This week, my little sister returned home from serving as a missionary for my church. She has been living in England for the past 18 months, which I must admit, has left me missing her most days.
My little sister has been one of my best friends throughout my life. We laugh about the same things and sometimes make each other cry. Through it all, we have maintained a friendship that I treasure to this day.
I bring up my little sister because she is the sixth and last child in my family. To some, this might sound crazy, to others, this might sound irresponsible. The idea of having a large family, or children at all for that matter, has become “old fashioned.”
Using the term "old fashioned" is labeling having children as a trend that once was. This implies that in today's world, we only have the amount of children that is socially acceptable to our neighbors and society as a whole.
In our world of innovation and progression, it seems “old fashioned,” to me, to worry about the opinions of others.
I am left wondering, how giving life to a human being, which is pretty remarkable, can be considered no longer"in style." It is as if it having children is the equivalent to wearing bell bottom jeans in 2017.
The number of children born in the United States can affect us all as a community and as a country. Fertility rates is the number of births each year to every 1000 women between the ages of 15-44 years old.
While it is true fertility rates tend to fluctuate, recent research shows that the birthrate is the lowest it has ever been. In 2014 the fertility rate was 63 out of 1000 women as opposed to the year 1955, when there were about 188 births per 1000 women.
I am sure at this point many of you are asking, "Why does this matter?" "Isn’t there too many people in the U.S. either way?"
If this trend continues, there will be a disproportionate amount of young compared to the aging generation. Meaning, there will be a smaller population in the able-bodied work force to support the elderly, as compared to previous generations.
To bring this full circle I will end on a personal note. As was mentioned, I have 5 siblings. Yes, all of us are from the same mom and dad. The first two children my parents had were a girl and a boy. I am sure they could have said to themselves, "We have one of each. What else could we need?"
My dad is a dock worker. At the time they were struggling financially. They had enough reason to say that they couldn't have anymore children and that it would be irresponsible of them to do so.
Instead, they welcomed 4 more children into their home. We grew up in modest circumstances. We did not take family vacations on an annually basis and none of us had a smartphone until we left home.
There were times I wished I could have had brand-name clothes or more trips, but looking back I realized that I learned many great lessons.
My family would do simple things, like go bowling on a consistent basis. I grew to love the smell of bowling alleys even though, more often than not, they smell like the remnants of old cigarettes and greasy fries.
My dad taught me and all of my siblings to swim in a river we would go to every summer. That river has become special place for my family. When my siblings and I are back in the area, we like to go back to that old river, we re-live memories, and create new ones. The memories that hold a place in my heart are the ones we did together. Nothing expensive or elaborate, simply laughing and having a good time together. I know that I am pointing out all the fond memories I have. It is not an effort to cover up the ones that were not so pleasant. The point is that, not all situations have to be ideal for them to be wonderful.
In short, I am glad there are a lot and some say, too many, children in my family. What I thought I was missing out on, from not having as much money or looking like a circus attraction when we were all out together, is why life is worth living today.
When I think about what makes me happy, it is all five of my friends that I am fortunate enough to call my brother and sisters.
While there are social and economic implications of the decreased fertility rate, there is also a loss of family centered lives.
It is not a requirement to have a large family to be "family centered." It is how we think about having children and families that will define the future of the family.
Sources:
Fertility and Birth Rates. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/fertility-and-birth-rates/