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> That being said I would recommend toning down the rhetoric of how much better you're off for not having kids We could also entertain the reverse: that too mu

> That being said I would recommend toning down the rhetoric of how much better you're off for not having kids We could also entertain the reverse: that too much emphasis and pressure is being put on someone being a parent. There is a very widespread self-congratulatory element to being a parent (to the point that many people list it as a job title). But having children is something that people have been doing quite easily and nonchalantly from the beginning of time until these last 2 generations, which spend twice as much as before with their kids (https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/11/27/parents-now-spend-twice-as-much-time-with-their-children-as-50-years-ago https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/11/27/parents-...). There is a parenting bubble that is scaring people away from having children, and maybe it should be addressed as a problem. Edit: Also, i feel a lot of people have dogs because there are no societal expectations about how to raise your dog. They are much easier to have than children.

kelnos 7y ago
I'd like to chime in and agree with this, but perhaps with a bit of a different twist. There are tons of reasons why people are pressured into having kids, and very few people reminding others that having children is a choice, not to mention a huge responsibility. I think we'd have a much happier, safer world if the only people who had kids were those who truly wanted them. Parental, spousal, and peer pressure to have children is very real and very strong, but IMO has no place in being a part of that decision.
- buboard 7y ago
  > is a choice, not to mention a huge responsibility. Actually, i think these two are inversely correlated. The demands from parents have become crazy for no apparent benefit. It's illegal to raise kids as they did 2 generations ago. It would become more of a choice if people at large relaxed a bit and let kids be kids or learn by themselves, or in tiny neighborhood groups.
  - kelnos 7y ago
    Not sure I follow. I don't see how the changing legality of parenting style has anything to do with whether or not it's a choice to have a kid or not.

kelnos 7y ago

I'd like to chime in and agree with this, but perhaps with a bit of a different twist. There are tons of reasons why people are pressured into having kids, and very few people reminding others that having children is a choice, not to mention a huge responsibility. I think we'd have a much happier, safer world if the only people who had kids were those who truly wanted them. Parental, spousal, and peer pressure to have children is very real and very strong, but IMO has no place in being a part of that decision.

buboard 7y ago
> is a choice, not to mention a huge responsibility. Actually, i think these two are inversely correlated. The demands from parents have become crazy for no apparent benefit. It's illegal to raise kids as they did 2 generations ago. It would become more of a choice if people at large relaxed a bit and let kids be kids or learn by themselves, or in tiny neighborhood groups.
- kelnos 7y ago
  Not sure I follow. I don't see how the changing legality of parenting style has anything to do with whether or not it's a choice to have a kid or not.