Why Procreate?

Here I am a 30-something educated female, yet I still cannot answer this question intelligently. There are all the obvious reasons that as a Sociology major I abhor for procreating… I’m getting older, I want someone to take care of me in my old age, don’t be selfish…

All of the above are exactly the reasons I reserve hesitation at the thought. It’s the year 2007 and there is no longer a need to sow the fields, milk the cows or shed the sheep. You needn’t have an arsenal of youngsters to do your will. Most households are dual income with both individuals working outside of the home. World overpopulation is no longer a threat, but an inevitable reality with the limited resources and desire we have to subdue it.

And the order arises again, “Don’t be selfish!”, Shout the baby makers of the world. How can lack of making “babies” be considered selfish? From my own life experience I can honestly say that the only reason I think my parents had me was for selfish reasons. I always felt that my older parents (mom 38 at my birth, dad at 45) wanted to live vicariously through me. Every achievement, every disappointment hit them harder than me. So what do I learn from this life experience? Have children so that you can chastise them for all the things they never did, never accomplished… all the things that you wanted to do. Interesting, that appears to be selfish motivation.

I am a reasonably intelligent person, have realistic ideals yet how do I know if I would be the proper person to bring up the next generation? Who among us has the audacity to say that he or she considers themselves great parenting material? I know what has worked for me, what is good for me. How can I honestly say that based on my knowledge, my value system, my life experiences….that I would make a proper parent? How can most people at the end of a broken condom say this?

That brings me to my next rant… an “accident” is not a joy, a choice, a miracle. It’s called I “screwed up” and made a baby. Please let us not make this out to be something greater than it is. Birth control is easy to obtain and easy to use; there are no accidents any more. Anyone pregnant does not need to have the child. There are two common alternatives out there, adoption and abortion. I do not think that anyone is a “better person” for having an unwanted child. I think that is a ridiculous option. A wiser choice is to admit you are not ready to handle the situation and admit defeat. If the child was not a choice to begin with, then it wasn’t meant to be. Birthing for the sake of birthing is not beneficial for the parents, the potential child or society as a whole.