Related to that, Blayke has a special position in your family as the oldest kid. How do you ensure that she gets age-appropriate attention?
Danielle: People think that she probably feels left out the most, but I guess you could say it like that. But I have more sympathy and she might get the most attention — because in my life growing up, I was not the multiple. I have sisters who are twins, so I was [like] Blayke — I was not the multiple. My heart has a little bit of sensitivity towards making sure that she's included or what she wants to do or keeping her separate.
Especially now as a preteen, there is a big change in that age gap. When you're 10 or older [and] your siblings [are] younger than 10, things change. Your likes change, or — I hate to say this — you want to talk about boys or makeup and all these things, and it's very different than playing with baby dolls. We do our best ... I'm extra sensitive towards Blayke, more so because I recognize herself in me a lot as a kid.
Adam: It's funny because we do get a lot of criticism for that on social media. [On] the TV show, yes, the quints get a lot of the attention there because that's what people are tuning in for. It's the quintuplets and stuff like that. But as far as in our home, day-to-day stuff, I feel like Blayke gets more attention across the board than any of the kids.
Danielle: Solo, or ...?
Adam: Yeah. Solo.
Danielle: But we also try to respect all of our kids' privacy in a way. Do they want to do this, or do they want to be seen on this social media, or do they want to be in part of this scene that we're filming? We are very open, and if they're not wanting to do something, we don't make them do it, and we don't push them into that. That's part of our parenting too.
Adam: The nature of figuring out what your kids want and need ... We're constantly shuffling and in this constant season of figuring things out. We're not always going to make the best decision, but every day, we're trying.
