Why is having a big family so strange?

Question

Why is it so "wrong" to have a big family these days. In the past it was not uncommon to have 5 + kids. why is this strange now?

Answer 1

I'm the 7th of 9. People are usually horrified and curious about the number of siblings I have. A lot assume that my parents are die hard Christians who reject birth control but that is not the case at all. They just had a bunch of kids.



I think big families seem incompatible with social trends. Its more acceptable, necessary and expected of women to invest on their educations and have a career before having children and usually, when families are this big, it means that the mother was young when she began to have babies and did not have a career. Most women today who have experienced financial and professional success cannot understand or even bother to ask why someone would choose not to have a career. It's a matter of personal preference but having a career is more the "norm" today.



It's also less common for couples to have all the children they can. Now most people think about having the amount of children that they can support and live comfortably. Big families have more financial obligations and things to worry about in terms of food, education, housing and health, so people don't get why some people willingly expose themselves to financial disaster or at the very least to a life on a tight economy. When the majority desires a life with one or two children living in an above average situation, or with little financial concerns its hard for those to get why others don't mind the trouble.



There is more awareness and urgency about environmental impact of people on the planet, so people who worry about sustainability don't see how it is "responsible" or "intelligent" to have so many people running around. Child development theories also advice against big families and more parents are concerned about what the "experts" have to say about having a family. Attention, time and financial security for one or two children is what most psychologists and educators advice and a lot of couples interpret this as being "the only way to raise a good family is to have 2.5 children and no more".



The reasons are infinite, in short it just means that Western life style is now incompatible with big families. Those who have many children willingly separate themselves from the majority and demonstrate by having large families that their priorities and ideas are elsewhere. People just have a hard time understanding that just because a lot of people do things it doesn't make it "common sense" or "the only way".

Answer 2

it is only strange because it is very rare, The reason for large family in the past was that the infant mortality rate was quite high and the U.S. was an agricultural society. As such large families were required to help out on the farm with chores and growing and harvesting the crops. Since the farms have become so mechanized the need for large families has diminished. ALso with the concern over overpopulation of the planet many in the U.S. have decided that replacing themselves ( 2 children) was an adequate family. Of course there are religious reasons also that large families still exist, but God gave us free will and that should apply to common sense when it comes to families.

Answer 3

Well, for one thing, in the early 20th century, birth control wasn't used. Therefore, if you had ten children, it wasn't really your fault. It was considered your own problem.



Now, with contraversial artificial insemination, and the hords of kids people are getting out of that, people are beginning to look down upon that, especially when people choose to keep the huge amounts of kids implanted, instead of taking out a few eggs. This is how all those TLC reality shows came to be...so, naturally, people also assume that these parents kept the kids for media attention, shows, and the money that comes in as a result of that.



Also, as the world's population continues to exponentially grow, people are concerned about how long the world will support such a massive population. This also causes people to complain.



Hope this helped!

Answer 4

Groups that support birth/population control have constantly inundated the media,and schools,universities,with their perverse philosophies that it is wrong to have more than two children and think that they have a legal right to control the population.you probably get that in school all the time. In China,they are allowed only one child.If they have another,the government demands that the woman get an abortion.Many Chinese women have fled that country so that they would not be forced to murder their baby. This is one of the reasons why so many women's organizations despise Sarah Palin because she has more that the limit that they set for women to have (nothing more than pure spite and jealousy).

Answer 5

In this days it would not be normal to have a big family because a normal family has 5 members incluiding mom,dad, and kids. It is not starnge for you to have a big family if you get everything you need. Don't feel different from others just cause they say so.

Answer 6

I wanted five children.



My boyfriend only wanted two and he has this big, elaborate reason about it. He says the world is over-populated with people and we just don't have the resources to support all of these people. There are water shortages and we are ruining our atmosphere and our entire planet and that we are going to use up everything the world has if we don't stop over-breeding.



He said it's our responsibility to control our population because we don't have predators anymore and that we don't die from disease as we used to, so we need to start thinking about not over-populating when we reproduce.



For me wanting a lot of children, I am lucky to have my boyfriend's little girl, who he had with a crazy woman, my own little girl from my first marriage and my son, from me and my boyfriend. Having these children, I am so happy I didn't have five! I would never have been able to handle all of them the way I should! It is so much trouble, just to find time for my son when these two little girls are needing so much!

Answer 7

because it cost more today to raise kids than it did in past eras and centuries. Back then they had big families because there were a lot of child deaths so they had more kids so that even if one child dies the others can pass on the family genes and name. But now it is not normal to have a a lot of kids or a lot of children, and the posibility of child deaths by illness has dropped thanks to medical reseach and advencments.

