How many children is too many?

It depends on so many factors like the demography,one's affordability,public policy,availibility of resources etc.Depending on the above factors to some even one child may come within the definition 'too many'.For some even ten may not be sufficient.If we take a demographic ststistics of the world we can see that the earth now contains a population of 6 billion plus.Among these India and china alone contribute 2.5 billion people which is around 35% of the total world population.Of the five continents asia accounts for more than 50% of the total population.So as far as asia is concerned the malthusian theory of population is strictly applicable where it multiplies geometrically.We are witnessing a population explosion in the asian countries.Some of the countries like China has already implemented its one-child policy to curb the population problem.There having a second child will invite penalty for the parents.The innocent child is spared but the negligent parents are punished.So for them just one child itself is 'too many'.As Malthuse said the population inreases geometrically and food products arithmetically.For a country to develop its resources should be allocated in an optimum way.For that a nation should have optimum population without compromising the quality of the people.So if the population exceeds the resources available in a country the government should put a check on it and there is nothing wrong in it.This may be the same with certain communities too.In case of some european countries the population is experiencing a deceleration and soon will achieve zero population growth which is also not good for the country since there will be an underpopulation.For them the government should encourage to bear more children for a specific period till the population reaches the optimum level.Now my personal opinion is that more than 3 is too many lol.

It really depends on the people/parents. Some cant handle one child others can handle more. It also doesnt revolve around money totally like some think. We have 7 biological kids, we also have guardianship of one of our grandbabies so we went from almost free to baby again and truthfully I didnt know how I would do, but we are still loving it. I really think that it just depends on how you work as a family and how much you are willing to give. You have to learn how to give each child time for one on one and to work together as a family. I wouldnt trade my life or family for anything and that is with having some grown up and moving out and having some at home with 2 babes again.

Hi! I think that its "too many" when a couple can no longer sustain or support another child and still be able to give all of the children all they need to survive in this world, like proper education, at least 3 meals in a day and just take care of them all. Then again, I might not know since I dont have a kid of my own and am also an only child. All the experience from child rearing that I got would be constantly babysitting my younger cousins. Hardly a real experience of parenting or child rearing at all, I know. But as a general rule, its quite fine to have as many as 20 children, bottomline is that each and every one of those 20 would be properly cared for. Thats just what I think though.

For me, more than two children is too many nowadays. Happy Mylotting.

There's no such thing as "too many". Celine Dion is the youngest of 14! What if her parents had stopped at 2 or 3? Happy MyLotting!

Hi It all depends on your situation and how much money you have, I would find it very hard to share my love round ten and get them everything they need and expect to have to get, to keep up with their peers.My Nan had seven girls and they all had a white wedding and my grandad was a chimney sweep. He must have swept every chimney in Tunbridge wells to pay for that lot.Mind you they were different days back then better in someways but so much harder in others.I take my hat off to them I could not have managed with shopping everyday, hand washing or wash board , and all that cooking, gives me goose bumps thinking about it.xx

[i]I think 3 is enough for a regular family. Not only that it's a practical number but also, it is sensible. What I mean is that, if one can afford 10 mouths to feed, why not? But feeding kids isn't the parents' sole responsibility. We as parents, have to monitor the kids, and it'll be difficult to do that if they're way too many. We might not know that one of the children is doing something bad and might just know it when he can't be saved anymore. Here in the Philippines, I feel sad that there are families who cry against poverty and then have more than 5 kids. I mean, they're already in crisis why drag those children in the crisis with them? It's unfair for the kids! [/i]

I have one child right now (born last year - baby girl)and now I'm waiting for second child due this December 2008.

Like you I also have just one child and will not be having any additional one. But I came from a brood of 9 while my hubby came from a brood of 11. Obviously we both came from big families so we really are surprised why the Lord gave us just one. At any rate, we trust that in everything God has good reasons so we did not question Him anymore but rather thank Him for giving us even just one child. You are right more than 3 or 4 children would be too many today. It's okay for the rich people to have more kids because anyway they can support and give them all they need but for the poor or average income earners it is better to limit the children to 2 to 3 at the most.

This answer varies with each woman. It is as different as day and night and cannot be answered by anyone except the woman having the children.

i would consider having 5 children as too many children in a family... it would be impractical as of these days to have too many children because of economic reasons...

Hey there, I think that is a very good questions. I've thought of that very question several times. Both my mother and father have 10 bros and sis's. Which I think is a lot but they have that family togetherness that my only sister and I just don't have. I only have one child and debate all the time on wheter or not to have more. For me I think what I could afford would be no more that two to be happy and comfortable. However there are many people who struggle with one and continue to have more not just two but keep going further. I don't think it's a good idea when you can't support the children in a way that make them happy and comfortable.

not too many if you can afford it!if we rich enough ,we can have many children,children is source of fun in family,but for many families,one child or two children is good,the best may be one son and one daughter,in Chinese,a daughtee is“?”,a son is "?”,then combine them,,a Chinese character "?",it's meant good and well!!

4 children would be already be too many children because there would be fights frequently and stuff like that

I have two children and my sister has four children. My grandmother had three children on my mother's side. Having the first child is demanding I know I worried so much about my baby son when he was suffering with colic after feeding. With my second child I felt so much more relaxed and already knew all about caring for a baby. I think that if a lady has three children there will be a middle child and so having four is better. My sister has the perfect family: two boys and two girls. Some people are not as lucky as her. One lady wants a girl and has six boys. If she had a boy and then a girl she would have been happy and stopped at two children. I think that if a couple have a large house and lots of money eight children would not be too many. However for the average family ten children would be difficult to provide for financially and I can imagine the washing machine would never stop.

I don't have kids, somehow planning for it, but my husband and I never asked what's the maximum.. For me, it would be three.. I think more than that would be too much. My mother had 5 kids. And I was the one in the middle, and like the one that is most abandoned.. And it kinda sucked. So to me, I think that having three kids would be a lot already and as much as I can go..

I too think three to four are two many children.Nowadays most couples keep only one child in the family.According to me two would be good.Because one can give company to the other.

I have six children. I think it just depends on the parents and what they feel they can handle. To me having more than one is easier than having one. With only one, you have to be everything to the child without much of a break. You are the playmate and entertainment as well as the caretaker, provider, disciplinarian, etc. I wouldn't necessarily recommend having six to other people, but I always knew from my childhood that I would have a large family. It seemed to just be imprinted in my soul.

2 is enough and three is already too many for me..

I think it depends on the family. Large families seem to work well for some. I don't know if you watch much reality tv but there are 2 shows I will reference. Jon and Kate + 8 they have a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. They seem to manage well and their children seem to be well adjusted. Another one is 17 Kids and Counting. Their children seem to be well behaved also, but it just seems like it would be hard to spend time with each child everyday when you have that many. If you watch this show the older children just seem to be more of convenience for the parents thatn anything. The older girls do the laundry, the cooking, an take care of the babies. I think that 17 is absolutely too many.