Comment 38494

By schmadrian (registered) | Posted February 27, 2010 at 16:28:52

Understanding that the world has changed over the past four, five decades, that the demands of modern life are so different from back then, I wonder if the primary solution to this 'problem' is for there to be an honest reassessment of why people have children.

Negative influences family-wise have been in play for the aforementioned forty, fifty years. (Not that there's really ever been an 'ideal' time in our history, as the field has constantly been changing...as well as the goalposts moving...) Longer commutes. The need (as pitted against our value system's requirements) for each household to have two-incomes. The general trend away from traditional nuclear families. The greater input/impact of the outside world. All of these elements have effected additional pressures. And yet we (unconsciously?) maintain the same mindset regarding having kids.

Is it possible that this too, needs to undergo some shifting? What validates peoples' lives now isn't exactly the same as what validated our parents' or grandparents' lives. Priorities have shifted. Urges have shifted. Options have multiplied.

How big a leap is it for people to ask themselves whether having children is really something they should be doing? How many people really should be having children these days, given how many aren't really doing justice to the endeavour? (I'll willingly disclose that I believe parenthood to be the highest calling possible...and I'm not just talking about procreating here, but active parenting, an-equal-in-importance job to your actual career...and that many people either aren't cut out for it, or simply are not capable of handling the responsibility, given what's at stake.)

I realize that I've veered the conversation (yet again), but to me, this particular discussion impacts more on the quality of 'the lives of Youth' than any other variable; if you're not absolutely dedicated to a task, you're not going to be able to deliver dedicated results.

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