How Many Children Do You Have?

[rucky]

Poll question: How Many Children Do You Have?

not through adoption

RE population and environmental impact: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1393919&mesg_id=1393919

For the record: a) The discussion is a somewhat valid, but not if you're taking it from a pure cost-accounting perspective. Quality and quantity must be considered together.

b) Purely from an environmental/population take: I believe if you have two or less kids, you're making zero impact on population for the future generation. Three kids isn't going to kill anyone, unless everybody did it. Six kids is... environment aside, why the heck would anybody want to have that many kids?!

c) I personally know single people without kids who consume more than a typical family of three in Central America (just an example). Consuming less is the most practical and immediate solution.

[Clark2008]

1. Two little cutie pies.

And neither one was planned - they were both "birth control" babies. Needless to say, hubby had a vasectomy last week - BUT I wouldn't trade either of them for the world.

[rucky]

3. How old is the little one?

adorable!

[Clark2008]

27. She's six weeks old yesterday.

My son is 8 years old. :)

[blondeatlast]

9. Beautiful! nt

[beyurslf]

2. None of my own. But a foster parent to 4 teens and looking to adopt.

[classof56]

12. YOU are awesome! You have my sincerest admiration and gratitude.

Nothing makes me more angry, frustrated and upset than what I hear on an almost-daily basis about the ugly things that happen to kids, more often than not at the hands of their own parents. I cannot thank you enough for taking these youngsters into your heart and home and giving them the care and love they need. How fortunate are they--and you, as well.

Many blessings!

Tired Old Cynic

[Clark2008]

34. I always admire those who adopt.

One of my closest friends, upon learning that fertility treatment was going to cost a fortune, decided, with her husband, to invest that money into adopting a child that needed a home instead of forking over thousands just in order to get a "blood" baby.

Funny thing, though, six months after she went through hell adopting a child from Soviet Georgia, she ended up pregnant. Now she has two beautiful children.

Same thing also happened to the people we bought our house from - she couldn't get pregnant so they adopted from the Philippines, I believe, and, in the process of finalizing the adoption, the wife ended up pregnant, so they had two little ones only a few months apart.

:)

[ikojo]

4. Even the poorest of Americans has a greater

environmental impact than does someone living in the "third world."

[rucky]

15. Consumption trumps everything else. n/t

[Retired AF Dem]

42. If a third world family has no money

and a poor American family has no money just how does the American family have greater impact on the enviroment? Let me guess, Americans are the blame for everything.

[NMDemDist2]

5. none and at my age, I'll never have any. I choose not to in the 70s

when the population explosion was news

No regrets and looking around I'm glad. I'm just sorry I haven't done more to leave a better Earth for other's children

[buddhamama]

6. i have one

a son, and He's my world.

i am not planning on having anymore, though. i've had surgery to prevent further pregnancies.

[madokie]

7. I have - 2, I'm a stepdad

so subtract two off of someone elses ok, ;-)

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. 2 sweet little boys who are now a lot bigger than this pic shows

[rucky]

13. Where are you in that picture?

ancient site?

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. Not ancient, but old. My g-g-g-g-g grandfather was the commander

of Fort Knox (in Maine, not the one with the gold) Sadly, he caught a terrible case of TB and the cold and damp of the fort didn't help it at all and he died.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Knox,_Maine

[ikojo]

17. NIce family and even sweeter tie dye!!!

[GreenPartyVoter]

24. Thanks. :^D

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. delete

[slj0101]

10. None...yet.

Remember, reproductive choice is a two-way street.

[blondeatlast]

11. I stopped at one due to my high-riskiness. He is my world and

a little "carbon impact" monitor. He just may offset what impact he does have!

[Squatch]

14. Two people into the world, two people out of it.

We're population neutral.

[Zywiec]

19. Just so long as your kids don't reproduce

Otherwise if your two have two each, that's four more.

[rucky]

22. Assuming virgin births. n/t

[HereSince1628]

16. Do you want to count only living children or dead ones, as well?

Because, I have one dead and two living.

My interest was always 2, back when I thought zero population growth was enough. My first baby (a girl)died in infancy.

[ikojo]

18. Sorry to hear about your daughter's death

:hug:

[HereSince1628]

29. Thanks,

but it's long, long ago.

Depending on what the OP wants to learn there's a difference in counts between #'s of pregnancies, #'s of live births and survivorships to some age and what that means to interpreting results...

