The winners of the “Family of the Year” competition spoke about dating, love and children

Four sons and a sweet daughter

This year, the annual All-Russian competition “Family of the Year” was won by Svyatoslav and Maria Negin, a spouse with many children from the village of Kraskovo near Moscow. They are raising five children and lead an active lifestyle – together they have already mastered more than 10 sports. The Negins were chosen from as many as 3 thousand Russian families who also applied to participate. MK contacted the lucky winners and asked them about the secret of success. What “signs of ideality” must one have to win such a competition?

– Tell me your love story. How and when did you meet, did you immediately realize that you were in love? What did you dream about together?

— We met while studying at school, when we went to regional athletics competitions. First there was a feeling of falling in love. As they say, a spark ran through. We started dating. Then dreams about the future appeared and, finally, plans for a life together. We both come from large families. Therefore, we wanted to see our family big, cheerful, happy. We also dream of opening our own gym in the future.

— Now you are parents of many children. You have four sons and a sweet daughter. What is the hardest thing about this role? What conclusions have you drawn from this experience and what advice are you willing to share?

“We cannot say that something is difficult.” Family is happiness, love, joy! Our oldest child is 11 years old, and our youngest is almost 2. In general, this year is significant for us – we celebrated 15 years of marriage. From experience we can say that you need to support children in their endeavors, take into account their wishes, be able to hear and, of course, love. It’s not just what they say: children are the flowers of life. The conclusion can be drawn as follows: family is strength.

— Was the “Family of the Year” competition difficult for you?

— Not at all, the procedure is quite simple. We saw a publication about the “Family of the Year 2023” competition in the telegram channel of the Ministry of Social Development of the Moscow Region and decided to take part. The competition consists of two stages: regional and all-Russian. We won the regional stage and moved on. We were required to provide a family portfolio, a video, publications in the media, achievements of family members, family photographs, a video of the wife being awarded the “Mother’s Glory” badge by the governor of the Moscow region.

— What achievements of family members did you talk about?

— Mostly it was about how we like to spend active weekends. In the warm season, we organize family bike rides and mini-trips through small towns. And in the winter season we have ski walks in the forest, downhill skiing, snowboarding and sledding. We also play board games as a family. We attend a variety of cultural events – competitions, sports competitions.

— Is there a dream that you would like to realize in the very near future?

— Our family’s common dream is a big house! Therefore, we want to build our own family home.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29139 dated October 19, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Four sons and a sweet daughter