Concerns couples who are child-free by choice have about future are well-founded

[The_King]

t is disappointing that the private decision of couples to remain child-free often becomes a matter of public scrutiny, requiring justification and clarifications against mischaracterisation.

I often hear couples' reasons for remaining child-free dismissed on the grounds that any hardship or opportunity cost is far outweighed by the joys of having children (Having kids is challenging but brings boundless joy, Nov 23).

Among the common reasons cited to have kids is to treat them as a means to an end. They are seen as retirement plans and future caregivers.

It is here that we must acknowledge the changing times. Having children is no longer an economic necessity.

This allows us to recognise that the choice to accept the hardship of parenthood and to bring a life into this world is ours alone to make. However, the burden of living is for the child alone to bear, and it is a burden, to be sure.

Climate change is an existential threat that the world is woefully unprepared to address. Global temperature rise is likely to exceed 2 deg C within the century.

 

We will see a new norm of extreme weather events, rising sea levels and food supply disruptions which will inevitably bring about humanitarian, ecological, economic and geopolitical crises. The bush fires, typhoons and heat waves that have already hit the world are but a tiny glimpse of what is to come.

 

And let's not forget other issues such as worsening pollution, rising living costs and housing prices, and deterioration of mental health.

With such a bleak outlook, I am hard-pressed to find the moral justification to bring another life into the world. It is disheartening to see these genuine concerns trivialised and brushed aside.

Couples are told that they should not worry about the future and instead worry about regretting not having children.

However, their fear and apprehension of the future are well-founded and should not be overridden by expectations of their societal roles or dismissed through misguided optimism.

Our generation's optimism will not be the remedy for the misfortune of the next.

 

[socrates469bc]

[The_King]

2 hours ago, socrates469bc said:

less human born in the world the better.  oh wait then not enough brainless ppl