What To Expect When No One's Expecting

[GeoBQn]

Has anybody read this book or seen it reviewed?

amazon.com/What-Expect-When-Ones-Expecting/dp/1594036411/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387069297&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+expect+when+no+one%27s+expecting

Look around you and think for a minute: Is America too crowded?

For years, we have been warned about the looming danger of overpopulation: people jostling for space on a planet that’s busting at the seams and running out of oil and food and land and everything else.

It’s all bunk. The “population bomb†never exploded. Instead, statistics from around the world make clear that since the 1970s, we’ve been facing exactly the opposite problem: people are having too few babies. Population growth has been slowing for two generations. The world’s population will peak, and then begin shrinking, within the next fifty years. In some countries, it’s already started. Japan, for instance, will be half its current size by the end of the century. In Italy, there are already more deaths than births every year. China’s One-Child Policy has left that country without enough women to marry its men, not enough young people to support the country’s elderly, and an impending population contraction that has the ruling class terrified.

And all of this is coming to America, too. In fact, it’s already here. Middle-class Americans have their own, informal one-child policy these days. And an alarming number of upscale professionals don’t even go that far—they have dogs, not kids. In fact, if it weren’t for the wave of immigration we experienced over the last thirty years, the United States would be on the verge of shrinking, too.

What happened? Everything about modern life—from Bugaboo strollers to insane college tuition to government regulations—has pushed Americans in a single direction, making it harder to have children. And making the people who do still want to have children feel like second-class citizens.

What to Expect When No One’s Expecting explains why the population implosion happened and how it is remaking culture, the economy, and politics both at home and around the world.

Because if America wants to continue to lead the world, we need to have more babies.

[lizziesmom]

I must be missing the one child middle class 'norm'. It seems like 3, 4 and 5 kids are common among middle class families (non fundies) and there are a lot more stay at home moms. Having more babies isn't going to guarantee that America will 'lead the world', especially when they are deliberately ignorant and under educated. Until this country puts these babies first (education, food supply, support) we will continue to slide.

[August]

Yeah, I know very very few single child families. Maybe 5% one child, 80% two child, 10% with three and 5% with four. I thought t was mostly people being able to decide not to have children, for the first time ever in the history of the world. Our mothers had contraception, but social stigma over being childless. We, however (I'm a gen X), have contraception, abortion, and the choice to use them to not just space children, but remove the option from the able entirely.

ETA, so I found a stat that said it's 20%. But I wonder if that accounts for people who plan a second but haven't had it yet? Or maybe the people I know have just that touch more financial resources?

[ThisOlGirl]

"In fact, if it weren’t for the wave of immigration we experienced over the last thirty years, the United States would be on the verge of shrinking, too."

This has been pointed out by the good folks at FJ before, but the above statement is just code for "We need to make sure that white people remain the majority". Whether by immigration or birth, who cares how the U.S. comes by their population?

[RachelB]

I am not having any children*, but counting the wee sprouts my brother, four cousins, and their spouses have had-- i.e., all the other people of child-bearing age in my family-- there are 12 kidlets in my extended family.

*It could happen: I have not hit menopause, and I have not been sterilized. But I think it's likelier that pink monkeys will fly out of my butt.

[SRC]

Yeah, I know very very few single child families. Maybe 5% one child, 80% two child, 10% with three and 5% with four. I thought t was mostly people being able to decide not to have children, for the first time ever in the history of the world. Our mothers had contraception, but social stigma over being childless. We, however (I'm a gen X), have contraception, abortion, and the choice to use them to not just space children, but remove the option from the able entirely.

ETA, so I found a stat that said it's 20%. But I wonder if that accounts for people who plan a second but haven't had it yet? Or maybe the people I know have just that touch more financial resources?

I'm a GenXer aged 41 who is divorced with no kids. Where I live in the Bible belt, I feel like there is still a stigma attached to not having kids. It's assumed that people have to have children for their lives to have meaning. I see a lot of 2-4 child households, a few 1 child households, & very rarely no child households.

