Having many children in the context of a new wave of industrialization taking place is a factor influencing the sustainable development of society. Nevertheless, the attitude towards large families, the assessment of the significance of this phenomenon in the aspect of regulating social relations are ambiguous, which continues to attract the attention of researchers from various branches of science. Purpose. To assess the changes occurring in the phenomenon of large families in Russia on the basis of a sociological analysis. Methods. Methods used by the authors in their work are document analysis, statistical data analysis, secondary data analysis (including the Rosstat and WCIOM study). Results. The authors suggest that having many children is a prevailing multidimensional phenomenon that is available for examination and observation by various methods, but there is no extended statistical monitoring of the phenomenon of large children at the federal and regional levels in Russia, while we are faced with a complex and illogical methodology of statistical observation. The second research problem is the lack of a common understanding of the term “large families” both in theoretical sources and in legal documents that are adequate to the conditions of time and circumstances. In the Russian Federation at present, the number of large families is statistically insignificant, on average; the number of children in such a family is 3.3 children. Large families face a number of significant problems that hinder the growth of large families: parental employment (unemployment for women with three or more children is 23.7%), financial situation of the family (income and cost structure), housing and maintenance, etc. The attitude of Russians towards large families is also becoming a problem public opinion is often not in favor of such a family. The solution to the problems of large families and the steady growth of the importance of large families as a reality phenomenon can be a balanced policy implemented by consolidated groups, authorities and public structures, aimed at shaping the attitudes of youth in young people, supporting family births and diverse support for real large families.
