does that mean that when they have a child they wont be average or something i mean. i know what they mean but why do they make it 1/2? why cant it just be 2 or 3?
2007-07-21 18:31:53 · 21 answers · asked by R ♥ I ♥ P ♥ Casey Calvert 3 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Polls & Surveys
i know it means 1 is on the way, but its still a kid and a life so shouldnt it count as more than only half of a person?
2007-07-21 18:38:34 · update #1
It's just the mean. I think they should round it down to 2 so it makes more sense.
2007-07-21 18:34:23 · answer #1 · answered by Kyle Broflovski 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
When you add up the entire number of kids, then divide by the total number of families, you probably won't get a whole number. Example: Ten (10) families have a total of twenty-five (25) children. An average of 2 children per family would mean there were twenty children altogether. An average of 3 children per family would mean there were 30 children altogether. So, it's not 2 or 3, it's 2.5.
Think how troublesome it would be if someone decided that we should all round pi to 3. Actually, the Indiana legislature tried to do just that back in 1897. Thank goodness the bill was defeated.
2007-07-21 18:47:07 · answer #2 · answered by enlightened 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The average family "overall" has 2 1/2 kids percentage wize.
It doesn't mean the 1/2 is a half functioning child. Not even in the case when "you" were born. :-})
2007-07-21 18:44:52 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's obvious that no family can have 'exactly' 2-1/2 kids ... but that it an 'average' not a 'true number.' An average is when a large group is 'added up together' so that some families may have 0 children and others have as many as 10 children ... but when that large group of families is 'divided' by the number of families in that 'polling group' the 'average' is 2.5 children. I had four children ... so that means I had a 'larger than average' number of children ... but if I had been included in the 'poll' the average would probably still be 2.5 children. I hope this 'explains' how they came up with such a 'ridiculous' average number of children per family ... it's not a 'real family' just the numbers of children added and then divided by the number of families.
2007-07-21 18:38:39 · answer #4 · answered by Kris L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have 4 other siblings so I guess we aint a average family! And 2 and a 1/2 means.....OMG!!! WHO WOULD CUT UP THEIR KID!?!? Or does 1/2 not mean ..half a kid?
2007-07-21 18:34:48 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's just an average,don't mean a thing unless ya want to be technical about it,it would mean every family would have 2 kids and wife is 6 months pregnant,got the picture now....
2007-07-21 18:36:05 · answer #6 · answered by davec4real_02 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because the average is between 2 and 3. it would be wrong to say the average is 2 or 3.
2007-07-21 18:35:25 · answer #7 · answered by Scott 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
2 kids, 1 on the way
2007-07-21 18:34:50 · answer #8 · answered by Nico 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"Averages" RARELY come out in "even " numbers... -So when they say "2 & 1/2 kids"- it means that MOST people have a "boy" & a "girl", & alittle "SOMETHING" no-one's quite figured out yet (Ever see the "It's Pat" character- on TV?). :)
2007-07-21 18:42:23 · answer #9 · answered by Joseph, II 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it was "2 or 3", then someone would be asking "Which is it? Why can't they just choose whether it is 2 or 3? It can't be both".
2007-07-21 18:35:02 · answer #10 · answered by Victoria Love-Williams 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe it means that there was a miscarriage or something. ha. that sounded dumb but you asked what i thought... but more than likely it's just a rounded-off average. but i like my answer better.
2007-07-21 18:34:59 · answer #11 · answered by rissa 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