I’d be happy to have one child. I think everyone who reads this blog has sort of realised that by now. One child to call me mum. I’m also not sure how I’d react to anyone telling me to ‘have more babies’.
Yet, I see that sort of thing all the time. Recently, a friend’s birth announcement announcing the birth of her first daughter filled me with joy, and I skimmed over the comments her other friends had left her until I got to one that made me seethe. ‘Hurry up and have another lol’ said the commenter. Uhm.
What?
She’s just had her first one, but she should hurry up and have another? Is there something I don’t get? Is there something I don’t understand? Some sort of primal need to breed and get as many out of you as possible just in case, oh, I don’t know, the human race is in danger of declining and falling. What? It could happen.
About a million years from now, possibly – or whenever the sun’s scheduled to go BOOOOOOOOOM. Until then, I think we can be pretty sure that our parasitic race will endure and challenge and adapt and – dare I say it – possibly even evolve, and consequently, change.
On the same status another friend of hers announced that she was pregnant with her fifth child along with the statement ‘I think we might stop now’. I refrained from saying anything other than adding my congratulations to my friend and then wandered off to think about things.
You see, it’s not the first time I’ve seen comments like that. ‘Better have one more’, ‘Have another child and make it even’, ‘You two make amazing babies, better have one more, then you can have four kids, woo hoo’. It disturbs me. It reminds me of – I don’t know – people finding out that pressing a button produces something amazing – whether it be food, clothes, a pleasing sensation, or a baby – and then constantly pressing that button over and over again. Baby. Baby. BABY. More babies. Button, button, button. Baby, baby, baby.
Just what our world – which is already reeling under our demands for housing, food, clothing, transport, and entertainment – needs. MORE babies.
Couldn’t agree more! We have always been adamant that, if we are lucky enough to have a child, we will stop at one. I get a bit cranky pants when people say “Oh you say that, but you’ll just want more and more!”. Yes, I may want more. But we have thought a lot about the responsibility of bringing yet another life into this overcrowded world, and it’s not a responsibility we take lightly.
It’s a matter of want vs responsibility. Our world cannot support an infinite number of human beings and while parents might have the emotional capability to raise a large number of children, their finances probably won’t be able to handle the strain of raising them, sending them to college, etc. Most of my friends and family have one or two, and at that point they’ve all made a very conscious decision to stop. Their children seem to be very happy with the plan to have just one.