Having Children

Originally Posted by Beemnorv

If they had more than one child illegally, then I think the extra child was taken away.

It used to be this way, and in some of the more rural, undeveloped regions in China, it still is. Thankfully, there have been some improvements to human rights in the last few years, and you generally won't find this happening in metropolitan China. ^_^;

^ Yeah, that's what I was referring to. Eventually, when Earth is overpopulated, every country will have to be like China though.

Hell, I want to have kids someday. It's not like ♥♥♥♥ing someone up the butt will give me kids, gotta keep the legacy moving.

Originally Posted by Beemnorv

I actually like this idea. It has sense to it. This way, teen pregnancies would be illegal (if it already isn't) and would probably reduce the rate of young pregnancies.

The hell are you talking about? Most teenagers don't aim to get pregnant, it's just something that happens because of mistakes or accidents or just plain stupidity occasionally. Aside from the minority of 16-year-olds who go "hey, I totally want a baby!" I'd say that pretty much all teenage pregnancies would start with a "well ♥♥♥♥, that wasn't suppoesd to happen." I doubt that making it so that parents needed a parenting license or something before they could become pregnant/have kids (which?) would reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies.

eventually I would like someone to squirt out some babies for me but right now I am going to live for me and enjoy myself :3

The whole licensed parent thing would never work, unless you resorted to chemical castration. And that sounds like something out of 1984.

Some people do just fine without children. But remember that a marriage (if that is your eventual intention) is between two people, and that a majority of women who once wanted no children eventually want to (or wish they had) birthed a child. The long-term effects on a relationship of no longer being ABLE to conceive can be devastating.

Let me put it this way: Discuss the matter often, as people change and situations change, and also LEAVE YOUR OPTIONS OPEN.

It might help to consider why people have children in the first place. If, throughout both of your lives, none of those reasons appeal to either of you, then good and well. But if one of those reasons becomes important at some point (again, people change for many reasons), then you will want the option, at least.

Originally Posted by Panique

The hell are you talking about? Most teenagers don't aim to get pregnant, it's just something that happens because of mistakes or accidents or just plain stupidity occasionally. Aside from the minority of 16-year-olds who go "hey, I totally want a baby!" I'd say that pretty much all teenage pregnancies would start with a "well ♥♥♥♥, that wasn't suppoesd to happen." I doubt that making it so that parents needed a parenting license or something before they could become pregnant/have kids (which?) would reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies.

I meant that the idea of getting pregnant without a license being illegal could sort of "scare" some people into not risking it by having more protected sex or by not having sex in the first place.

Originally Posted by Beemnorv

I meant that the idea of getting pregnant without a license being illegal could sort of "scare" some people into not risking it by having more protected sex or by not having sex in the first place.

You should go visit the drug thread.

Originally Posted by Tonchiki

You should go visit the drug thread.

I believe I did.

Whatever. I can only hope some things. It's not my fault teenagers act so rash these days.

Originally Posted by Beemnorv

I meant that the idea of getting pregnant without a license being illegal could sort of "scare" some people into not risking it by having more protected sex or by not having sex in the first place.

If the risk of a pregnancy doesn't scare them out of it, I highly doubt that it being illegal would.

Originally Posted by Dark Wyrm

The whole licensed parent thing would never work, unless you resorted to chemical castration. And that sounds like something out of 1984.

As nice as mandatory parent licensing sounds some days, I have to agree

Never having kids. I refuse to contribute to the severe over-population of this planet. If I'm feeling severely maternal, I will adopt a child who needs a loving home.

Originally Posted by madara

Never having kids. I refuse to contribute to the severe over-population of this planet. If I'm feeling severely maternal, I will adopt a child who needs a loving home.

Nice thinking.

Originally Posted by madara

Never having kids. I refuse to contribute to the severe over-population of this planet. If I'm feeling severely maternal, I will adopt a child who needs a loving home.

This is a good idea indeed. One can't really deny that the planet is overpopulated. I've thought about adoption much myself, as a logical alternative to actually having a child.

I'll be having children. I will not have them until I am able to provide them the atmosphere with which I grew up, with me paying for their car and college one they come of age and maturity (this is, of course, the biggest factor). If I have a child before then, since I won't be engaging in unprotected sex, chances are it is going to end in abortion.