Answer 8

Back in the old days when many families had farms it made more sense to have more kids, but in modern American culture where more parents are working more and money issues are more of a problem, it makes sense to have less kids. also if you look at biology it shows that species have a natural way of controlling their population when there gets to be too many they just naturally start producing less and bringing the population back down to a normal level. so now that there are more people on this earth its natures way for us to be inclined to have less kids.

Answer 9

No yet as quickly as some chum of my father's from college or some thing got here with us whilst we went to the Bahamas and he stored donning those little tiny swimsuits, which i comprehend a great variety of people positioned on yet no longer human beings in my relatives. We continually positioned on the "shorts" rather. So my brother and that i've got been mortified. This grew to become into some enormous nasty old guy too. It grew to become into ill.

Answer 10

There is nothing wrong with having a big family, I wish I did because I am an only child and I feel lonely from time to time

Answer 11

because in the past the population was not as high as it is now. the worlds natural resources were not being depleted at such a high rate and the world was not so crowded. also in the past there was not birth control like there is now, and medicine was not as advanced, and much fewer children survived, so having a large family was neccessary because so few children survived to adulthood. this is no longer neccessary now, and it places a greater burden on the resources available.

Answer 12

because people these days have only 1 or 2 children...back then there really wasn't anything better to do i guess, i wouldn't know. but most people grow up seeing as an average sized family consisting of at the most 4 kids, the "American Dream" so to say.

Answer 13

i dont think its strange. i want to have 5+ kids when i grow up. most people think it is "wrong" to have such a big family because the world has become so commercialized and image-driven that everyone thinks the ideal, "normal" family situation would be having 2 kids..a dog..and a white picket fence...

Answer 14

I would think maybe they didn't have birth control back then and couldn't really control how many kids they had... but I honestly have no idea why there are not as many big families these days. I just know why I don't want to have as many children as my grandparents did.

Answer 15

Its only strange now b/c its hard to afford having so many kids. But i don't care, i plan on having 5 kids when i get married!

Answer 16

I am the youngest of 11 children and I love it! I couldn't ask for a better family. My parents have loved and cared for all of us and I don't think its weird at all. I plan to have a big family someday too.

Answer 17

i guess people view it as abnormal today because many women are focusing more on their careers than on raising a family. back in the day, that's what women did. plus, with today's economy it's harder to comfortably raise a large family. but i don't think there is anything wrong with it if you want that many children and can emotionally and financially handle it.

Answer 18

Because you can't remember anyone's name....just a little humor..but no having a big family isn't strange....bigger the better...which means more loving going around

Answer 19

As society changed, we no longer have the space or resources we did as before to raise so many children.

Not to mention, the cost of living is so high (depends on which area).

Answer 20

Because now 1 or 2 kids is the norm. It isn't wrong to have a big family IF you can support them. If you can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em!

Answer 21

I'm the seventh out of 10 and have only two parents.

You know it's little hard for them to give all of us the attention we need and basically I wouldnt recoment any parents to have more than 4 children.

Answer 22

Go somewhere chill like do you think it's strange common..you can leave and dont come back for a month?you can chill with your husband/life partner/boyfriend.. just relax if your stress go on a vacation just chill!!!!

Answer 23

I love big families, I plan to have one. So many different personalities

Answer 24

i think its just because financially its extremely difficult to maintain a family of that size nowadays. people are struggling to provide for families with one or two children so they feel like "how could you possibly provide for five". I however dont agree with this assumption and plan on having five children of my own!

Answer 25

It shouldn't be strange at all. I find it funny when people say, "If you can't afford it, don't have it." Bugger that, I've seen many successful stories of poor parents. It's all about prioritization.

Answer 26

there is nothing wrong in having plenty of kids, if you can support them why not?. if you can't then 1 or 2 will be fine.

Answer 27

because back then i think it was more acceptable because unfortunately some children would die

now i guess it just seems like excess, and its better if you can afford to have so many

Answer 28

Because of the deices these babies are being born with, and mom's don't wan toto take chances.

Answer 29

because it is. not many people are having many kids anymore so its weird i guess,i have 3 sibs.

Answer 30

wht married couple has the time to play when both have careers they are dedicated to?

Answer 31

i didnt know it was strange.

Answer 32

BAD economy i guess

Answer 33

it's not







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Answer 34

Because portrays how much you ****

Answer 35

because life is expensive !!!

Answer 36

pretty average if you are mexican or portuguese. for white people its not normal, unless ur like mormon or something

Answer 37

it just is

how many siblings do u have

Answer 38

Abortion, probably.

Answer 39

its not

Answer 40

idk my dad doesnt love me