‘They eat a lot’: Father of KZN quadruplets on the exorbitant costs of raising children

A KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) father of quadruplets, Sizwe Bhengu, said raising four newborns is a costly exercise.

Bhengu told The Citizen that feeding quadruplets, in addition to his two toddlers, is very expensive, adding he spent around R3 500 monthly on baby formula and diapers – “because children eat a lot”.

“Especially the two boys,” he jokingly said in reference to the male half of the quadruplets.  

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Sole breadwinner

Bhengu, who is himself a twin, said despite the belief that a “twin is likely to bear twins”, he never anticipated having four children born at the same time.

He said he was shocked when he found out in May 2023 that he and his wife were expecting quadruplets.

Despite the high cost of raising quadruplets, Bhengu said he believes children are a gift from God.

In additional to the financial challenges, Bhengu said rural KZN’s water shortages made running a large household challenging. His wife and mother have to travel long distances to fetch water.

Bhengu, who works as a security guard and part-time taxi driver in Johannesburg, expressed frustration at being unable to help his wife with the strenuous physical task, especially since she was still recovering from child birth.

As the sole breadwinner, he said he is open to job offers with better pay to help him provide for his family.

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Going viral

The father of six said although he was initially sceptical about posting pictures of his children on social media, he was desperate for help.

“I’d been asking [my wife] for pictures of our babies but she didn’t know what they were for,” he recalled, recounting details of his viral social media post.

Bhengu said the response was largely positive, with many people wanting to assist – although his wife, Nokuthula remained oblivious to her foursome’s newfound fame.

“My wife is not on social media, so she didn’t realise how our story had spread while I was in Johannesburg,” he said.

Pick n Pay’s pleasant surprise

After stumbling upon Bhengu’s viral plea, Pick n Pay (PnP) reached out.

PnP KZN CSI Events Manager, Satika Naidoo, called Bhengu, pretending to be a journalist looking to set up an interview.

Naidoo arranged to meet with Bhengu at PnP in Eshowe, KZN and gifted the Bhengus with a R5 000 PnP gift card for baby formula and diapers, and a hamper of Johnson & Johnson baby products.

The retailer also pledged to give R5 000 gift cards to the family for the next three months.

“A single child bears considerable financial commitment, so one can empathise with the impact of quadruplets cost-wise,” said PnP Group Chief Marketing Officer, Andrew Mills.

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