THE Peak Parenting Thread

Specop_007 · Expert Joined: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 6092

Sometimes, we dont always have a choice in the issue. x3

KiddieKorral · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:23 am Post subject:

I'll probably adopt someday. But I'm WAY too young now, so that could change.
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jato · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:30 am Post subject:

I would be open to adopt. But not with all of the government red-tape. Maybe my day is coming.
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nero · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:49 am Post subject:

If you're strictly looking out for number one then I think it's probably best to have lots of children in a collapsing economy. After all you can't count on old age security in that situation, and you would need the extra hands to help you farm.

Sencha · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:33 am Post subject:

I absolutely hate the idea of having children with the knowledge of peak oil, even without it, I hate the idea.
I was born during a time, when the entire country was half sure World War III was right around the corner. (well, that's all the time I guess, but I mean the cold war specifically.) WTF were my parents thinking? We need more misanthropes in this world. A misanthrope would never have kids, and they would be making society all the better for it.

And if anything makes me the most sick, its the idea of having children as "extra hands" or something like that. So, you're going to bring a life into the world that has to know pain, hunger, fatigue, fear, doubt? All so you have to work just a little less?
I think PO is a sign that our time as a species is up, people should stop trying to propagate a failed race. Why bring a kid up in what will soon be a virtual hellhole? No one with a conscience would do that. If you haven't figured it out, I've pretty much lost faith in humanity, and my experience as a human being, as been less than pleasant, maybe my expectations are too high I don't know. But, I sure as hell don't want to be a human after the SHTF. So, stop screwing and get sterilized.

JR · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:39 am Post subject:

I just turned 40 and PO makes me glad I chose not to have children....

MrBean · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Sep 26, 2004 Posts: 1048

Too late x2, five years and four weeks old.

PO, among other things, has the effect that third one is out of the question. Having children is not only yes/no question but also how many. Soft, humane landing requires also that the population does not drop too abruptly, that there are able, young bodies to keep the society going and building a better world that is based on sustainable ways.

bentstrider · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:09 am Post subject:

Well, if what one of these people said was true, the human race will probably be the shortest-lived species in the universe.
Not to mention the butt of all jokes related to earth.
We'll be the first species to have killed off ourselves!! Twisted Evil

clv101 · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 7:00 am Post subject:

If everyone in the developed world stopped having children there would be disaster (PO or not) in ~20-30 years time. What ever happens in the future we can't cope with a demographic gap. Already in the developed world the birth rate is barely keeping up with the death rate. What I'm saying is that whatever happens, in 20 years time we will need 20-year olds.

I don't think peak oil is a reason not to have children in the developed world... in the developing/third world however it is a reason not to have kids (as prolifically as they do now).

Roy · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 7:13 am Post subject:

with two kids already conceived and born before my awareness began, I'm already confronted with a potential problem of getting them raised and prepared for the world that is coming.
Of course, the planned 3rd kid is on the shelf indefinitely. that decision was made last summer.
Had I known 3 years ago what I know now, I may not have elected to have any children.
But that's all water under the bridge now.

pip · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 8:08 am Post subject:

Knowledge of peak oil hasn't changed anything for me. Have 1 kid with another on the way now and will probably have one or two more. However, I am already situated in a sparsely populated area with 400 acres of farmland. Very large extended family is nearby also in farming. If civilization changes significantly I feel I am as well off as anybody will be. Lack of oil will not equal a bad life. If you have the resources to provide food for your family I don't see any problem with having as many as you want.
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Phil · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:23 am Post subject:

At 26, I'm planning to wait until around 2012 to have kids in light of PO- which delays my pre-PO plan by a couple of years. If Campbell et al.'s predictions are correct, and I suspect they are, production decline will begin in earnest by then. If things are looking good despite decline, I'll have kids. That also gives me more time to find the perfect Peak Oil Bride and buy some land in East Texas.

I'll have no more than 2 children, because I feel that North America has already overshot its sustainable carrying capacity at least twofold. What concerns me more than simply human numbers is the quality of the humans being born. The fact is, the low IQ have more kids, and beginning earlier, than the high IQ. This means in practical terms that the low IQ complete 5 generations for every 4 completed by the high IQ. Low IQ correlates highly with such things as criminal behavior, low academic achievement, low wage earning, etc.

In other words, the fact that the world is quickly filling up with idiots is as problematic, I think, as the fact that it's quickly filling up.

Phil · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:27 am Post subject:

Disregard.

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5103 Location: Oklahoma

I found out about Peak Oil 4 or 5 months after my baby was born. It makes me very sad. In fact, sad isn't close to a strong enough word. I agree with people who believe our species as a whole is pretty awful (this belief comes from personal experience and from the world situation), but I have also experienced the greatness individuals and communities can exhibit. It's just too bad that power tends to go to those who emphasize the bad qualities.

I have believed for a long time, to the horror of most people I know, that the globe should have a policy similar to China's (note that I said "similar", and let's please not start bickering about details). My freedom to have 10 children infringes on everyone else's freedom by requiring too many resources. And yes, I also think we need to work hard on ending poverty, so please nobody start saying I'm biased in favor of the developed world. I'm not. Reproductive policy is just one thing we need to work on among many.

I am honestly not sure about having a second child. I probably wouldn't have had this one if I learned how close to the edge our species was earlier. Of course, it's hard to say for sure, because that instinct is really strong - if you are a woman under 30 or a man you can't know what I am talking about. Now that I have him, my goal is to minimize his suffering as much as possible. I'm still weighing whether a sibling would be more likely to improve or worsen the situation for my first. That is the single factor which will determine my decision. Altruism for the rest of you will not be in the equation. It might have pre-baby, but not now.

As I said, I wish I'd been better informed two years ago! Sad

Such · Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:24 am Post subject: i'm 27

I'm 27... we will probably have one... maaaaybe 2.

no more.