Mum-of-22 Sue Radford reveals she AirTags her kids so they don’t get lost & has a sneaky trick so they don’t stray far
KEEPING track of your kids on a family day out can be a struggle, so imagine what it’s like for mum-of-22 Sue Radford.
Thankfully, the Morecambe-based mum says she has a clever trick up her sleeve - tracking them using AirTags.
Sue, 48, and Noel, 53, appeared on Loose Women today and shared behind-the-scenes information about raising Britain’s biggest family.
Panel host Linda Robson asked the busy parents: “How do you keep track of them all?”
Sue replied: “When we are on holiday we have Apple AirTags on them which people find really funny.
“Because there are a lot of them, we find that they work really good.
Noel chimed in: “The older ones have a WhatsApp group so everyone knows where they are, but the little ones that you are scared of losing.”
Linda pointed out that they’d recently lost one child - Katie - after she went to Zante without telling them.
The incident had featured on the Radford’s new season of their TV show 22 Kids and Counting, and Sue and Noel had flown to Greece to relocate her after her phone had died for a few days.
Noel joked: “We found her eventually.”
Host Ruth Langsford asked if Sue and Noel had ever lost one of the little ones when out in public.
Sue replied: “Usually if you [Noel] is walking at the front, with the kids in the middle, I’m usually walking behind to make sure all of them are there in front of us.
“But when we are on holiday, we have found Apple AirTags are really good because you can tie them to their clothes.
“Even if they are walking just a little bit behind, you get a notification and it pings that you’ve lost a child but you haven’t.”
We saw Noel and Sue panic about losing two of their girls on their TV show in 2022 during a visit to Alton Towers theme park.
After enjoying a family game of crazy golf and hitting some of the rides, they walked from one side of the park to the other and realised that two of their daughters Hallie and Phoebe were missing.
They were just behind the crew when they vanished in a matter of seconds.
Noel and Katie went to hunt for the missing girls while Sue stood with the other kids.
After a panicked wait Noel called Sue and she immediately answered, asking: "Have you got them?"
Noel explained that they still hadn't found the little ones and Sue was visibly distraught.
The film crew for the show even put down their cameras to help join the search and they finally found the little girls.
Noel said: "Going out with a family the size of ours, it is quite difficult just getting everyone organised and keeping track of where everybody is all the time.
"It's really difficult sometimes, especially if you're in an area where it's busy, like a theme park."
Sue said: "If you lose a child it is the most scary situation any parent can be in. It's just an absolute nightmare."
Noel said: "Even just one minute feels like an hour, you're just panicking."
He added: "It was scary. We've never ever lost the kids. It was a scary thing.
"Once we got them back it was a massive relief. But I think they were just as scared of losing mum and dad as we were of losing them."
Sue and Noel shot to fame in 2012 as the parents of Britain’s largest brood and landed their new TV series with Channel 5 in 2021.
They are parents to Chris, 34, Sophie, 30, Chloe, 28, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke,23, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 20, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Josh, 16, Max, 15, Tillie, 13, Oscar, 12, Casper, 11, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, five and Heidie, three.
Sadly the couple's 17th child Alfie was still born on July 6, 2014.
Sue and Noel got hitched when Sue was 17 and say their marriage has never had any serious difficulties, despite the constant stream of children.
Noel underwent a vasectomy during the ninth pregnancy but then had it reversed.
The couple have claimed Heidie is their last baby, after Sue has spent around 6,000 days of her life pregnant.
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The family famously doesn’t rely on benefits and is supported by their pie shop business.
The Radfords, who live in a 10-bed former care home, often show off their millionaire lifestyle on Instagram.
