to be amazed at how many people are still having 4 or more children?

[JackShit]

Yikes! I'm going to get a new one ripped here, but this has been bugging me of late.

Our planet isn't in a particularly marvelous state. Overpopulation is a very real problem. We are responsible for the legacy we leave our children and surely part of loving them is to be concerned for their future quality of life on this planet.

I know there are a lot of people with larger families on MN and I need to understand why, in full knowledge of the facts, people continue to have so many children? Just read a thread on facebook where a woman was proudly stating she has 11! 11 ffs!

I don't go for the argument about some having only one or two so it cancels out and I also don't believe in replacing our ageing population problem with an even bigger one.

So what am I missing here? Do people just not really give a shit? Does biology take over?

I have 1 btw.

*don't

It's an interesting point you've raised OP and a conversation I sometimes have with my father. People may feel it is their right to have a big family because they want to (true). But there is an increasing problem with over population. The world is not getting any bigger, people are living longer and there will be an increasingly drastic drop in the space for building bigger cities etc. So whilst, yes, it is people's right to have a big family, it is detrimental in the long run and for future generations.

I have three DC. It was meant to be only 2 but had a massive contraception failure (three different sorts!!). DH is very much of the opinion that we should replace ourselves and not add to the population increase.

I think we do have an over population problem but it's not necessarily due to just too many children being born - it's also to do with the fact that not enough people are dying! People are living to a much greater age than they used to and so the population is skewed very oddly indeed.

My DDs go to a local village school (only 100 or so pupils) but we have a very high percentage of families with 3 or more children. It's quite a naice area and so this practice of larger families isn't just restricted to 'Benefit Street' types (which is what people always seem to assume).

There are at least three families at our school with 5 children, one family have just had their 7th child, and several families of 4 children. I think it's good for our school because it means that there are lots of local children being processed through, keeping the school open! The family with 7 kids send them to private secondary school but have them in the village school for the whole 7 years. I know some village schools suffer with lots of affluent families starting them off there but then sending them off to private school from age 7. This means that YR3 - YR6 are really small year groups.

YANBU. People who have several children are self-centred.

I am always amazed at how Ireland and the famine gets raised in relation to birth rates

Here area couple of facts:
Irelands population 2014 was 4 677 340 current growth rate per year 1.08%
Irish population pre famine was around 8 500 000
Ireland is 0.06% of world population
Irelands density 67 people per sq KM ( UK density 261 people per sq KM)

The Irish famine was not caused by Irelands inability to produce food for its people. It was caused by over reliance on one food and on landlords who took the food that was produced for rent payment. There were of course multiple other issues .

Oh, and for the record, in response to Aubrianna's list:

I cloth nappied all three of my kids

I do grow my own fruit and veg (I make my own jam too but, sadly, I do no lentil weaving). I also raise my own meat and 'grow' my own eggs

I do own a car but I live very rurally and there is no public transport available to me (and I have mobility issues)

"I have 4 because I wanted 4" - says it all really.

I only have one. This is mainly because I have no idea how people with more than one do it!

The thought of having four and having 20 sets of school uniform, plus underwear, my clothes, and bedding to wash every week makes me break out in a cold sweat.

I'm a pretty good mother to dd, but I know my limitations. Add another to the mix and I would be utterly fecking useless. Anyone that copes with more than one deserves a medal quite frankly.

(Oops, I have 10.)

The Irish famine was not caused by Irelands inability to produce food for its people. It was caused by over reliance on one food and on landlords who took the food that was produced for rent payment. There were of course multiple other issues .

No one said otherwise.

sailoratsea we are the same as you. We have one car that we do around 6000 miles a year in. DH walks to work. We haven't flown for over 5 years and intend to just have one trip when kids are the right age to Disneyworld or similar. Our furniture, electrics etc are all used until they die or I Freecycle them. I do use disposables but breastfeed, buy clothes and equipment. All little things to cut down waste

We hope for a third D.C. but I honestly think there are much worse pressures on the planet than the odd large family in the UK

and our third baby could grow up and Pioneer the car that runs on CO2

Accidentally large families aside, i dont get it either no we are out of the 'have more incase one dies' era

pffftt... here's what I think...

I think those people who tell the infertile to adopt should adopt a child themselves and I also think anyone who has an 'over-population problem' RE the amount of children other people have should never have any children themselves.

Meant to say "buy second hand clothes and equipment"...

I think it's easy 'to get' why people want large families. They like large families and all it entails, busy house, lots of people coming and going.

People have kids for their own selfish reasons, be it one or ten. Few people care about the planet when they really, desperately want another child. We are mostly selfish as human beings.

and... I know looking at past posts is not the done thing but you seriously can't post about only drinking new world wines and then be all holier than thou about air travel and expect to be taken seriously FFS.

Here you are dear I have 4 and no I don't give a rats arse. Your questions are like asking is your only, lonely?

Squoosh by raising it on a thread about people having more children than the worlds resources can provide for it is implied.

I'm pregnant with babies two and three and will hopefully have more in the future if my body and finances allow. How very self centred of me

It's always the same old excuses: me having a couple more children won't make much difference; other people are worse than me; I use cloth nappies / recycle, so have the right to have loads of children or fly to Australia or whatever; and the great classic - unless you, the OP, are absolutely one hundred percent pure and blameless (no children and live in a brown paper tent and hop to work) you have no right to criticise anyone else no matter what they do.

duelingfanjo so you think that people who worry about the world's ever growing population shouldn't have babies, so that those who don't care can have as many as they want? I'm not saying there should be a limit on the number of children people have but I do think people should realise that their decisions have future impacts.

But why did you have one child?

Surely it would have been significantly better for the environment if you had adopted instead? I have a recycled child. OP, I am very disappointed with your commitment to the cause.