Ever stopped to consider NOT having children?

Question

To everyone who chose to become pregnant. (ie, the growth in your uterus isn't an accident) did you ever put any thought into not having the child for the sake of reducing overpopulation?

Nobody ever brings it up but almost every modern problem in society can be linked directly to overpopulation. Most directly would be poverty.

Just a thought.

Answer 1

Just be glad that your parents did not think of that when they produced you.

Answer 2

I really had to think about whether I wanted to chime in here or not--considering the tone of this question. Really, going on the attack does absolutely nothing in gaining acceptance and respect for those of us who are childfree by choice.

Personally, I think it is a weakness in our society that we give more thought to not having children than we give to having them. When people find out I'm CBC, they assume I'm gay, socially stunted or I just haven't met "the right man" yet.

Truth be told, it's a decision I spent many years making. As a teen, I thought I wanted a house full of kids. When I said that to people, they encouraged the idea. However, when I started questioning whether I truly wanted children, I got a simple "You're still young." That is warped logic, as far as I'm concerned.

I chose not to have children because of the impact on the planet, my unwillingness to be the kind of parent I believe every child deserves and the potential that something will go wrong and I will have to care for an ill or disabled child for the rest of my life. Of course, people always zone in on that last reason and assume I'm being selfish. I say it would be selfish of me to bring a child into the world only to discover after the fact that I'm unwilling or unable to provide the care necessary.

IMO, having a child or not is a very personal decision and we really don't have place to judge others. We need to live our lives in the best way we possibly can while being a positive force in our communities.

BTW, my decision to not have children is based soley in my love of children. If I didn't like children, I wouldn't care so much about whether I would be a good parent or not. As a teacher, I am honored to have about 150 kids every year. And, in my experience, most parents are truly doing the best they can and they really care about their children's well-being. I may not agree with the way they're going about some things, but it is very rare that I can look at a parent and believe that they just don't care about their child.

Answer 3

Wow. Your question seems to have prompted alot of mindlessly agressive rebuttles. Quick! turn no a drama so the hormonally imbalanced women on here can cool.

Overpopulation may not seem that immediate a problem when you are confining yourself to the simplicity around you; mostly because you do not see it. As a global population, I think overpopulation is a growing problem.. literally.

There are many children that are homeless, parentless, and worse. I think it is more responsible to adopt a child that is in a great need of help rather than giving birth to one with the basis of, "I am not going to let that happen to MY child".
I believe, to make a better life for you and which ever child you choose (biological or adopted), it is more beneficial to that child's and the generation's future to adopt.
But that is just me. A good portion of people are puting career first anyway and end up not even having children.

Answer 4

Yes, my husband and I did actually consider this. But we felt that we wanted to have the experience of carrying our own child, going through the pregnancy and birth experiences, and knowing that this child was totally, completely ours. We plan to have at least one more biological child, and then look into becoming foster parents and adopting another child.

I do agree that overpopulation is a huge problem. And I do think that more people should consider the fact that there are many, many children in our country and abroad that need homes when thinking about having a child. However I would never fault anyone for wanting to have a child of their own - I completely understand this desire.

I also think, though, that adopting rather than having your own children is not a perfect solution. I worked in child welfare for several years before my daughter was born, and have seen firsthand that children whose mothers didn't get proper prenatal care or used drugs can be permanently damaged. Even if they never live with abusive/neglectful parents, they can still have severe behavioral/emotional problems that are believed to be linked to in utero experiences. I think that it would take a very strong person to be able to deal with potential consequences of a birth mother's harmful behavior, especially if that was the only child you had. I know that sometimes behavioral/emotional problems occur in children that don't have these kinds of histories as well, but it seems to me like it would be harder to deal with if someone else might be responsible for it. But I do think that adoption is a very important issue that needs more attention as a solution to overpopulation. I'm not sure that many people have thought this through like we did.

Answer 5

Yes I did consider it. For a long time actually. But the conclusion that I came to was that when you have a child you are given an opportunity to shape the future of the human race and the planet. If you raise children to become advocates for the environment you can influence a society in a positive way. Some people just don't care. Do you want them to be the breeders of the future? To shape society as one that doesn't give a rat's a$$ about the environment or other people? That's a path to sheer destruction.

I am raising my children to respect the planet and the life that resides on it. They will fight the good fight if I have anything to do with it.

Answer 6

I am male, and I decided, when I was about 16, that I didn’t want them. I started seeking a vasectomy when I was 18, and I got it at age 21. I have since gone to college, and traveled the world.

My girlfriend does not want them. She got herself fixed at age 27. Today we are 41, and 36, respectively.

I am told that, in the USA, 1 in 5 women will purposely decide not to have children. I think the numbers are less for men.

Many of my friends, that have kids, wish they didn’t. Most will say that I made the right choice.

Sure I get called gay, angry, and other stuff. But, who is the one that comes into work every morning with a smile on his face, and a has a cube wall full of pictures of his last vacation? Me, that is who. Who can't afford vacations? Most everyone with kids!

Answer 7

Actually I honestly did think about this when I decided to become pregnant. I am a practicing Wiccan and I felt it would be hypocritical to impose unneeded burdens on the envoirnment.
However, I watch BBC world, not CNN or any of that crap being paid by corporations like Viacom. I saw a story something like this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2570503.stm
That's not the exact one, but they said that if it wasn't for immigration, established countries like the US would actually have had FALLING birthrates. The population problem is in 3rd world countries where people have 8+ children to help out with the farm and then can't feed them if a crop fails.
Please know what you're talking about before you come out and say something so sickeningly offensive and negative. People like you are why enviormentalists can't make any progress, they are now labeled as fanatical liberal crazies and no one will listen to them unless they have a powerpoint presenation and a movie.

Answer 8

that growth you talk about is there because two people love each other and choose to have a family. now in most cases they can look after their children financially so how you can connect it with poverty is beyond me peoples circumstances change and no-one can for see that, do you know how many people will never have children through choice or because they medically can't? you might be surprised if you actually worked it out i personally do not connect poverty with children and more with the fact that people are taxed to the last making life financially difficult doesn't mean we should all stop having children. where would we be without them! just a thought

Answer 9

This is also to Amanda; We are not dogs. If we chose to procreate that is solely our choice and not something you or any other human being on this planet has any right to judge. It is as if you are asking the whole world to become like China and begin killing off second and third children in a family to control a percieved population issue.
Poverty is not linked to overpopulation either because if you knew your history, you would know that there has always been poverty, even when the black plague killed off over half the world's population there was poverty.

Answer 10

I think the women who are married, mentally, financially, and physically capable of having children with their Husbands and have thought about it should do it. I mean those other "women" who are 14, been dating a guy for a month, or maybe met him in a club, are drug addicts, like to party, should not be able to have children. Or those ones that get pregnant with a guy that won't be around, or she can't even do it financially because she is still a kid. SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO. these kind of kids result in bad neighborhoods, bad parenting, child neglect they end up being criminals and just continue with the bad cycle in today's society...Not to mention the over-population

Answer 11

I don't believe that a married couple who are educated, healthy, financially capable, and mature enough to handle raising future productive adults are putting a strain on the global economy by having children. I think such people should have children... it's more likely that children born to this type of family will go on to be future leaders, professionals, or in general an asset to their country. We need more people like that! It's the people with government assistance who continue to have more and more children, lack of education and healthcare in poor nations, and people who have no concept of responsibility that are causing those problems. It's a vicious cycle.