Octomom banned her 16-year-old twins from using smartphones and social networks (8 photos)

The 49-year-old woman known as 'Octomom' has opened up about why she takes a strict approach to raising her 14 children. Natalie 'Nadia' Suleman already had six children before conceiving octuplets via in vitro fertilisation in 2009.





“With Elijah, then Amera, then Josh, Aidan, and the twins, I was still in school,” she says of her time at Cal State Fullerton after giving birth to six children, also conceived through IVF.



"I raised them on campus, I attended 18 classes and took care of all my children. I was not like the media portrays me as unemployed and living on welfare. It was not like that at all."

Suleman, speaking about raising her older children, noted: "Unfortunately, I was not able to fully apply the knowledge I acquired in school."

The woman received an education in psychiatry.





“The kids grew up in a permissive environment, and that’s not right. You just can’t do that. You have to follow a certain system in raising them, be consistent, establish discipline. And there has to be unconditional love and acceptance,” she shared with People.

“I only did the latter. I shouldn’t have spoiled them. I learned that the hard way. But I still managed to raise them to be kind and humble,” she added.



But with her younger children, who recently turned 16, Suleman has found an approach that combines unconditional love, positive attitude, and discipline.

“She’s very strict,” said 16-year-old Naria, “and she teaches us a lot. We don’t have phones, just one for communication.”

“They’re not allowed to have relationships until they’re 18,” Suleman said.



But the most important rule is no social media.

“It’s toxic. I don’t even want to go there. I only do it to share information. I can’t even imagine my children spending time there. I believe that access to social media should be limited to 18 years,” the mother of many children is sure.

“I raise my children so that they don’t focus on themselves,” she says. “The world has changed today, but I adhere to more traditional views. I strive to teach my children to care for others and value service. This brings inner joy and happiness. No offense to other kids, but they tend to be a little more, shall we say, narcissistic and self-righteous."



Suleman and 11 of her 14 children live in a three-bedroom apartment in Orange County, California. In their free time, they play games, go to the gym, and have family movie nights.