Reserving a womb: case for the small family

Families of 4 3 and 2 children are seen as significantly different both demographically and in terms of child development. The average num ber of children per woman in the U.S. was 8 in colonial days falling to 2.3 during the depression of the 1930s and rising slightly to 3 since then. A rate of 2.2. is needed if finite resources are to support the present standards of health and longevity. This paper presents the case for small families; benefits accrue to children as well as parents. Citing results of previously published studies in England and the U.S. the author mentions some effects of family size on children. The smaller the family the more intelligent the children. For example in 1964 70% of Selective Service mental rejects came from families with 4 or more children. Also the smaller the family the better the personality development of the child because of less maternal deprivation and/or more mother-child contact and warmth and therefore less prolonged dependency behavior in the child. Intersibling as well as parent-child relations have also been reported better in smaller families in studies carried out in Michigan and Ohio. Physical development also seems to be retared by large family size; a British study found the average height and weight for age decreased as family size increased despite the fact that birth weights increase with parity. It is true that not all studies favor small families; the advantages of adequate parental attention may be outweighed if too inten sive or too achievement oriented. Some studies find no significant diff erences that cannot be explained by factors other than size. It is noteworthy however that only 30% of children from large families themselves wholeheartedly endorsed the large family. Effects upon parents include: more illhealth both physical and mental was found among British parents of larger families especially among mothers. Oth er studies have shown that marital relations suffer and marital adjustme nt is adversely affected in large families. The phenomenon of "good marriages get better with parenthood and poor ones get more children" is a vicious cycle of maladaptation and should be researched further. Although the divorce rates in the U.S. have remained relatively constant the number of children affected now 1.18 per divorce has gone up significantly and reflects the proportion of couples with children. Good marital adjustment as well as contraception should come before childbearing because it is more rational and more responsible to have no children rather than unwanted children. An average number of 2 children per family given a very low infant mortality and perhaps even the possiblity of sex selection in the near future is seen as ideal.