I come from a big family consisting of 7 children. I am the eldest and only girl - yes, that means I have 6 younger brothers... some call it luck, others, torture (I definitely call it luck). We have some big age gaps between us, and I'm sure some people are wondering if that kind of thing is okay. My brothers are (at the moment) 0, 2, 3, 5, 14 and 15 (man, I hope I got that right!).

The age gap between my youngest brother and I is 17 years! My partner's age gap between his youngest sister and him is 21 years! Odd, huh? Not really. A lot of people are getting married, having children, divorcing, remarrying and having more children these days. My siblings (looking at it in my shoes) are made up of 1 step-brother, 4 half-brothers and of course, a full-blood brother. Don't get me wrong, I love them all equally!

I must admit, when it comes to having huge age gaps with your siblings, life can be a little strange and, well, challenging. There are so many good points but there are a few not-so-good points too (mind you, there's not very many!). I would like to share these with you. I'll start with the not-so-good points and finish with the fantastic ones!

Not-So-Good Points

1. In public - When the 5 year old (Eric) was born I was so excited, so whenever we were in public, I offered to push the pram. When he was about 3, I was 15. I was pushing him in a department store when a woman and her daughter came up to me and said, "Your son is so adorable!". Yes, it was embarrassing. That kind of thing has happened a lot to me in public since then but I guess you get use to it. I guess it's just that some people get the wrong impression.

2. Fighting - All siblings fight. It's a little different when a 15 year old is having a dispute with a 3 year old though. Obviously the eldest one of the two should know better, but you don't want to make the eldest out to be the bad guy because that will be looked upon as favouritism all because the little one is, well, little. When it comes to fighting, everyone should be treated equally.

3. Confusion - One thing I really dislike is the fact that my littlest brothers having to try and understand that we have different fathers. How can this be? How strange! Of course, they have eventually learnt to understand it. They call my father 'Jay's Daddy', which is absolutely adorable! But, the whole, 'two dads or two mums' thing can get a little confusing for the youngsters, depending on their ages.

Fantastic Points

1. You get to watch your brothers and sisters grow from birth! - This would have to be one of my favourite things in the whole world! Watching them grow and learn is an experience I wouldn't trade for the world. It gives you real insight into the way we were and sometimes even the way we still are.

2. You learn so much - My mother use to always joke that I was in training to 'be a mum'. Obviously she didn't mean I was going to have kids at some inappropriate age, but I was learning all about how to care for children. It is a good piece of experience to have. Just the little things like changing a nappy or feeding them baby food, even jogging them to sleep, are bound to work out to be quite helpful knowledge down the track. Not only do you learn the caring side of things, but believe it or not, the little ones also teach you a lot about life that you wouldn't have already known. I wouldn't be without any of my little brothers. They're all my little mates.

3. You have the opportunity to pass on the knowledge you already have yourself, to them - one night I was giving Eric a bath. He was playing with 4 plastic ships and a few other toys. The ships were red, yellow, green and blue - the other toys were orange and purple. I told him which colours were which and kept asking him which was which until finally he didn't need any help anymore. Eventually (after a few baths of course) Eric could tell me what each colour was and what each two colours made when mixed together. I also taught him how to count to 20. He learnt all this before he was 2. I like to think he had a good teacher. Teaching little ones to count, recognise shapes and colours and how to write their own name is so much fun and once they get the hang of it, it's a fantastic feeling to know that you helped them get there.

Even though I have stated 3 good points and 3 'bad' points, the good definitely out-weighs the bad! So, if you're thinking of having kids with your new partner, even though you already have kids to your ex, go for it. At first, your older kids will be totally against it, but in the end, they'll be glad you did.