"Why is wanting children the default state?" For most of human history it was the only way to ensure that a tribe/culture/country would survive. People used t

"Why is wanting children the default state?" For most of human history it was the only way to ensure that a tribe/culture/country would survive. People used to die all the time, diseases would periodically wipe out large swaths of the population, and if people did not have enough children a country would be left in a weakened state, lacking enough workers for farms, and would likely be conquered by some neighboring country. Every culture that exists today formed under conditions that only allowed a small minority of people to choose not to reproduce, and cultural institutions and norms formed to encourage procreation. Today we live in a very different world and we can (and should) rethink our attitude.