So the latest buzz I’ve been hearing is that people should never be that cruel and have just one child. (I know, all you smart people worried about population control and all associated evils are probably asphyxiating right now, but hold on, it gets worse). So, you should ALWAYS have more than one child – why? – get this: so that your first baby “doesn’t get lonely.” It’s apparently just plain cruel to put your child through that kind of torture. I can’t even begin to start on how many things are just plain wrong about that. First, if you bring your child up right and he/she has enough things to do and hopefully enough friends, why in the frigging world would (s)he get lonely? Being an only child I really don’t recall feeling any moment of regret getting exactly what I wanted, and feeling a sense of responsibility for being the only child.

That brings me to ridiculous reason no. 2: ‘When we have lotsa children, we ensure that they will be around to take care of us in the future.’ Ahem. Red alert – most kids fight over who shouldn’t take care of the parents, and try to steer clear of duty as much as possible. And with more people living all over the world (not in the farm that these thoughts seem to be stuck in), who’s to say any of the 15 kids will be around to man the parent’s problems? In fact, if it’s just one child, (s)he knows that his/her responsibility from day 1 and works towards it.

Hell, it’s a selfish world, but don’t be selfish by killing the world’s resources and taxing everyone by wanting to provide entertainment and fight-club company for your kid. In fact, the more crowded the world is, the less likely your kid is to have a chance to do something or even have a good quality of life – and heck with overpopulation, (s)he gets his pick of company!!

Sure, I don’t deny that having a sibling is special, the bond is special and irreplaceable, but is it worth it in the long run? If every parent in the world thought this way, what in the world would the world’s population look like? Forget the world, just think India. I mean we do have some form of civic responsibility, right? Or should we all stop thinking about the consequences of our actions and just let the world go to rot? Or wait, that’s IS exactly what we’re doing anyway – for everything else!

At the end of the day, it is entirely a parent’s choice, but what bothers me is when they make important choices that affect people around them based on inane reasoning. God help us and the children we seem to be so heartily planning for!