why do people have kids?

I've lived on planet Earth for quite a while and I'm not suffering at all, I actually love this world, the good and the bad parts. Even if the world was bad, I wouldn't rather end it, I'd rather raise a better generation than before to improve life and reach our goal of a great and equal world, which we get closer to everyday even if sometimes we take a few steps back. Happiness and a loving world is worth every big of pain and suffering, it's not something you give up on. If it was that bad, we'd all be taking painless suicide pills and ending it now, yet most of the population still chooses to go on.

I want to have kids because I've loved life and would love to raise a part of me and my loved one to be able to experience great things and make great changes too. I would rather not adopt because it's very hard to adopt an infant and there's plenty of people who can't have kids of their owns that deserve them more, and as for older kids, I have 5 foster siblings and they all have severe problems that I don't know if I would be able to handle properly. I want to experience raising a kid from birth anyway, and being able to guide them from the start to make sure they turn out well.\

EDIT: No, I'm thinking realistically. I grew up with foster kids and there's a large difference between the ones who were sold for sex and beat as a kid and the kids you raise from birth without ever abusing or neglecting them. They may not turn out perfect or "just the way I want them", but at least they wont have psychological damage that causes severe mental problems and possibly years of therapy. My idea of a kid growing up "how I want" is a kid that grows up doing what they love and can be proud of, which is achievable (as my parents have supported me to do the same).

And yes, there is suffering and death in this world. There's also love and friends and humor which makes up for it. I'm not going to get rid of all the things that make life enjoyable and worth while just because someone might have to take the good with the bad every once in a while. But if you do suffer a lot, then you don't have to have kids (especially just because "society" has said so). Chances are kids with the same mentality as you will end up suffering, and by only the strong having kids, we will have a stronger species in the future who do not suffer as easily. Adaption is the real solution.

Honey you must be young.

I'll give you reasons, some are bad and some are good.

1- They are young and horny and the woman/girl got pregnant

2 - They want a replacement of themselves because we all know we are not going to live forever.

3- Suffering is relative, some people have rich lives and no need to worry about most things poor people have to worry about to live from day to day. So you're saying only rich people should reproduce? If that were the case, the would be very ideal, but I'm sure emergencies happen and someone could be rich or middle class one minute and poor the next.

4 - Some people actually think that having a baby to show off will help them look more superior.

But that was the dumbest reason that I put down (the last one).

I would go mostly with #3. People still die because the reality is that not all diseases have cures unfortunately, they can just be managed. It's a sad reality but for being alive 29 years, I can tell that disease is not age specific. There's kids with lukemia, and adults with heart disease or cancer. And yes, I think that you are right, the government should focus more on curing the illness and preventing, rather than on "viagra tests" but hey, i don't have the power to tell what the gov can and cannot do. But good luck on the answer

Edit: They also want a purpos in life. Some people think that having kids is their purpose. That's my #5

I want children because I love kids. I understand them well because I remember how I thought when I was growing up, and how it differed from an adult's way of thinking. I love the idea of trying my best to bring someone up in this world who is non-judgemental and is tolerant of those with differences. I think there need to be more people like that, and if I can help, I think I should. Real change starts with new generations, after all.

That said, I think the socially responsible thing to do is to not have more than two children per couple-- definitely not more than three. Even if parents can afford to pay for many kids (like the Duggars), it is just plain irresponsible and stupid to have so many children because in the long run, the economy simply can't sustain families that big. If every family was that big, we'd have been screwed a long time ago. On the other hand, if every couple only has a couple of children, they would essentially just be replacing themselves in society, therefore helping make the economy more sustainable.

So, we (the already living people) should just continue on living life as it is, never to bear another child again, train ourselves against our instinctive ways, and then when everyone dies in less than a century, what? What comes next, we get to live happily with plenty of room and air on this planet for the next 100 years and everyone is gone. They are all dead. Are we supposed to yet again retrain ourselves, go back to our animalistic instinct to continue the species on? It will be too late by then.

Or are you just suggesting that once we stop producing for so many years, the population will be low enough that we can have children again, but only 1, or maybe 2. Who gets to decide that? Who decides WHEN is the time to bring children into this world, so that they may enjoy it further, because we will not live forever?

Or is it neither? Maybe we're all just supposed to stop procreating and let the human race die out.

Human beings don't have the instinct to have children because someone tells them it's normal. We have the instinct to keep our species going. Self preservation. That is the instinct that drives us to have children, to continue on the race even after we're dead and gone. I dare you to try taking that away.

I don't believe that life is mostly comprised of suffering and then death. So to me this reduction theory sounds like the sad stuff basement dwelling virgins write weird poems about.

This is the biggest load of crap.

They like sex.

...because they screw... it's an instinct. Some people don't have it.