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It will make you a better person. There's nothing easy about it. You'll have less time for selfish things. Your self control will be challenged as you try to
by ericalexander0 5y ago
It will make you a better person. There's nothing easy about it.
You'll have less time for selfish things.
Your self control will be challenged as you try to maintain composure in many challenging situations. Some that involve diaper blowouts at 3am, the night before a big presentation.
You'll be forced to adapt as your lifestyle changes. Old friends without kids will invite you out less. You'll find new friends with kids. The practicality of things like minivans will become alluring.
You'll become more persuasive. If you can convince a 3 year old to eat broccoli, you can sell ice to eskimos.
- brailsafe 5y agoGotta wonder about all those parents that missed the "make you a better person" memo.
- elite_hackers3 5y agoRight?! “Make you less selfish”… excuse me?
- quattrofan 5y ago"make you a better person" how incredibly arrogant,and I would argue having children is incredibly selfish. You are filling a need for yourself no-one else, there is nothing that couldn't be improved by less people on the planet.
- slumdev 5y agoIf you think perpetuating the species is selfish, this conversation probably isn't for you.
- mdorazio 5y agoThere is a rather large difference between perpetuating the species at a sustainable level and “everyone who even remotely wants kids should have some.” If you can’t appreciate this difference, this thread probably isn’t for you.
- slumdev 5y agoRead the comment I responded to. It said nothing about sustainable levels: > I would argue having children is incredibly selfish
- mdorazio 5y agoYes, read the comment you responded to. It said nothing about permanently dropping fertility rates to zero either. You made a straw man argument and I called you out on it.
- slumdev 5y agoThat poster made the unqualified statement that having children is a selfish decision. If there are at least some people for whom the decision is not selfish, then it's a false statement. If there are no people for whom the decision is not selfish, then if every couple were to act selflessly, the human race would end in a single generation.
- satisfice 5y agoAh, sweet logic.
- elite_hackers3 5y agoBingo. Need proof? See other comments in this thread - “I can’t imagine how I lived before I had kids!” Uh huh.
- thatguymike 5y agoI don't think the poster necessarily said that nothing else in the world will make you a better person... I think it's impossible to deny that learning kindness, patience, humility, acceptance makes you a better person. Is it the only way to get that experience? In theory no, in practice it's hard to recreate the sheer intensity of the experience of raising children in other parts of life.
- satisfice 5y agoHave you actually thought about this? Do the math, man. Society can’t function without quite a few young people and not so many old ones. I also would like the population to drop, but it has to be done carefully.
- emerged 5y agoI think to a large extent the selfishness just expands to include your kids. Most parents are even less likely to consider the needs of people outside of their family because they weigh the needs of their kids far above others.