4 ms·

>Child rearing is a possible solution—it is our evolutionary “purpose” to reproduce, after all, and most people in the developed world today aren’t doing it. I

>Child rearing is a possible solution—it is our evolutionary “purpose” to reproduce, after all, and most people in the developed world today aren’t doing it. I doubt it, that's because to most people it does not feel purposeful, it's a chore. Most people who say it's purposeful are generally the most vocal ones, and I suspect the minority.

marcosdumay 2y ago
Whatever purpose you decide you have, do you think it will come without chores?
chowchowchow 2y ago
Beg the question that a purpose can’t involve chores or unpleasantries much?
dismalaf 2y ago
As someone with a young child, it definitely feels purposeful. Also the opposite of a chore, it's lots of fun and what I look forward to after a day of work. And I'm someone who, for most of my adult life, thought I'd be childfree...
- dennis_jeeves2 2y ago
  Well I've heard people say this. What about the ones that regret it? I know of one personal acquaintance of mine who confided that he regrets having his kid. He would under normal social circumstances not mention it, for obvious reasons. The problem is that it's a one-way street if you decide to have a child. Now if only one had an option to 'trial-run-before-one-commits' that would be ideal. I suspect (but not sure) that most people will still opt not to have them.
  - warkdarrior 2y ago
    You can always give away the kid, the whole adoption industry is here to help. In some countries you can even sell your kids, but it is frowned upon in many Western societies. Finally, fostering is the trial run you are looking for.
    - h4ch1 2y ago
      Wish I had the rep to downvote a comment, > you can always give away the kid a child is not a goddamn pet or a commodity that you can just give away > In some countries you can even sell your kids, but it is frowned upon in many Western societies A common country where that happens is Pakistan/Afghanistan where young boys are sold to be prostitutes. I am GLAD it's frowned upon as it should be everywhere in the modern world. > fostering is the trial run you are looking for Again, children are not pets, fostering is the same as raising a biological child, if you're doing it any different and treating the child differently, in my opinion, it's tantamount to child abuse. Frankly this comment lacks any humanity, and hopefully you choose not to have or foster children.
      - selimthegrim 2y ago
        The other thing that happens is that they (both genders) are sold into begging rings
  - dismalaf 2y ago
    Well, I do think children is maybe idealized a little. I'm probably pretty happy because I went into it having heard all of the negatives, decided I was ok with it and came out pleasantly surprised. Also too many people do it because of societal or family pressure. Also some people will just always be unhappy. The grass is always greener syndrome.
  - nradov 2y ago
    Traditionally people would get a trial run by babysitting for relatives. Now that's becoming less common because families are smaller and more geographically distributed.
beowulfey 2y ago
I would guess the only ones who do not feel it is their purpose are those for whom it happened accidentally. Anyone who chose to have kids most likely did so with purposeful intent.
jaco6 2y ago
[dead]
Aunche 2y ago
Chores are a great way to make you feel a sense of purpose. You can directly observe the fruits of your labor. Your kitchen is shinier after a deep clean. Your baby is no longer crying of hunger after a feeding. The same can't be said for scrolling through TikTok for hours or even a lot of employment. Sure your livelihood may depend on moving items from big boxes into little boxes, but it's hard to feel any sort of accomplishment for that.
- dennis_jeeves2 2y ago
  There is a difference between considering a task a chore i.e a drudgerous task and 2) doing a chore (a mundane task, which may/may not be drudgerous). Same word but different connotations.
JKCalhoun 2y ago
Dogs are a chore. Cats too. Oh well.

marcosdumay 2y ago

Whatever purpose you decide you have, do you think it will come without chores?

chowchowchow 2y ago

Beg the question that a purpose can’t involve chores or unpleasantries much?

dismalaf 2y ago

As someone with a young child, it definitely feels purposeful. Also the opposite of a chore, it's lots of fun and what I look forward to after a day of work. And I'm someone who, for most of my adult life, thought I'd be childfree...

dennis_jeeves2 2y ago
Well I've heard people say this. What about the ones that regret it? I know of one personal acquaintance of mine who confided that he regrets having his kid. He would under normal social circumstances not mention it, for obvious reasons. The problem is that it's a one-way street if you decide to have a child. Now if only one had an option to 'trial-run-before-one-commits' that would be ideal. I suspect (but not sure) that most people will still opt not to have them.
- warkdarrior 2y ago
  You can always give away the kid, the whole adoption industry is here to help. In some countries you can even sell your kids, but it is frowned upon in many Western societies. Finally, fostering is the trial run you are looking for.
  - h4ch1 2y ago
    Wish I had the rep to downvote a comment, > you can always give away the kid a child is not a goddamn pet or a commodity that you can just give away > In some countries you can even sell your kids, but it is frowned upon in many Western societies A common country where that happens is Pakistan/Afghanistan where young boys are sold to be prostitutes. I am GLAD it's frowned upon as it should be everywhere in the modern world. > fostering is the trial run you are looking for Again, children are not pets, fostering is the same as raising a biological child, if you're doing it any different and treating the child differently, in my opinion, it's tantamount to child abuse. Frankly this comment lacks any humanity, and hopefully you choose not to have or foster children.
    - selimthegrim 2y ago
      The other thing that happens is that they (both genders) are sold into begging rings
- dismalaf 2y ago
  Well, I do think children is maybe idealized a little. I'm probably pretty happy because I went into it having heard all of the negatives, decided I was ok with it and came out pleasantly surprised. Also too many people do it because of societal or family pressure. Also some people will just always be unhappy. The grass is always greener syndrome.
- nradov 2y ago
  Traditionally people would get a trial run by babysitting for relatives. Now that's becoming less common because families are smaller and more geographically distributed.

beowulfey 2y ago

I would guess the only ones who do not feel it is their purpose are those for whom it happened accidentally. Anyone who chose to have kids most likely did so with purposeful intent.

jaco6 2y ago

[dead]

Aunche 2y ago

Chores are a great way to make you feel a sense of purpose. You can directly observe the fruits of your labor. Your kitchen is shinier after a deep clean. Your baby is no longer crying of hunger after a feeding. The same can't be said for scrolling through TikTok for hours or even a lot of employment. Sure your livelihood may depend on moving items from big boxes into little boxes, but it's hard to feel any sort of accomplishment for that.

dennis_jeeves2 2y ago
There is a difference between considering a task a chore i.e a drudgerous task and 2) doing a chore (a mundane task, which may/may not be drudgerous). Same word but different connotations.

JKCalhoun 2y ago

Dogs are a chore. Cats too. Oh well.