I would indeed consider adoption.

I feel that the person with whom I will have said child should be obligated to have children to pass down their genes, and I feel obligated to pass down mine, since mine and those of the person I will marry are and will be desirable. I'm not kidding.

It's sad that the more educated one gets, the fewer children they have. This means that there will always be idiots no matter what, hence my belief that more intelligent people should have more children if they want to and can handle it without having to feel guilty about contributing to overpopulation.

Originally Posted by Alonely

I feel that the person with whom I will have said child should be obligated to have children to pass down their genes, and I feel obligated to pass down mine, since mine and those of the person I will marry are and will be desirable. I'm not kidding.

It's sad that the more educated one gets, the fewer children they have. This means that there will always be idiots no matter what, hence my belief that more intelligent people should have more children if they want to and can handle it without having to feel guilty about contributing to overpopulation.

While I'm all for personal pride, I think you're grossly overestimating the role genetics plays in intelligence and underestimating the role a decent upbringing plays. I don't think two people who happen to be intelligent and able can secure that their child will also be intelligent and able. There are so many factors at play in the raising of a child that you can't possibly foresee, because if child upbringing was actually a precise science, we'd either have a world full of brainwashed slaves or half-decent people. So really I'd say that it's more likely any qualities you have will simply be wasted on raising a child, as the risk of the child veering off into a direction not as useful to society as you might hope, or even not ending up as intelligent as you or your partner might be, is too high compared to the chance that your child will turn out even remotely resembling what you'd like.

Also personal pride dictates that childbearing is in no way beneficial to oneself so yeah.

Originally Posted by Ikana General

This has been plaguing my thoughts for some time now. As the title implies, this thread is about sex and having children. What are your views?

I brought this up, because people always scoff at/condemn my adamant descision never to have children. Simply put, I want to keep the relationship between my girlfriend or wife and myself. No baby, and no pregnancy side-effects. Now you can call me "selfish" (maybe I am) or "immoral" all you want, but my mind is made. I want to keep the flames burning for as long as I can, and a child would ruin that. Aside from sex-related benefits, it will also be much more cost-effective to avoid having children, and I'll not be contributing to over-population. I just want to keep enjoying myself, and that is my right.

Discuss.

The scoffing those people do is an obvious result of evolutionary programming. How dare you not play our game? It's really a lower level sort of instinctual argument that pretends to have no challengers. Not wanting to have children for any reason is your right. In fact, I'd say that rationally speaking, having children is the more questionable action.

Since my Harm of Existence thread, which was based on the same premise of never having kids (albeit for specific moral reasons) seems to have fallen behind, I think I'll just state my reasons here, which include moral and personal reasons:

1.) The less population we have here, the more food can go to already existing people who are probably in need; moreso than a person who doesn't even exist yet.

2.) I don't like taking care of kids. I've got my own life to look out for and I'd probably get tired of raising a child anyway. It's hard to lead a good intellectual life of freedom when you're worried about continually feeding mouths on top of the big questions of the world.

3.) Regardless of the fact that humanity will die out, I think if we were all being more morally particular we'd think twice about bringing a person into a world where they end up suffering, eventually losing everyone they know, into a nature red in tooth and claw when they don't have to even exist. Optimism is nice, and people can say, "ooh, life's a journey, trials make you stronger." But that doesn't matter if you aren't born. You have nothing to be stronger for. It's just evolution trying to preserve its own ass (to personify it for the sake of the argument.) It is a naturalistic fallacy to assume because evolution occurs that continuation of the species is entirely a good thing.

I would not have a child live through the kind of confusion I did. And while I wasn't raped or beaten as a child, the place where people start out into the world is the default, nigh invisible. So when **** happens, it upsets us for not knowing better. I wouldn't want to make someone live in the cycle of boredom, survival and distraction that characterizes life.

I don't want children. I babysit, and that's more than enough for me. Granted, I might change my mind in the future, but as of now...

Hell, I don't even want to get married...

In fact, I'd say that rationally speaking, having children is the more questionable action.

Why? Our biological purpose is to replicate and survive.

As far as the morals of having children goes, I do think we should take responsibility as a species. We shouldn't stop having children, but we should slow down on having so many.