Having Children Is Irresponsible.

[villagefarang]

I love those irrational and emotional arguments about gifts form god and denying the world a great person.

Kids come from a sperm and an egg. Your kid has just as good a chance of being physically or mentally handicapped, jailed for criminality, or dead from gang or street violence or driving around drunk on his motorcycle.

Granted those primordial urges are strong but there is no logic or rational thought involved. I prefer to make my own choices and not let my hormones and endorphins dictate my actions.

[tijnebijn]

i can't believe this thread is still running. i have 2 kids (and wife of course) and I'm very happy with my life they are God's gift and you cannot compare the feeling of having kids than having a cat or dog, now call me irresponsible!

some people just cannot have them and they've tried everything to have one, i pity them... now, rain man, you should ask your parents what they've felt having you...

Good point you got there !

I think the Op is frightened having responsibilities , while having children .........

But its every body's choice , he has got the right not choosing to .

[jackr]

I love those irrational and emotional arguments about gifts form god and denying the world a great person.

Kids come from a sperm and an egg. Your kid has just as good a chance of being physically or mentally handicapped, jailed for criminality, or dead from gang or street violence or driving around drunk on his motorcycle.

Granted those primordial urges are strong but there is no logic or rational thought involved. I prefer to make my own choices and not let my hormones and endorphins dictate my actions.

Is being an android fun?

To those who vehemently say they'll never have kids, each to their own I spose, it's a bit of a messy world and I was of similar mind once. Just hope you don't look back and have deep regret for all that you have missed when on your deathbed.

[tijnebijn]

I love those irrational and emotional arguments about gifts form god and denying the world a great person.

Kids come from a sperm and an egg. Your kid has just as good a chance of being physically or mentally handicapped, jailed for criminality, or dead from gang or street violence or driving around drunk on his motorcycle.

Granted those primordial urges are strong but there is no logic or rational thought involved. I prefer to make my own choices and not let my hormones and endorphins dictate my actions.

Is being an android fun?

To those who vehemently say they'll never have kids, each to their own I spose, it's a bit of a messy world and I was of similar mind once. Just hope you don't look back and have deep regret for all that you have missed when on your deathbed.

I couldn't do without my kids for sure .

Like I said before , people not having them , probably never will understand what we mean .

Its just the way it goes .

[samran]

what was that movie recently where humans had become infertile and the world basically was turning to crap as a result of it? Given there was no one to pass on things to, there was no incentive to strive for anything, inlcuding making the world a better place. So everything went to seed instead.

It was an interesting perspective, but I think there was an element of truth in it. Now that I am a dad, all I want to do is make sure is that I leave a better world for my daughter than the one I've grown up in (which by no means was bad..).

[plasticpig]

The movie was Children of Men, in 2006

[ZukiSuzuki]

I have been talking to the boyfriend about adopting, he is not interested and thinks it would be strange for two gay guys to have a kid.

Oh well you can't always get what you want.

But if you try some times you just might find you get what you need.

[Ulysses G.]

The movie was Children of Men, in 2006

I couldn't understand a word that they said because of the strong accents. I tried the subtitles, but they were useless too. watched about 15 minutes and gave up!

[WaiWai]

In this part of the world (as in many other parts) children are needed as "social security" ( care in old age/sickness/unemployment).

It is therefore not feasible to question mindless reproduction, as members of more affluent societies can.

[jamesc2000]

Having Children Is Irresponsible?

I think you have a very good point!

But it must be fun trying eh?

Sorry if someone else made the same point!

[Austhaied]

Before you start yelling at me, I know I have potentially opened a can of worms with this thread and its title. But let me try and explain as to why I wrote it.

Before I was married, I didn't give a lot of thought to the subject of having children, I admit. I had no reason to. Now since I'm married, obviously I've discussed this with my wife and have also given it some more detailed thought and I came to the conclusion that having children in this age is simply irresponsible.

Don't get me wrong, I love children. If it wasn't for this, I'd probably have 1 or 2 with my wife. But what got me thinking is the amazing growth of world population.

When I drive in traffic, not only in Bangkok, but also in other cities around the world, like Tokyo, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Vancouver, Berlin, Madrid, etc. Just to name a few that I've experienced over the past couple of years, there is tons of traffic everywhere. When I walk on the street, you bump into someone literally every few seconds. and then we have so many nations in which people are starving to death.

It gets me thinking ..if it's already so bad now, how will it be in 40 years? There won't be less traffic, there will be more. Much more. Every family that now has a car and has 2 or 3 children, each one of those children will have at least a car as well. That makes at least 2 or 3 times the traffic we have today. How can my children live with that?

And the issue of food. There's only so much the world can produce and already today we cannot feed everyone. Millions of people are starving to death.

In the year 2000, the world had 6,070,581,000 people. That's 6.07 billion. In 2005, we had 6,453,628,000 people. That's 6.45 billion. And that means 380 million more people in just 5 years. That's already after we counted those millions that starved to death.

By the year 2040 to 2050, the world will have almost twice the population that it has now. How will the world look by then? We'll have twice the traffic in Bangkok and everywhere else in the world. Twice the people on the streets. Many more than twice the people starving. With more people, the space available for food sources is also on the decline. Who knows how much food we'll have in 40 or 50 years. On top of that, with technology taking over many of the things that people used to do in the past, the number of people without jobs (and therefor suffering from that) are also continuously rising.

