Why children?

[_g (imported)]

g, you'll get no argument from me that authorities shouldn't be shoving anyone around when there's no abuse. But authorities should only become involved when we're alredy sure it's abuse? Many times that's too late. You don't think authorities should be compelled, or even allowed to investigate reports or suspicions of abuse?

I have no problem with that, but reporting a person for wacking a child on the ass, is out of line. If a person has to do that to a 8 year old or above then the perants have a brat, and did not do the job when it matered.

_g

[jane_says (imported)]

Huh? Who said anything about reporting someone for whacking a kid on the bottom?

[polecat (imported)]

Ooh, big question for me. At 6 billion and climbing, more'n doubling in population every 50 years since the year 0 B.C., humans definitely have to start asking themselves that question. And "because we can" isn't always the best answer. "Because we should" is an answer however that ignites moral debates quite readily I've noticed. So, let's see if I can find any way to help with this discussion...

If everyone thought like you the human race would be dead in oh 100 years. But thankfully I am not one of them, I said earlier that I have 5 kids, actually my daughter is my oldest and she is my step-daughter. She has 4 kids, so 4 of my 6 grandkids are not any blood relation to me. Let me make this real clear, they are my grandkids and I love every one of them because they are mine.

Congratulations, you must be a very proud father and grandfather! A few problems with these statments. First off, you made a false dilemma fallacy. "

If everyone thought like you the human race would be dead in oh 100 years.

" Of course neither you, nor he wants the human race to be dead in 100 years, and neither of the ways that you think will cause this terrible set of affairs to pass. In reality, you probably shouldn't chastise him for expressing concern about how to deal with the many starving children in the world. And he shouldn't chastise you for not adopting 17 Sudan refugees.

Secondly, you made a complex question fallacy. It's subtle, but notice how it sounds when I rephrase your opinion there. "Do you support adoption and population control, and hate my children?" You didn't say that, but be careful not to associate the love of children with population control. We love your children, each and every one of them is special and wonderful. Still doesn't affect whether or not we want there to be many more, by you (I know, not likely ) or by anyone in the world.

To keep the population stable there is a very simple formula: 1 child per parent, and only then the population will not grow. I'd advise against having 5 kids, but once you have had them I have no business, and make no assumptions, about whether they are valuable as people.

[madscientist1 (imported)]

I never liked children even when I was one.Me, too. I groaned inwardly every time my mother said she wanted grandkids from me before my younger sister -- even when I was sexually active and I had steered away from thinking of having myself castrated, I never wanted kids.Ditto.

I don't like kids. Not only don't I want kids, I don't want to deal with kids. They can't respect property or privacy, and if they break into your property and damage your stuff and hurt themselves in the process, you are the one who gets sued.

Our legal system is positively idiotic. If kids are not taught to take responsibility for their own actions at an early age they grow up blaming everyone else for their problems.

I've tried mentoring teenagers, but gotten nowhere. I tried warning them against making foolish, rash decisions. I gave them my own horror stories of my being a teenager and they'd supposedly listen, fascinated, but would not take to heart the messages I was trying to convey about the importance of school and even the offers I made to tutor them if they had trouble in a subject.

I think people are raised to just love kids no matter what. We can't even feed the children of the world we have, but because its "those children" "over there" that are easy to forget about because they aren't white and aren't in our neighborhood, couples don't care and don't think about all the kids that need homes.

If people in the 3rd World would only use birth control! Instead of Americans paying to feed children who will only grow up to breed, perhaps we should pay for a sterilization program

. An American kid they breed themselves is somehow more valuable, though.

I don't know if Andrew and I share the exact same feelings on this, but just because most people don't have these feelings doesn't mean they don't exist. I know the feelings seem freakish, but they're real, I've always had them. When I was a kid, I felt all the other kids were shallow, loud, vane and self-centered.

I agree. I always thought that kids my age were intellectualy inferior to me. I got along better with adults.

I know this sounds like an "I hate kids" rant on my part but really I don't. I just don't want to feed, clothe or house them. It has been my observation that the more children one has, the more poverty one suffers. I enjoy my total child-free freedom. Children are like classic cars; fun to play with but a bitch to maintane.