Assignment:
Post your responses to the following:
The reasons why couples have children would seem to be fairly common; however, some explanations are not as obvious as others. Please refer to the following list of reasons polled by James Park for his 1996 book Why Have (More) Children? Choose one reason (or generate a reason of your own) and discuss whether or not you agree with this reason for having children. Make sure to justify your choice and include how this may impact a child's development.
- Survival of human race
- Giving meaning to our lives
- Our affirmation of life *We love children
- It's natural to want children
- To please our parents and grandparents
- Religious reasons
- Saving the marriage
Also, how many years should parents wait before having another child? Is there an "optimal" spacing of siblings? Your decision should involve issues discussed in previous chapters of the textbook (ex. the development of self, personality, gender roles, etc.). Your posting should identify reasons for your choice and should also highlight the effect of other factors (ex. parenting behavior, temperament of children, etc.) in the quality of the relationships between siblings.