[boxerlover24]

I'm a GenXer aged 41 who is divorced with no kids. Where I live in the Bible belt, I feel like there is still a stigma attached to not having kids. It's assumed that people have to have children for their lives to have meaning. I see a lot of 2-4 child households, a few 1 child households, & very rarely no child households.

I am 25 and grew up in a 'large' family (for the times) of 6- 2 parents, 4 children. I only know one other person my age who has 3 siblings like I do. I think the trend in the US has been 1-2 children for quite a while.

In an ideal world I would like to have 4 kids also but realistically I think I will have 2, maybe three ( we will see how the first one goes), kids are expensive

[Jana814]

I live in the suburbs of NJ. Area w/ many small towns. Their is a mix families in my area. Most families have 2 or 3 kids. Some have 1. I have a good friend who is the oldest of 4. However, her father is very wealthy & they can afford 4 kids.

[debrand]

In the long run, it will be a good thing if our population decreases.

What happened? Everything about modern life—from Bugaboo strollers to insane college tuition to government regulations—has pushed Americans in a single direction, making it harder to have children. And making the people who do still want to have children feel like second-class citizens.

Neither government regulations nor expensive baby items have made people less likely to have children. People have more choices now. Children don't die of common illnesses. Couples can' decide if they want to invest the physical, emotional and financial resources into having a child. It might not fit in the right's romance of history but many of our ancestors would not have had large families if they had a choice.

Also, what government regulations prevent a family from having several kids? I have four and the men in black haven't knocked on my door yet.

The reason that I don't have more kids is not because of the cost of nonessential items like Bugaboo strollers but because I like to feed my kids food.

[ADoyle90815]

I'm in my late 30's, and was the oldest of 2 children, and the most number of children any of my aunts and uncles had was also 2. In my area growing up, families of 4 or more children were extremely rare and meant that the parents were either devoutly Catholic or Mormon. It's just that with things like reliable birth control and fewer children dying of diseases, people generally have chosen to have fewer children than in previous generations. Also, I've lived in a high cost of living area, and the fact that people would prefer to be self reliant when it comes to feeding their children and keeping a safe roof over their heads, they decide to limit their family size.

[Feberin]

In the long run, it will be a good thing if our population decreases.

Neither government regulations nor expensive baby items have made people less likely to have children. People have more choices now. Children don't die of common illnesses. Couples can' decide if they want to invest the physical, emotional and financial resources into having a child. It might not fit in the right's romance of history but many of our ancestors would not have had large families if they had a choice.

Also, what government regulations prevent a family from having several kids? I have four and the men in black haven't knocked on my door yet.

The reason that I don't have more kids is not because of the cost of nonessential items like Bugaboo strollers but because I like to feed my kids food.

I agree fancy strollers aren't an impact but for me personally the rising cost of college tuition has impacted our decisions regarding the number of children. I don't think I'm alone on this one since many of my friend cite this as a reason they aren't having another child. And I do know some single child families, lots of two and a few three. However I also know a lot of people who have chosen to remain child free that would make the average kids per adults a lot lower. I have one friend with four children and nobody with any more then four.

[FJismyheadship]

So by choosing to have my one and only child, I am contributing to the decline of the worlds population. Yeah okay I'm cool with that I guess.

I suppose this MIGHT change sometime in the future. If I met someone and got married and they wanted a child of their own, I might be up for having another one. But everytime I see an itty bitty baby and feel a longing for a teeny baby again, I immediately remember how much I hated my pregnancy, how I had to have a C-Section, how the guy with the drugs did everything wrong, how I am currently in a city that demands that you have a Cesarean once you've already had one (schedules it for 39 weeks so you don't go into labor, and if you DO go into labor, well your getting a Cesarean when you walk through the doors of the hospital) and DAMMIT if I have another child, I do NOT want a C-section

Plus, I love my one year old so much, and would rather watch her grow up, instead of chasing down several kids. I babysat a 5 and 3 year old, and while it wasn't TERRIBLE, I wouldn't want to have a 5, 3, and 1 year old running around 24/7

[August]

"In fact, if it weren’t for the wave of immigration we experienced over the last thirty years, the United States would be on the verge of shrinking, too."

