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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

If each country had a two child policy

528 replies

Blackcat21 · 07/04/2021 16:38

Just an idea and my opinion, and fully aware I will probably get flamed for this.

The population is rising, not shrinking, and with that is coming ridiculous house prices, global warming, running low on natural resources and foods.

Health services are stretched and school classes are increasingly full.

Wouldn’t an solution to this be only letting per couple or mother/father have two biological children each.

I must admit, it does annoy me when some women go on to have 3rd, 4th child etc just because “they want to” or want a large family, love being with children or love being a mother.

Motherhood is a beautiful thing but it could be restricted to two biological children only.

Overpopulation is impacting the earth too much.

If this couple wanted more children they can adopt.
There are thousands of children in the U.K. and other countries each year wanting to be adopted.

Doing this could possibly tackle overpopulation but increase the adoption of children.

Obviously I’m aware there is problems of how to monitor this, what if a woman gets pregnant against her will, accidental pregnancies etc but not that is the not the point or idea I’m trying to get across right now.

AIBU to think this could be a good approach?

OP posts:
thebillyotea · 07/04/2021 16:55

@LookAtAllThoseSocksSaidTheSock

This won't go well but you have a point there. Impossible to implement though with all the "I have a special right to have 100 children if I want" people. You'll have to go through them first.
you are very welcome not to have any children at all to balance my 4 if you wish, if you feel that strongly.
steppemum · 07/04/2021 16:55

well, in Indonesia, they had a massive publicity campaign which was basically 'two children is enough!'
So there is now a massive difference, the generation now aged about 50-60 all had 5, 6, 7, kids and their children all only had 2.

It was pretty effective, and, unlike China, it wasn't in any way enforced, it was done by propaganda.

The thing is though, I don't think our population would be so receptive to the idea!

Original poster
Blackcat21 · 07/04/2021 16:56

Alot of nitpicking saying I’m excluding fathers or finding parents for those adoptive children with additional needs.

That wasn’t my point, just the idea of controlling the population and cutting down on issues. The earth won’t last forever, we have to protect it.

OP posts:
AnotherEmma · 07/04/2021 16:57

@steppemum

well, in Indonesia, they had a massive publicity campaign which was basically 'two children is enough!' So there is now a massive difference, the generation now aged about 50-60 all had 5, 6, 7, kids and their children all only had 2.

It was pretty effective, and, unlike China, it wasn't in any way enforced, it was done by propaganda.

The thing is though, I don't think our population would be so receptive to the idea!

Interesting!
thebillyotea · 07/04/2021 16:57

Of course, the government has tried to discourage people on benefits from having more than 2 children, but apparently it's fine to have more than 2 if you're better off hmm So I don't support that policy either.

it's not about being better off, it about being able to support your own children. Why is that such a controversial concept for you?

The government shouldn't have to support anyone who decide to have a lifestyle they can't afford. Benefits are a temporary lifeline to help in case of accidents, illness and unexpected life changes. No more .

TheSoapyFrog · 07/04/2021 16:57

How would it work with multiple births? What happens to any children a couple conceives after the first two? Are they forced to abort or forced to give the child up for adoption? Will people be forced into being sterilised? What happens if the couple split up? Will the man be able to swan off and have two more children with his new partner if she doesn't have any?
I don't see this working at all.

BrumBoo · 07/04/2021 16:57

It is an idea that, as always, harms women and girls more than fixes the issues of the world in terms of economy and climate change.

The world has always found a way of balancing itself out. If we do overpopulate or cause the planet harm, ultimate it will 'fix' itself one way or another. We cannot self preserve and go against our own nature, it's somewhat of a juxtaposition.

withpeaceandlove · 07/04/2021 16:57

People love to trot out the whole 'just adopt' line. It's really really not easy and some people, through no fault of their own, just aren't cut out to adopt.

NameChangedForThisFeb21 · 07/04/2021 16:57

I think this is completely abhorrent in all honesty. And I say that as someone who doesn’t have children.

Tinydinosaur · 07/04/2021 16:58

We need to control population size but practically this just doesn't work.
We as individuals have bodily autonomy, you can do what you want with your own body, and this is is vitally important. Despite the outcry to make vaccines mandatory, we don't want to give the government control over our bodies.

