by Brenda Nelson

Created on: September 22, 2010   Last Updated: March 23, 2012

With all things equal in todays day and age, it is far better to raise children in a smaller family.  We can say that in a larger family there is more love to go around, but this is a bizarre notion that actually contradicts itself because equally there are more people needing love. Let us examine the advantages of the smaller family.

Financial

It can be argued that even with small families, both parents need to work, but this is not entirely correct if one can manage their finances well. Moreover with a small family there are fewer mouths to feed, a smaller home required, and so forth. If we were to have two families on the exact same income, one with one child, one with four, clearly the family with only one child will be better off financially. The financial burden of a large family really becomes clear when the kids want to enter college, or expect their parents to contribute to their wedding plans, as is the custom in many cultures.

Stress

When a parent is stressed, tired, or sick, they still have children to look after, and if there is only one child, it won't be as overwhelming as if they have four children each with different demands. Additional children add more stress, particularly as they put the parents in a situation where financial needs are increased, as mentioned above.

Unknown Future

We never know what the future will bring, perhaps the loss of a job, or the death of one of the parents. When a family is smaller, it may be able to overcome these unknown factors much quicker than if the family was large.

Selfish

With the earths population soon to top seven billion people, having a large family can be viewed as selfish, particularly because these children will have amazing struggles that will escalate as the population booms. More people mean more problems down the road, and many concerned groups, including the United Nations, have issued warnings about this.

The Misconception of the Advantages of a larger Family

Often people think that having a large family is an advantage, because the older children can help with the younger ones. We have to realize that in this case we are forcing the children to do the parents job, which is hardly fair, nor their responsibility. Indeed an older child might not be good at watching the younger ones, they may even resent it or be resented by the younger ones as they sometimes have to act as a disciplinarian. In many cases the dynamics of the larger families are so twisted that people are not even aware.

 Summary

We can say it depends on parenting skills, but with all things being equal, the smaller family still has reason to come out ahead.  A large family with a parent with poor parenting skills will be far worse off than a small family with a parent with poor parenting skills.  When everything is compared and lined up, having a smaller family is the best option.

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