THE ONLY REASON WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE CHILDREN

This is the 21st century and the only reason why anybody should have children is because he/she has an unsatiable love for children. No other reason is valid. I wish my father had told me that half a century ago before I embarked on a life of adulthood. In the olden days it was drummed into the male of the species that it was his bounden duty to perpetuate his family lineage by producing male off-springs. I wish somebody could convince me why it is necessary and important that the family name should continue after I have expired.
A reason very often used in arguing in favour of having children is that in our old age we need our children to support us when we are no longer productive or look after us when we are ravaged by disease or old age. If that is the reason for having children, it is not only a selfish reason but also one that will definitely bring untold disappointment. Children today are too busy with their careers and their pursuit of wealth and material possessions that they have hardly any time for their parents. The better educated and the more successful they are, the less time they have for their parents.
Some newly married couples are apprehensive that if they don't produce any off-spring
people will start to talk and fingers will start to point accusingly! This is the 21st century and we don't need to prove to anybody that we can function biologically. Nobody should give a damn whether we are fertile or sterile! It shouldn't be anybody's concern.
Nowdays when I talk to young couples who are on the verge of taking that big step to matrimony, I can't resist advising them to give a lot of thought to the implications before starting a family. I always emphasize to them that the only reason for them to have a child is because they have a very strong love of children. We are living in very difficult times and having children is no longer necessarily a blessing. They must realize that they will give at least half of their lives to bringing up the child and when the child is independent of them, if they have the health and the resources to enjoy whatever there is left of their lives they will be very lucky. Married couples who opt to remain childless don't have anything to apologise for. Society is no longer the same and more and more people have come to look upon childless couples as people who have their heads screwed on to their bodies properly and not as screwed-up people!