Seriously who invented babies, or better yet, who invented the desire to have babies? A while back I wrote an article about the cost of having a kid. Recently, Budgets are Sexy posted up a little article, discussing children becoming a part of his future. The article reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend who is currently pregnant. The conversation went a little like this…
Me: Have you ever wondered why we want to have kids? I mean it’s pretty weird when you think about it. They cost a lot of money, take up a lot of our time, can be quite frustrating, and they poop themselves. I’m really perplexed why we desire to have children.
Friend: I use to think the same thing. They definitely cost a lot of money, but the joys of owning having a kid, must outweigh any of the perceived negatives.
Me: That’s true. I definitely agree there must be a benefit to having kids, but I feel like if I had no concept of children, and then read about them, I would never want one.
Friend: Yeah, on paper having a kid probably isn’t the most fun sounding thing. I guess we all have an innate desire to provide for and nurture someone else.
Me: I guess that makes sense.
Friend: Sure having a kid is going to be a lot of work, but being responsible for someone’s well being is kind of cool when you think about it. Being able to help someone that can’t help themselves is a pretty rewarding experience. I think that’s really what it comes down to.
Me: Plus once they are like twelve years old, you can make them take out the garbage and stuff.
So what is it bloggers? I know the majority of my readers are younger and probably don’t have children, but I’m sure there are some parents out there reading this. What is it about children that are so darn compelling? I know they can make me smile and feel warm fuzzies inside, but so can apple pie. There has to be some deeper underlying desire… right?
Well for Pop Ninja and myself it was to create something together that we could cherish and be proud of…and yeah the whole garbage taking out thing worked out pretty well too….so I will put you down for that chore at Christmas!
Add to that whole thing that some people (raising my hand) can't have kids naturally and need an exhausting painful long procedure to have them, and you can REALLY wonder why we want babies! LOL The fact that my kids, unlike any other relationship, are supposed to be linked to me and (hopefully) love me for all their life is probably a big part of my desire to have babies. Yeah, selfish, I know. Or maybe it's just an old "maintain the human specie" instinct!
yeah! your mom reads your blog!! My mom reads mine.
Also I want kids 😀
Baby time! Who else would look after you once you are old and need help doing things. Plus kids are good entertainment value (deduct some cash from that budget line), and it is so much fun to make little bitty baby clothes, and hats, and mittens.. ok, maybe I'm looking for crafty punishment, but I really want to experience what my parents did raising me and my brothers. Which means we'll not only have one baby, but at least two. 😉
Tax deduction! Just kidding. I think it's love that drives baby making. Love for your better half, and the desire to make something completely together that you can both continue to love.
I dunno man, I love my kids, they are so frikin cute, but the first was an accident ya know. Once you have one, you can't stop though, just like pringles
hahaha…hello there MomNinja! will you please knock some sense into your boy and let him know he'd probably love kids more than blogging? and tell him it's coming from me too – the guy who dreams about making it full-time.
I have no idea why people want kids. If you want to "create" something together, make dinner. It's a helluva lot cheaper. I'll take my $100,000 (average spent until age 18 for each child) and travel the world and drink expensive booze, thankyouverymuch. Maybe buy a stripper or two.
And if my mother thinks I'm taking care of her simply because I'm her oldest and it's my "duty" as her child, she's got another thing coming. And newsflash to Chloe (above), hope is not enough to ensure your children remain "in love" with you for an eternity.
BTW, I am female. I am in my 30s. And I am *not* changing my mind.
Oh look, I just made two cents! 🙂