(Family) Size Doesn't Matter

   

     "When are you having another one?" is a question that I (and many others!) have heard all too often.  I feel that this is quite the personal question and I would love to answer it with "frankly that's none of your business", but often I find myself defending my position (which is "not anytime soon, if ever").  Whether you have 6 kids or one, for some reason other people, often strangers, feel the need to comment about the size of your family. Why?

     I recently made the mistake of considering someone else's negative opinion of the size of my family, and ya know what? I realized I don't care and that person is a meanie.  I have one child and that is the way I want it to stay.  There are many reasons why people may have only one child, for example, medical, financial, marital status, etc.  And parents shouldn't have to explain those things to meddling acquaintances. But what if your reason is simply because you only want one? Why would that be a problem?  Some people are under the impression that every child "needs" a sibling.  What a child needs is to be well taken care of.  For me personally, I feel confidant that this is the best decision for my family.  I  myself enjoy being able to focus all of my attention on one child.  I also like knowing that he is able to do many of the activities he enjoys (such as team sports-hey which also doubles as interaction with other children his age! Look no need for siblings!lol) because I honestly could not afford to do all of those things for more than one child. And if I were to go back to work in order to have another-well what is the point of that, going to work for the
purpose of paying someone else to watch the child that you went to work for! (before you get all offended that comment applies ONLY to working FOR THE PURPOSE of having more kids, not working to maintain your household).
     Every family is different and one is not necessarily "better" than another.  We tolerate different religions, respect different rules, and understand different customs, so why is it so difficult for people to accept different numbers of children?  I know families with many children, and I hear people comment about how they have "too many kids".  Why do people need to say that? How does that affect them? There is no such thing as "too many" or "not enough" kids.  It is a personal decision, and different things work for different families. We are all individuals! We are not cookies cut from cookie cutters! Wouldn't it be great if people would stop making judgements about others and imposing their opinions on you? Of course that thought applies to all aspects of life...
     So anyway, no matter how many children you decide to have, stand by your decision and don't listen to anyone else that doesn't agree with you.  You are the one taking the kids home at the end of the day, not them!

Contributed by Christina