I grew up an only child, and boy was i spoiled. the only thing i wanted was siblings, i was very lonely. I did however get everything i wanted and never learned to do anything for myself, shamefully. I think that since these people can afford their children they should be able to have them without constant critiscism. Also did you know that our population is not multiplying at a rate that it should, they are saying we are actually looking at a population shortage. I also dont find anything wrong with growing up with responsibilities. People who dont grow up with responsibilities or limits have trouble going out on their own and surviving. These people are doing their children a favor.

What I was trying to say by listing a few of my relatives’ professions, which I didn’t make clear (bad writing!), is that they all have modest jobs and live within their means. Sure, they consume more gasoline than someone in a poorer country, but they are not living extravagant lifestyles. Limiting family size doesn’t get to the root of the problem of American consumption. The problem is disposable everything, low standards on car mileage, not turning off lights, materialism.

And to be quite honest, I’m inclined to think that sacrificing for one’s many siblings is more likely to inspire one to live a life of sacrifice (humanitarian work, living “less-is-more”) than coming from a one or two child household where kids are used to geting what they want because there’s enough money. Just my opinion. I have no empirical evidence.

“I think that the “more kids = more consumption” argument is terribly misplaced.”

I agree with this when it applies to other countries, such as India, but not this one. Regardless of how frugal their parents are while raising them, all of those kids are going to grow up and live high-consumption American lifestyles, and they’re probably all going to have children of their own… who will grow up to live high-consumption American lifestyles.

I’m also bothered by these families attaining celebrity status for doing nothing more than having baby after baby after baby.

It bothers me. The world is overpopulated, and our population in North America uses FAR more of its fair share of resources as it is. People having 18 kids strikes me as terribly irresponsible, especially if their main reason for doing so is a line out of the bible. I believe that God gave us brains so we can think these things through on our own.

I love big families; I don’t think it’s anyone’s business how many kids one has; and I think that many people who have large families are brave because they are often looked upon with disdain: “More than two? Are you crazy? Oh, wait, you must be Catholic.” I’m also a conservative (Orthodox) Christian.

That said, the whole “quiverful” thing makes me uneasy. Quiverfull-ers base their family size (an issue of some importance, methinks) on some poetry in the Bible? There are A LOT of things in the Bible, including, “don’t wear clothing of mixed fibers.” Any given passage in the Bible can “prove” any given assertion. This kind of craziness is a natural result of Protestant belief, in which any given person is just as able as the next to “correctly” interpret what is in the Good Book.

Singer, your tone may be flippant, and there’ve been a number of times when I’ve disagreed with your point of view, but you’re dead-on with calling this movement out for what it is: silliness, with serious consequences.

As long as they can take good care of the children, who cares?