Why do people have kids? This question may seem odd and even offensive to some. But I just don't get it. It probably doesn't help that none of my close friends have kids and don't get it either. The answers I've gotten over the years have never been satisfactory for what seems like a lifetime prison sentence. They've ranged from the narcissistic (I want a mini-me in the world) to the selfish ( I want someone to take care me of in old age). Then there's the conformist response, "That's just what people do, it's part of life." I've never heard it voiced by actual parents, but the tax incentive that comes with having kids is certainly a bonus. Among them all, the very common unplanned accident explanation makes the most sense. I've also never understood this desire some women express for wanting something growing inside of them or the idea that motherhood is akin to sainthood. Can we all just agree that children are the result of sex and not a miracle? I do sometimes see a big chubby baby and want to hold it but after about an hour I would be bored and want to give it back to its parents.
And what's up with these extremes people will go to, like fertility treatments, in vitro, sperm donors, and surrogate mothers? Lately, I've come to realize that there is a very lucrative reason for having children: reality TV stardom. There's Octomom (even without a TV show, we all know she's getting paid), Toddlers and Tiaras (very weird), Jon and Kate Plus 8 (this cash cow may be over), and now Balloon Boy. I guess you've got to pay for all those happy meals somehow.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Why Do People Have Kids?
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9 comments:
I want kids, but I really couldn't offer up a top ten list as to why. I think it's hard to rationalize a biological imperative. Some people feel a need to have children, and it's just a primal thing. Others don't, and that's OK too.
New parents can be insufferable sometimes--they act as though they're precious little snowflake is some special miracle. Truth is, it seems the easiest way to have a kid is get in the back of a Camaro with an unemployed dude and a bottle of Thunderbird. Seems that works better than most fertility treatments...
I have been pondering this lately as well. I guess it is a biological instinct that some people can not overcome with reason. Like you said, it seems like a lifetime imprisonment. Lately I have had to hide people on Facebook because all they talk about is potty training.
Shannon - I never thought of it like that. Could be the result of living in a modern society where mating and reproducing seem almost unnecessary and is increasingly not happening for a lot of people.
Brando - Lol. I do believe many people had kids that way!
Pisces - Lol about the Facebook thing! I read that women especially hide behind their children on Facebook like they don't have a life. Maybe some people like me just don't have that instinct to have kids.
I'd like kids because I want to create a home with love and family to share my life with while everyone else moves on with theirs and builds their own lives as well. I always think it is interesting when people dog the idea of having kids. Where do they think they came from? Obviously their parents were willing to take on a "prison sentence"...
My co-worker recently stated that people should be given an aptitude test before being allowed to have children. I had to agree with her after a recent incident in the department store. A young child around the age of 10 was lost and looking for her mother. The child stated that she just left the emergency room because the mother thought the child had the swine flu. I just want to know what the hell was this mother thinking when she brought her child to the mall after leaving the emergency room. And then to add insult to injury, she loses the child...Hmm. Yea, why do some people have kids?
...and i forget to mention that this young child was wearing pajamas and still had on the emergency room id bracelet
Anonymous - you have got to be kidding me! Did the department store call Children's Services?
I love kids and am generally a people person. Although I have never took a liking to the idea of being pregnant or any of the birth stuff.
I am single, never married. However I would love to fall in love and be married to a man I could trust to be a man I want to stand by through the years to come. If our love was so strong to build a family, as I am very family orientated, that would be lovely. I just don't get wanting to raise a baby alone. I love kids but would not love that. Thankfully I am an aunt and being close to my niece helps fill the baby calling for me.
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