military families who lost a loved one in service.
At Christmas, the organization gave gifts to more than 600 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren of fallen soldiers with the help of an army of volunteers – including David and the 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren.
She said: ‘Some days, the phone calls I get from the widows, or from the parents who have lost a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 in the military- they break my heart.
‘But my husband and my 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren are so encouraging when they see me struggling to meet the needs of so many families.’
Lyette has also written a book about parenthood called ‘Please God, Don’t Let Me Screw This Up’.
