"Is One Child Enough?" - Huffington Post article (spank, play)
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"We're completely and perfectly happy with things as they are. And that's what tripped us up: simple math would dictate that if we had more children, we'd be even happier. But I've come to realize that the calculation is a little more complex. Our happiness comes from a delicate balance of time for our little one, time for each other, time for our careers, and time for ourselves. Changing any part of that equation could very well tip the scale in a negative, rather than positive, direction."
For me, having two has meant more time for myself because they play with each other (and on their own) instead of with me. I have gained at least 2 hours a day by having two (including time spent adjudicating disputes).
people who get to choose how many they have - my daughter is going to be "it" for us (not by choice).
Same here. I wish my daughter had a sibling, but for several reasons it just won't happen. Life chose, not us.
But we are very happy with this little one!
I totally agree that this is a very personal decision. I think one child families can be very balanced and I don't think that anyone should have more children just because that's 'what you do.' However, this bothers me:
"And for what it's worth, it's comforting to know we're not alone. The one-child household is the fastest growing family unit in the U.S. (as well as much of western Europe), and now outnumbers those with two children. On my own street, four of the nine families with kids have a single child (and only one has plans for more). So our daughter is unlikely to be the only "only" in her kindergarten class. "
If this really is a trend in the US, it's a dangerous trend. For individual families, it's fine. But even if you have a good long-term care plan, if the majority of people are not multiplying there will be a shortage of workers to take care of all these aging people.
The article's premise seems to be this: "We have children to make us happy."
Not, "we have children because children are good", or "we have children because we want to impart our happiness to others", or "we have children because they make the world a better place", or even "we have children to create souls for heaven".
Children are to serve our happiness. Does anyone else see the problem here? What happens to children when, for whatever reason, they don't make us happy?
The article's premise seems to be this: "We have children to make us happy."
Not, "we have children because children are good", or "we have children because we want to impart our happiness to others", or "we have children because they make the world a better place", or even "we have children to create souls for heaven".
Children are to serve our happiness. Does anyone else see the problem here? What happens to children when, for whatever reason, they don't make us happy?
To be fair, when people explain why they won't children. It usually starts with "I" or "We" and no they don't make the world a better place. If they become adults and decide to good in the world then that is a different story.
People mostly have children for themselves, don't be silly enough to think there is a higher, noble purpose. We are just hardwired to WANT in most cases.
We debated whether to have more after our firstborn. One would have been fine but then I just WANTED so we had a second. I stopped wanting after that so that's where we stopped.
What happens to children when, for whatever reason, they don't make us happy?
Well, going by what's been posted here lately, they get spanked.
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