It wasn't clear what the OP wanted.

[mondo joe]

20. 2 kids, but 4 parents. (2 moms, 2 dads)

So I don't know if I should answer 2, or average us out to 1.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. We serve as staff for our 2 cats. Easier to herd than kids.

At least the cats think we are.

We decided not to have kids.

[Blue_In_AK]

26. I have 3 wonderful adult daughters

and I won't apologize for bringing any one of them into the world.

[frazzled]

28. A complex issue

(By the way, I have 2, now young adults).

You are right to question/consider environmental impact, but if this leads people to think they ar doing the world a favor by having no children, the discussion is too simplistic.

There are two ways to looking at having children from a societal perspective. One is to consider the resources and costs. The other is to look at a child as a contribution to the next generation and to society as a whole. If no one had children, the earth's resources would flourish (maybe too abundantly!): but then, of course, there would be no human society altogether. No artists or doctors, no scientists or environmentalists.

There are personal reasons to have children, and personal reasons not to have children. All valid. But for those who choose not to have one or two, it is not legitimate to claim you are doing society a favor. If you leave the next generation to everyone else, in one sense you are not contributing your share to your nation and/or society.

This doesn't mean I object to people having no children. Au contraire. It's just that I think the reasons should be honest ones.

[rucky]

32. My take, exactly.

You just said it better.

[MrsMatt]

30. Two children

one girl (age 10) and one boy (age 2).

Never regretted it.

[havocmom]

31. One child and worked to instill responsible values in her from early age.

She is not a wastrel consumer. She cares deeply about socio-political-economic issues and takes action to make her case/convince others to be responsible citizens. She started shopping at Second Hand stores on her own when she started high school and tries to get as many of her purchases as she can from them still, in her mid-thirties.

She has become an enthusiastic gardener, even though she lives in an apartment. She uses the bus a lot. Her car gets great mileage and she uses it sparingly. She uses fans instead of air conditioning most of the summer (lives in Tucson). She recycles and has for a very long time. Her companion animals are all shelter rescues. She almost never eats beef. She buys locally as much as she can.

She is studying subjects which she hopes will serve herself and community in coming times of failing infrastructure.

I figure that one child I brought into the world is a responsible global citizen. She takes stands and makes statements, sometimes making herself a target for local crazies. As a teenager, she got us involved with a volunteer group that physically defended the property lines at Planned Parenthood when there were demonstrations and harassment of clinic patrons. Of late, she has become sort of a regular at protest marches and even alone on busy streets some July Fourth holidays, appearing as Liberty in Chains. I love her very much. She is one of my top heroes. There is no guilt for bringing her into the world. There is sadness at the mess she is inheriting.

She knows it is not easy being green, but she does more and more of it anyway. Yep, she tries to be green, in many, many ways. :D

[LWolf]

33. I'm the only child of an only child.

I produced 2 children. They're adults. One is childless, and likely to remain so. The other has one child, and I'd bet every last asset I've got that he won't have another.

So...out of my grandmother, 4 generations later, there is one person.

[liberal N proud]

35. Two girls

I cam from a family of 5 and my wife had one sister.
We originally only intended to have one and spoil that child rotten. We did just that and when she was 5 and wanted sister, we decided what the heck, the two of them could grow up and be friends with any luck. 6 years apart, they wouldn't be competing.
We were lucky to get a second healthy girl and the spoiling just doubled.

Now we have one in college and still spoiling her rotten. But the amazing thing is we didn't raise them to be spoiled brats. They know that they are lucky and appreciate what they have and are very generous to others. They know that they are not rich kids and we work hard for everything we have. They also know we will do anything to help them in life.

When I look at how that part of my life has turned out, so far so good and I know how lucky I am.

[rucky]

36. DU's impact on world population, as of 11:39 am...

-96

[Jed Dilligan]

37. To be perfectly honest, I would have to say

I don't know. I don't think I have any, but I can't be sure.

[zonmoy]

38. never been with a woman in a sexual way so none of course.

never wanted too.

[LSdemocrat]

39. None yet (I'm 26). I hope to have one, maybe two if the circumstances are right

[Jack Rabbit]

40. I have two sons, both adults

Neither is married and neither is a father.

[Arugula Latte]

41. Two (boy/girl) w/ two parents

Lights of our lives ... Best decision we ever made ... :loveya: