Not trying to be inflammatory but why do people *need* more than two kids?

[ConstantlyFuriosa]

Just that.

I don't think it's racist. It's a clash of values. My religion says that contraception was sinful.
Many people say that it's morally wrong to have "too many" children.
Benefits per child does create a perverse incentive.

Really surprised at the amount who have four!

I don't think it creates an incentive. The benefit doesn't cover the cost of a child, let alone provide a profit.

I never got any benefit payments and had lots of kids anyway. That wasn't why I had them.

No one needs children.

Some people want more.

Some people adopt children, often they adopt a set of siblings, if there are three or four in the family should they be split up?

Some people have triplets, or they have one child and then have twins.

Sometimes contraception fails.

95% of terrestrial life forms are humans and their livestock. We need to get a grip of human population before we destroy our planet completely.

You had better stop people growing old then

My mum said the same.

Unfortunately for me, I am her 3rd

I don't need 4 children, I have 4 because I wanted 4.

Only goats 'need' kids, humans have children because they want to.
Just that!

Haven't RTWT, but people don't 'need' more than 2 kids. So I agree with that. On an individual level, people don't 'need' any.

However, as a society, we need some people to have more than 2 kids because lots are having 1 or even none and the declining birth rate has societal and economic implications.

My teenagers both share. My eldest said he doesn't want to be in a room of his own as he prefers to have company 🤷‍♀️ his younger teenage brother says the same. They chat together about music at night before dropping off to sleep 😴

My younger two enjoy talking to each other in their bedroom that they share. Not an issue in our household about sharing a bedroom.

My older two cope well at residential trips as they are used to sharing sleeping quarters.

Yes. An aging population with very few tax payers and people to care for them. Not that it's the most desirable job tbh.

We have shared rooms but they are big so sleeping areas partitioned off with ikea kallax. We are lucky that we have other areas where the dc can go if they need space eg a garden room, a conservatory, a second space off the main living room and a loft room (which is an office but they often go up there to do homework or gaming) so there’s plenty of opportunity to have time and space alone as well as being together whatever they want to do

@Fluufer I agree. Kids spending too much time on their own in a bedroom with technology can't be healthy. At least having human interaction with a sibling holds more value in a lot of ways.

I had three because I like children and had enough money to do so. If I hadn't had a bad birth with my third I would have been very tempted by four. Would never have had more than four as I wouldn't have felt capable of giving them enough attention.

As a society it seems to me that if some people don't have any children and others have one them some people will need to have three or four. So I would be in favour of benefits paid up to four children.

That said I am strongly against our present system where the tax paper steps in and absent parents aren't made to pay for their children.

At the moment child maintenance isn't deducted from benefits because it is considered too unreliable. This seems the totally wrong solution to me.

Nobody needs kids. It's a biological urge to pass on DNA at a basic level. For some it's cultural and religious too.

If your referring to the state supporting more than two kids then that's a sepate question isn't it?

If it was purely logical than no one would kids and our horrible species will die out and the earth can heal and war can stop. But until we all think exactly the same thoughts we will all have different takes on life well lived

Yes I’d like to know the percentages of non residents parents whether it’s the mother or father so who is responsible for maintenance. I’d guess it’s a high percentage of fathers that are liable. So the 2 child UC limit and not deducting maintenance as it’s too unreliable just points to a system where women are the victims

Well you don’t need to have any.
Some people want 2, some people want 4 🤷‍♀️

Actually you are breeding kids for a future without work though they need to be educated for leisure.basic biological urges don't have to be gratified in a dying planet.there are many children to love that are not ones blood but yes that route is hard

Because we can afford it? Because we enjoy it? Because we love them and more love is good? Because we want to...
What did you think were the reasons? 🤷‍♀️

We had 4 because we wanted and could provide for 4. Best decision we ever made.

Because the money is for the children, not the parents. That is, here's £13 or whatever it is, young Sally. Now you can afford to go to the National Trust / softplay or whatever one day this week. Labour want to try and tackle child poverty, which is a good thing imo.

There's a lot to be said for having an only child. I had one for 16 years. He was/is an absolute dream. I used to think it was just his nature but since having 2 more, 2 years apart, I really think it was as he was sibling free. No need to compete etc. I find 2 MUCH harder.

There are at least 3 families at my school with 6+ children. They are mostly a year apart, so some have 1 in every primary year. They aren't well off by any means. I do think these particular mums just keep having children as it's all they know. A bit like the Radford family.

Couldn't afford a clown car so decided to use my vagina instead 🤷‍♀️

Oh - go on, be inflammatory! I enjoy a bit of that!

People have to make their individual choice, but I think for ecological and economic reasons large families are a bit selfish. In the days before contraception they were inevitable, but we do have choices now.

I certainly think that if you choose to have more than 2 children you should make sure you have the resources to support them.

Wow, the families I work with are clearly a figment of my imagination. Amazing.