Should Couples Stop Having So Many Children or Be Held Accountable?

Question

I know I'll get smacked down for this.

Personally, the world is overpopulated and busting at the seams. People can't find jobs because there are way too many people than there is a way to make a living. Too many people have college degrees, and not even the most qualified can find a job. Blame it on the housing crisis or whatever, but the main problem stems from the fact that the world (at least this nation) is overpopulated.

Personally, I find couples who have many kids to be ridiculous and selfish. The future population will swell even more with less resources available. China charges any couple who has more than 1 child and I think that is a great idea.

People will probably say "well, if we stop reproducing, then the human race will go extinct."

I don't think people should stop reproducing, but just stop producing so much. Do you really need like 3 or 4 kids per family?

Answer 1

I know what you are saying....Personally I dont know how people afford 3-4 kids in a family when gas is 4.00 + a gallon and everything else is on the rise. How do you do it? Seriously, Id like to know. I also have been told dont you have to petion to have a child in China? Go through some parenting classes or something along those lines? If that is the case..WE DEFINITLY need to impliment that here in this country STARTING YESTERDAY!

Answer 2

Accountable? Of course everyone should be responsible for the choices they make.

People can't find jobs because the world is overpopulated? That is an interesting idea but it has no factual basis.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s the population of the US was about 123 million and unemployment hit 25%---so if over population is the cause of unemployment then shouldn't unemployment have increased as the population increased?

Nope. The unemployment rate in 1964 when we had about 192 million people was 5.2, the same as the rate in 1929 when there were about 122 million people in the US.

Let's talk about resources---are there too few? or do we mis-use them? We can feed everyone on the planet easily---do why don't we? Spend a day hanging out at a fast food restaurant and see how much food is dumped, or how much is junked at grocery stores. The calculate how much energy was spent to produce that food, package it and then dispose of it.

We have plenty of resources, we just choose to mis-use them on a grand scale.

As for the big point--how many kids in a family is too many---then I think that comes down to the family. There are many famous people who were second, third, fourth, etc in their family.

John F Kennedy

Martin Luther King Jr

Mother Teresa

Lech Walesa

Abraham Lincoln

Albert Schweitzer

I think you get the point.

If you don't want to have kids, then don't. If you get angry with people who have many children and don't take care of them---go ahead and waste your time getting angry...

BUT don't make the mistake of believing that people who have 2 or more kids are inherently selfish.  In fact I would argue that people who raise more than 2 kids are raising children who will be LESS selfish and better citizens.

Think about it: When you have two or more kids in a family they learn to share and be careful with resources as a part of daily life. They learn that sometimes you have to sacrifice for your siblings and do things you don't want to do---something an only child isn't exposed to.

Only children who don't have to share at home, wait their turn and can feel free to finish the cookies without wondering if that means someone else will get none.

The thought of a world run by people who were raised in a family where they never had to wait for the bathroom, always got to choose the movie, always got the best seat in the car, always had both parent's attention, etc ---not good for humanity I can tell you.

Not to say that only kids can't be great humanitarians :) just that its easier to grow up unspoiled with siblings.

Answer 3

China does not "charge" people if they have more than one kid. They force abortions or murder to enforce their rule. They may take away your first or second child. Some people attempt to orphan their girls if they do not have boys so that they can try again. It is a scary place over there. There are many horror stories about the enforcement of that "law"

A big chunk of the U.S. population is the Elderly. In the end, things will balance out. Having 3 or 4 kids is not alot of kids. 7 or 8 or 9 children could be considered too many. In the end, it is nobody's place to dictate how many children we have. There are some countries offering money to people so that they will children because their population is so low, and I think that's as far as rules regarding kids should go.

And in case you forgot, subsidies were created to stop farmers from cultivating/ harvesting so much. It reduced our food supply. If things start to get that bad, farmers can plant more food. Farmers can breed more animals for us to eat. I don' think we are going to be fighting over renewable resources, like corn.

Answer 4

MYOB.  Consider yourself smacked down.

All of the people on the planet would fit on Manhattan Island.

The earth will actually support a great number of people.  It just won't support a great number of bloated, evil governments.

The economy only grows if the number of people buying and supporting it grows.  

The main problems in the world do not stem from overpopulation, they still stem from evil, as they always have.

You might not think China was so great if you lived there.  However, if you think it is such a great idea, please feel free to defect.  It may be the last time you feel free, but evidently that is not something you value.

Most western nations already have negative population growth.

The population will not swell with less resources available.  These things tend to balance themselves out, as people will die of starvation and disease.

Personally I find people who want to dictate other people's lives to be ridiculous and selfish.

Answer 5

why r u attacking those with modest sized families? I chose to have 3 kids. why should I adopt someone else's mistake? Please explain to me why my husband and I should not have a child (or 3) who is genetically ours while some teen aged girl or crack head has an entire football team that they give up for adoption. If you have to attack families who have lots of kids, why don't u start with the families with 6-18 kids born from multiple gestation's? I saw a show on discovery health last night where a family had 13 kids. The mom had 6 kids from her first marriage and 7 from her second...including 3 sets of twins. or what about the Duggars...they are pregnant with their 18th.

Answer 6

There are so many things I could say to this, but wont. On the adoption thing, I would like to point out, that most of people (movie stars in particular) that cant have children do adopt, but they adopt a child from another country instead of here in the USA. (Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Meg Ryan etc.!) Alot of the worlds problems doesnt just stem from people having too many children. It also stems from immigration, outside adoptions, & in some cases natural disasters!!! Immigration is more at fault then any other thing. I know personally, I am sick of having to *Press 1, for ENGLISH*!!! Hello, I was here first. Not to mention that they dont have to pay taxes, & they have all the benefits we have... medicade, welfare, frist choice for schools (since they are minorities). So, dont blame those who have many kids for it. Look at the big picture first!!!