Tossblanket · 07/04/2021 17:00

Then what?

What other sanctions be then implemented?

We already seem to on a fine line with the government creating laws to censor freedom of speech.

How much control do you really want to give away?

thebillyotea · 07/04/2021 17:00

Will the man be able to swan off and have two more children with his new partner if she doesn't have any?

I am guessing the easiest way will be to sterilize both mother and father after their 2nd birth (or first if they ever had twins)....

What a beautiful world that would be ... Hmm

FoxyTheFox · 07/04/2021 17:00

Removal of reproductive rights is a slippery slope towards the removal of other rights and restricting family size leads to all sort of problems - look at China but also look at the two child child cap on certain benefits right here at home.

I have four children, I planned to have three. In your happy, happy vision of the world would I have been forced into a termination? That not a world anyone with any ounce of decency would want to live in.

I'd much rather that the world focused on education, sharing of resources, and elimination of food poverty. All of these will go much further towards limiting population size than punitive measures.

Tinydinosaur · 07/04/2021 17:01

Of course, the government has tried to discourage people on benefits from having more than 2 children, but apparently it's fine to have more than 2 if you're better off hmm So I don't support that policy either.

If you can't pay for your own kids then you shouldn't be having them. Hmm

PaquitaVariation · 07/04/2021 17:01

Read about how well it worked in China and then come back and tell us why a good idea it is.

zoemum2006 · 07/04/2021 17:02

It's a human rights violation. No government has the right to dictate the size of a person's family.

thebillyotea · 07/04/2021 17:02

The lockdown hasn't been hard enough, some people fancy a dystopian nightmare world where we lose all rights and freedom..... Some people need a hobby frankly.

bingoitsadingo · 07/04/2021 17:02

The population is growing because people are living longer, not because they are having too many children.

The birth rate in the UK is already below replacement. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/conceptionandfertilityrates/bulletins/childbearingforwomenbornindifferentyearsenglandandwales/2018

I suggest you do the slightest bit of research before advocating for such an extreme policy Hmm

Biffbaff · 07/04/2021 17:02

Resources are stretched because of underfunding and the wealth gap widening not because people are having more children. Do some reading OP.

DioneTheDiabolist · 07/04/2021 17:02

The human birth rate has plummeted. All across the planet, women are choosing to have 2 or less children. But we are living much much longer than we did in the past so it will take a while to feel the impact of this drop.

BrumBoo · 07/04/2021 17:03

The earth won’t last forever, we have to protect it.

What precisely does this mean? The Earth was here a long time before humans, and will be a long time after we're gone. We are only creatures that live on it - yes more like fleas on a dog than some great hand-picked intelligence, but regardless humanity can only live within our own primal limits. We are animals trying to survive, not eco saviours. Eventually, our time will come as with any other matter in the universe. The Earth is extremely likely to be destroyed by natural means rather than by people.

FatCatThinCat · 07/04/2021 17:03

Most western countries aren't having enough babies, so this wouldn't work. A country needs a birth rate of around 2.4 to maintain a stable society. The UK's has been around 1.8 for a long time now, may have dropped even lower. The government should be thinking long term and encouraging people to have more children, not less.

ghostyslovesheets · 07/04/2021 17:04

nit-picking - not really - just pointing out the many many flaws in your argument - are you going to engage in the debate or just keep shouting slogans?

LolaSmiles · 07/04/2021 17:04

Over population is a myth - a nefarious one at that. Unequal distribution of resources among a host of other factors should be redressed first before we start regulating wombs..
I agree with you. Let's start having meaningful action on big polluters, proper regulation across a range of sectors, being more mindful of the planet on a systemic level before we start dictating people's reproduction.

LookAtAllThoseSocksSaidTheSock · 07/04/2021 17:05

This isn't the sort of issue that can be discussed reasonably, OP. You were brave to even try. Churning out kids, complaining and struggling to take care of them, then churning out some more seems to have become ingrained in some of us as the thing to do. It's not something most of us can rationally question or the fabric that holds our lives together may start to unravel.