Now you probably get my idea, I don't think I need to write anything more. Like I said, I love children. And because I love my children, I will spare them from what the world is turning into. An every day more and more crowded place, in which it will be more and more difficult to find a job and have a good life.

To all those of you who are dreaming of a family with 2, 3 or even 4 kids, please take a moment to think about not only your dreams, but also the lives in which you're putting your children into. The world's population is only starting to become a problem, but by the time your children are 30 or 40 years old, it will be a serious problem.

I wont yell at you, nor do i care that you want to open a can of worms. But this has got to be one of the most rediculous threads I've ever seen on ThaiVisa. So what would you say is our purpose in this life / world..?? BTW.. i have 6 kids and we are happy as pigs in <deleted>. Guess our glass is half full hey..

Edited October 17, 2007 by Austhaied

[rainman]

I'm glad that you're happy with 6 kids, but do you ever think about what the world would look like if we all had 6? One of our purposes in life is certainly to keep our species alive for the future. Some couples not having children or just having 1 or 2 doesn't cause our species to become extinct, but our purpose is certainly not to overcrowd the planet and make quality of life worse for future generations.

Edited October 17, 2007 by rainman

[PeaceBlondie]

I'm glad that you're happy with 6 kids, but do you ever think about what the world would look like if we all had 6? One of our purposes in life is certainly to keep our species alive for the future. Some couples not having children or just having 1 or 2 doesn't cause our species to become extinct, but our purpose is certainly not to overcrowd the planet and make quality of life worse for future generations.

rainman, don't worry about what would happen if we all had 6 or more children; it doesn't happen. I apologize for overcrowding the planet; I was trying to make up for you folks who won't have any. I still think that some of my kids are making the quality of life better for future generations. So I kindly suggest that everybody who can do so, goes out and raises at least one super-baby who changes the world for the better. If you can't do that, don't even try.

[LadyinRed]

I totally share your sentiments Rainman, but I am raising my boy to be someone who will make a difference to the world one day. It's not irresponsible if you put your personal issues/ fears/ doubts aside and focus. I would be the sort of person who uses up all our precious resources without a care had I not become a mother.

[LadyinRed]

BTW, I'd like to know if any member on board is doing 'anything for the next generation' whilst not having kids, living the life, etc...

[PeaceBlondie]

LadyinRed, I don't think childbearing has any direct correlation with world-saving. Bill and Melinda Gates are trying to save the world, and have had kids. Jesus and Mother Teresa passed on having kids, and so did Hitler. Gandhi and Jimmy Carter had kids, and so did Saddam Hussein. No direct correlation.

[Neeranam]

One of our purposes in life is certainly to keep our species alive for the future

Nonsense. The purpose in life is to be happy, help others and not hurt anyone. Nothing to do with making money by not having kids. Actually Rainman, kids are a good investment.

How many kids did Jesus and Mother Theresa have? I met one of them in Calcutta but saw no kids.

Edited October 18, 2007 by Neeranam

[rainman]

How many kids did Jesus and Mother Theresa have? I met one of them in Calcutta but saw no kids.

You met Jesus in Calcutta?

[Neeranam]

How many kids did Jesus and Mother Theresa have? I met one of them in Calcutta but saw no kids.

You met Jesus in Calcutta?

Actually I did meet a guy who claimed to be Jesus in India.

[samran]

Mod Warning:

A few off topic and inflamatorty posts have been deleted. Please take it elsewhere fellas.

[zzSleepyJohn]

I'm glad that you're happy with 6 kids, but do you ever think about what the world would look like if we all had 6? One of our purposes in life is certainly to keep our species alive for the future. Some couples not having children or just having 1 or 2 doesn't cause our species to become extinct, but our purpose is certainly not to overcrowd the planet and make quality of life worse for future generations.

Before this thread closes, I'd just like to say thanks to Rainman for his courage in originally raising it, and for leading it so skillfully, patiently, diplomatically, and to my mind logically, throughout.

Personally I'm right behind everything you've said, Rainman, and it's actually helped me a lot to know that there are quite a few others out there with similar sentiments. I believe our views are still quite controversial out there in society, and there's still quite a way to go before they reach mainstream, but this kind of debate really helps to move things along, and as the planet's resources gradually get destroyed and the open spaces avalable to us gradually diminish, more and more of those in the opposite camp will come over.

+ SJ

[PeaceBlondie]

My question remains: if the most socially responsible people who have the most assets, refuse to perpetuate their kind of people, what kind of human race will be perpetuated by the least socially responsible people who have the least assets? But the answer is complex, since an unmarried poor Jewish lady in "Palestine" had a baby Jesus; some Albanians had a Mother Teresa; and some Austrians had an Adolph. The parents of Karl Marx and Fidel Castro were middle or upper class, too.

[AlexLah]

Overpopulation, what do we mean by that?

It is for sure not the amount of space available for let us say 20 Billion people, there is space enough.

The problem is the number of people that have acces to higher living standards and lack of agricultural , (food) and energy resources.

For example: In China there has been a 27% irreversible loss of land for agriculture, and continues to lose arable land at the rate of 2,500 square kilometres per year.

Millions of people are dying because of starvation, now why is that?

Population control, is it that's why we have contraceptives for women in developed countries?

Would like to have an open discussion on this.

Cheers all!

Alex