Oh, & did I mention that my husband & myself have 5 kids all together... 2 his, 2 mine & 1 ours!!! And we are not by any means ridiculous or selfish! I give back everything, & can stretch a dollar pretty far!!! I also give back to my community, as well as my kids do!!!

Answer 7

I'd love to know your sources to all of these allegations you are making--besides coming from your own formed opinions.  Do you really think the job market is suffering because there are too many people with degrees?  That's a silly assumption.  I don't know where you live, but we have plenty of jobs where I'm at--Nurses are always in demand, as well as many other jobs in the medical community.  I think you may be a bit bitter because someone else beat you out of a job, and now you want to blame it on "too many people" and not the fact that  someone else was more qualified than you.  Not everyone can get their dream job--sometimes you have to settle for another job, perhaps out of your "intended" career path.  We work to live, not live to work, right?

And have you read the newspapers lately?  Do you realize how many of our sons and daughters are dying at war?  Do you ever pay attention to the obits and see that the young and the old die every day?  We are not immortal, and life passes as quickly as it comes.  The problem is not how many children we have (which is really none of anyone's business) but how we provide for them and how we live our lives.

I don't mind a family of eight out there contributing to the world in a positive manner.

Answer 8

Agree with everything you said there. Our leaders are too pansy to do anything about it though.

I have no kids for this reason (amongst others), and when the food riots start I will be glad I don't have to watch them starve

Answer 9

I agree with your opinion BUT it won't happen.  BTW I don't think a women should be able to keep having children if she is on Medicaid, Food Stamps and AFDC.  If you personally can't be financially responsible for the children you have why do you get to keep having more. It hits a nerve everytime I take my youngest to the doctor, shell out my $25 co-pay(which my husband pays $634.52/mo for the privilege of having) and watch a welfare family walk in with 2-3 kids and get the same care for "free" (free for them, you & I get the privledge of footing that bill) Can you even begin to imagine how much goverment budgets would improve if they could cutback welfare?

Answer 10

A lot of people(not all of them)are having lots of children,because that's all the more money they get from the state(tax payers)Your right but as long as girls and woman can have children it will not stop.

                                  Debbie O

Answer 11

Personally two children is enough for us we had twins boy and girl at our first pregnancy so we were lucky and thats enough for us to cope with , people who have more than two children and can afford them hey each to their own its totally up to them to decide when enough is enough

Answer 12

No, you're right. People must realise that its only because of their carelessness that thousands of people are jobless today because of too many candidates and too less opportunies.

Answer 13

Little bit harsh but agree to a certain extent.  

The law should prevent people who cannot afford to support a larger family having too many kids.

it's all very well if you are from an affluant background and have time and money of your own to give to these children, what annoys me is "council mams" who have 4/5 kids, pay hardly anything towards their rent, don't work and recieve hundereds of pounds in benefits that are supposedly to help the kids but in some cases (not all) will probably go straight to the father/boyfriend/flavour of the month to buy drugs with.

Must reinstate, this is not always the case and there are some very hard working tax paying individuals out there but if you cannot afford to have a large family or any family at all..

WEAR A CONDOM!!!!!

Answer 14

It's your opinion, but you are quite harsh and insensitive with the way you put it across. Criticising others for the fact that the world is overpopulated is unfair to say the least, especially when it's only three or four children per family. In my opinion that isn't many and people are entitled to do whatever they wish.

Answer 15

It'll never happen...China is a communist country, by the way...

Answer 16

I think someone needs to do a little more research on how things work in China... and then decide again if it is really something to be striving for.

Answer 17

You say:  "Do you really need like 3 or 4 kids per family?"

My answer is this:  No, I don't NEED to have more than three or four, but we WANTED to share our love and happiness with more than three or four.  We would have been happy if we stopped at three or even at four,  but we have such a fun, happy, loving, affectionate life we wanted to share it more.



I understand what you are saying; I hear you and I can see why some would feel this way (if they are as misinformed as you).  However, I have a different view on life than you do.  I believe that FAMILY is the most important thing to our existence...not material gain.  

We are raising our children to make a positive addition to the society they live in, to be a productive citizen and to respect the human race and help it to progress.  

The destiny of our word is in God's hands and it isn't for me (or you or the government) to decide whether or not people should stop re producing.  

And as mentioned before, China is not a free country as is the country I live in.

(and I do agree that everyone should be able to afford them without assistance before they have them)

Answer 18

I don't know what country you live in, but in the U.S. the number of kids being born is at the replacement rate ... that is, the population of the U.S. would be neither growing nor shrinking if not for immigration.  Yes, I have 4 kids.  Many couples choose to have no kids at all, or only one.  The rare big family balances out the small family, leaving us at the replacement rate, which is a reasonable place to be.  Many European countries are currently below the replacement rate.  My family pays extra towards our electric bill to support wind power.  We recycle.  We volunteer in our community.  We walk where possible.  We pay our own way.  My husband is a university professor developing alternative energy sources.  Just because we have six people in our family doesn't mean we are careless with the world's resources.  There are families with one or two kids who are bigger resource users than we.....

While some resources are certainly finite and while the impact of a large world population on the environment is certainly a legitimite concern, large populations are not a reason for a lack of jobs.  More people means more services and products are needed, which means more people are needed to provide them.  I'm not sure what your problem is with lots of people having college degrees.  Mine and my husband's have certainly served us well.  And while unemployment is a problem for many, far more people than not -- regardless of whether they're the "most qualified" -- do find jobs.

Answer 19

I think that as long as the couple can support themselves and their children, it's no one's business how many kids they have!!