When individuals decide not to have children, it is no problem; when society decides not to have any children

Question

Do you ever think it could become a problem?

Answer 1

what are you trying to ask, I don't recall society telling me I wasn't allowed to have children.

Answer 2

No, I do not think it will ever become a problem.  It is a personal choice not to have children and very respectable at that!  There will always be people having children as long as they are able to.  Both of my children were wanted but unplanned.  Very good question but in my opinion there will always be children no matter what.  And in this society if you decide not to have children usually the only ones upset with the choice is the "Grandparents"

Answer 3

Well, there are six billion people on the planet today and the count is rising.

I doubt individual decisions to have fewer children are going to affect the numbers any too soon.

However, within several generations, a culture which does not reproduce will probably go the way of the Etrsucans, the Minoans and all the rest ...

Gotta keep archaelogists in a job somehow, I guess.

Cheers :-)

Answer 4

That will never happen. The number of people having kids will always exceed the number of people without, barring some kind of world disaster. People like me not having kids is not ruining the world; people having kids that they don't want, can't care for, and can't support is.

Answer 5

If humans ever seem at risk of dying out because there are not enough children, I'm sure perception of people who don't do their bit and produce a couple kids will change.  

Answer 6

I don't think it will become an issue. Some people don't want kids. However, the gnawing gut of human instinct is sure to prod a good number of the people on this earth to procreate.

Answer 7

I don't think it will ever be a problem, because regardless of society human nature makes the majority of people want kids. My husband and I don't want kids and there should be absolutely no stigma. But I can see that we are a minority.

Answer 8

Then all of the children that are born would be unwanted accidents.  That would be a huge problem.  That would never happen because the need to pass on our legacy can't be totally erased.  It's born in most of us I guess.

Answer 9

I think your premise is WAY off. In American society, it DOES seem to be a problem when individuals decide not to have children. You don't know how much flack I get as a childfree woman -- "It's your moral obligation," "You'll change your mind," "But it's what you're supposed to do," etc. Like I don't know my own mind! Like I don't know how I want to spend my time, energy, and money! And so many people pity you when you don't have kids. I'm still waiting for the day when the social stigma is gone.

So, no, this is not going to be a problem in America any time soon. Last year, we had some record number of babies since the baby boom of the '60s in this country. Just in my workplace of 28 people, we had five! Our society isn't going to face this problem any time soon! We're definitely not running out of kids!

Answer 10

I don't think it'll be an issue. For every one person who wants to remain childless, there are about nine who don't.

Answer 11

I think the "social stigma of not having children" is gone, at least in many places, it's the opposite problem.

I live in the urban U.S. northeast. Most of my friends, in their 30s and 40s, are child-free by choice. They are doctors, engineers, IT professionals, lawyers...

When I announced to my friends that I was pregnant, they looked at me as if I had three heads. "What did you go and do THAT for?" they wanted to know.

I've had to go digging into my past to find friends with children to reconnect with, because it's nice socializing with people who understand that if you're going to get together with young children, it has to be in the afternoon, and that showing up two hours late, in the middle of supper time and bedtime rituals, is a no-no.

Answer 12

My personal opinion...any time some one else tries to dictate how I live my life is a problem.

If I want to plant a tree in my backyard, that is noyb.

If I want to add on a room, that is noyb.

If I decide to have a baby,that is noyb.

The government keeps getting more and more involved in trying to control how we live.  "We will not allow fast food restaurants to be built in poor neighborhoods.  We want those people to eat properly because right now they are too fat."  You have no right telling me (not that I am poor or fat) what I can and cannot eat.  Why not lower the price of real food so those who are financially challenged could afford to buy a decent meal for their kids?

Back to the original statement...my decision to have or not to have a child is my business and my business only.

Yes, I see this becoming a problem.

Answer 13

a little population control goes a long way