This has been pointed out by the good folks at FJ before, but the above statement is just code for "We need to make sure that white people remain the majority". Whether by immigration or birth, who cares how the U.S. comes by their population?

Immigration has kept most first world countries from shrinking, but the source countries are now passing through the demographic transition as well. It's not bugaboos but choice which causes women to have fewer, more widely spaced children. If you give the pill to a woman who lives in a shanty on a garbage dump, she'll use it to have fewer children. There are very few countries left who have those crazy pre-industrial birth rates. Even the wrst country, Niger, is only at TFR of 5.

http://www.indexmundi.com/map/?v=31

FMJ, I wanted more than one so that I would fuss less over my first, so they would have someone to bitch about me with, and so they'd be able to play kid games together.

[GeoBQn]

Aside from the cost of children, the people who demand that women have more children ignore the emotional side of pregnancy and parenting. My cousin and his wife originally planned on having more than one child together, but the birth of their daughter was so traumatic (including the baby coding twice), that they just didn't feel they could go through that again. Not all women have magically easy pregnancies and deliveries.

[OkToBeTakei]

I think it will come as a huge surprise to China and the USSR not to mention the rest of the world that the US is leading the world. I don't think it has anything to do with babies though :lol:

[debrand]

I think it will come as a huge surprise to China and the USSR not to mention the rest of the world that the US is leading the world. I don't think it has anything to do with babies though :lol:

Good point. The US is behind in many areas and having a lot of children will only make us a source of poor people desperate to take any pay that is offered. A bigger population won't make us catch up to the rest of the world in terms of education or wealth disparity.

[linnea27]

Because if America wants to continue to lead the world, we need to have more babies.

As a non-American, I find this statement ridiculously insulting.

[ljohnson2006]

Someone should send this to the Duggars. Let J'Chelle and Anna know that they have more to live for than being pregnant. Even though they think they don't.

[BravaAmica]

As a non-American, I find this statement ridiculously insulting.

As an American, I find the quoted statement insulting, jingoistic and embarrassing.

Since when has the US led the world in anything but the number of people in prison? Or most privately held credit card debt? Or the worst maternal-fetal outcome for a developed nation?

[lizziesmom]

As a non-American, I find this statement ridiculously insulting.

As an American, so do I.

[FJismyheadship]

That makes sense. I guess my main reason for not having more is I'm not sure I could handle more than one on a day to day basis. I can handle mine pretty well most of the time... but not sure if I could do more than one.

On the other hand, I have a friend she sees once a week who has a couple kids, and my babysitter has two kids, so in a way, she kind of has built in siblings, so she can play kid games and complain about me lol.

[August]

That is the best reason on earth to have/not have a child. I only wish most of the world would be so self aware.

[roddma]

You gotta love the sky is falling mindset. Childless and single as in have never been married are easy targets often used to blame the ills of the world on. You find all kinds of 'studies' such as 'Parents are happier' or 'Women who give birth have less risk of such and such'. Note the target of this book is the educated middle class. Many of these books are a bit racist and discriminatory if you ask me though they don't expressly say. They only want a certain class of people to have more babies.

[Avalondaughter]

Has anybody read this book or seen it reviewed?

amazon.com/What-Expect-When-Ones-Expecting/dp/1594036411/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387069297&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+expect+when+no+one%27s+expecting

When are these idiots going to learn that it's not about space. It's about resources. It's about the availability of clean water. It's about having enough aerable land to grow food. It's about peak oil and it's long tear effects on moving goods over large areas. It's about diseases making their way through dense populations and not having the meds to treat them. Even if you could stick everyone on the planet in Jacksonville, it's hard to eat when you're all standing shoulder to shoulder.

[precious_one]

My 29 year old says she is doesn't want any children. She was married and a step-mother to 3 kids for 8 years. She knows the sacrifices it takes for children even on a part time basis. As much as I would like grand children, I respect her decision. She has meant someone now that doesn't want children and she enjoys her life just fine.