How many children is too many?

[crossroads]

I was wondering, how many children is too many for a couple to have?

 

[CharlieKeys]

I guess it depends on hte couple. If they knew they could have 20 kids and spend equal time and have the money to do so, then that's not a problem! Personally, I think anymore than 3 is enough for me

 

[vaniilla]

more than they can raise is too many imo, it depends on lifestyle and budget, you should be able to provide all children with enough love, food & attention and ensure they all have a good quality of life.

 

[crossroads]

What amount of children is it impossible to provide edequate one to one attention for?

 

[Rhio92]

That depends on amount of money, spare time, etc. I'd like 4

 

[Seity]

For us, one.

 

[vaniilla]

this reminds me, did anyone watch the documentary 'the man with 121 children and 24 wives' ?

 

[Cloberella]

I guess it depends on if you can afford it, if you can devote your time to them.

But there's also the environmental implications of a large family, is it fair to have large families if you're going to create such a large carbon footprint?

 

[Bartness]

Look up Michelle and Jim Bob Dugger.....they have 19 kids I think.

 

[mrsthomas623]

Look up Michelle and Jim Bob Dugger.....they have 19 kids I think.

Bahaha! That's what I was going to say!

 

[Sarahkka]

I find the Duggars kind of creepy, but if you are bringing up eco-footprint as a reason to have fewer children, they have a very eco-friendly lifestyle. The one episode of their show that I saw had them addressing this issue and talking about all the ways they re-use and recycle stuff. I have a feeling that their kids have a fraction of the toys and clothes and stuff that the average American child has.

As for the OP, I don't make that judgement for other people. As long as the children's needs are being met (obviously that includes emotional needs), I have no issue with how many children a family has.

 

[BlackBerry25]

For me, in my opinion, which means shit haha, I say over 2. I really don't wanna overpopulate the earth. I believe in incentives for people to have only one or two children.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I have always said if you can not cope with the children alone, with no OH and no outside help then its to many. You only have what you can cope with.

 

[OmiOmen]

When they can not afford to bring them up themselves or spread the time so each child gets the emotional support they need. This said I do think that some one with a lot of children can not give enough support to each child even when they claim they can.

 

[indy and lara]

As many as you can comfortably afford and as many as you can emotionally support. There is not a set number as for some people it would be 1 and for others it may be 5 or 6. I am an only child so big families are a bit alien to me but I don't think that there is an ideal family size. Just the size that is right for you. There are some only children who hate their family situation and some people who have numerous siblings who hate theirs.

 

[Cloberella]

I have always said if you can not cope with the children alone, with no OH and no outside help then its to many. You only have what you can cope with.

Yeah that is very true

I know someone brought up the Duggars, they may recycle and stuff but I doubt very much that 19 children don't have more of an impact on the earth than 3 or 4 kids.

I also don't believe that they have raised all those children themselves, if you watch the show you see that a lot of the older girls have much of the responsibility of raising the younger children, and I don't think that's fair.

 

[braddys]

As many as they can pay for by themselves! i hate paying my taxes so people can have 5 or 6 kids and use my money (aswell as other working peoples money) to bring them up!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I have always said if you can not cope with the children alone, with no OH and no outside help then its to many. You only have what you can cope with.

Yeah that is very true

I know someone brought up the Duggars, they may recycle and stuff but I doubt very much that 19 children don't have more of an impact on the earth than 3 or 4 kids.

I also don't believe that they have raised all those children themselves, if you watch the show you see that a lot of the older girls have much of the responsibility of raising the younger children, and I don't think that's fair.

They do, the mum could never handle ALL of them on her own without any help.

I dont believe the attention ratio is the same either.

 

[morri]

I also think the duggars are kind of creepy(also the way they are bringing them up with the don't wear shorts don't wear pants(girls) thing, and I am sure the mother isnt acutally doing that much (ther than giving birth ) It is like as if they never heard of nfp even because then they knew that one can avoid fertile times, but thats not what they want anyway I guess. Imagine all kids would get the same number of kids again than america will soo be full of duggars
They live more like a tribe in tribal territories than a western family

My personal number would be 2 for myself max, but as long people can afford more it is fine. (not like some who have just more kids to get more money from the state(in a illogical way of thinking because more kids obv also cost more money too))

 

[Kalah]

Depends on the parents. If they're able to give attention and support to all of them, and most importantly don't force the older children to be extra parents, then it's fine. Realistically I think it would be difficult for an average family to have more than 6 children with enough attention to go around.