When it comes to dressing their 14 kids, the stars of TLC’s Doubling Down With the Derricos have a system. Karen and Deon Derrico’s children can often be seen wearing matching outfits. And it’s not just because it makes shopping and laundry easier, Deon recently explained.
In an Instagram post, Deon chronicled a trip to Kohl’s where he bought new clothes and shoes for his eight sons. All the items were identical, and one fan wanted to know why.
“Why do families of multiples always dress the kids alike?” the person wondered. “Don’t they need their own identity?”
“This is such a great question,” Deon replied.
The reality TV star said he couldn’t speak for other large families or parents of multiples. But for him and his wife Karen, dressing their children alike is all about fostering a sense of family unity.
“[F]or us it’s a way of reinforcing togetherness, love, a close bond, and for them fully understand that as a family we operate as one body!!” he wrote.
“It’s literally our modus operandi that all of our babies understand that with the strength and backing of our family anything is possible and any task can be accomplished,” the dad of 14 added.
The ‘Doubling Down With the Derricos’ says all his kids are individuals, even if they dress alike
Deon also said he wasn’t worried about squashing his children’s sense of individuality because “it’s innate for them to become independent … they truly are all individuals.”
However, “by simply dressing alike it sends subconscious messages to our brain as a reminder of our connection,” Deon wrote, similar to the military.
Keeping the family unified extends beyond clothing choices, he went on to say. When the kids attended a traditional school, teachers advised splitting up their kids. But Karen and Deon insisted their multiples be in the same class.
“It only makes sense to place them together as they had a very close bond that we didn’t want to separate,” he wrote. (Deon and Karen now homeschool all their children.)
For the Doubling Down With the Derricos couple, what amounts to a uniform for their kids has “been the cornerstone to the closeness of our entire family.” But they know it might not be the right choice for all parents.
“One really must assess what they hope their end game is before making that determination,” he wrote.
Doubling Down With the Derricos Season 4 premieres Tuesday, May 30 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
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