A couple of days ago I posted on the latest upscale trend: having three and maybe four kids instead of the two that used to be de rigeur among the population-conscious. (See my Three Kids: The New Two, May 17.)
Seems our blue-state elites have finally figured out that they’ve been losing the demographic battle to the red-staters with their generally larger families.
Here are some thoughts from our readers.
From our regular, J.P.:
“Three kids is a dangerous number because at No. 3 you begin to see what diverse individuals they are, and you start to get curious about who the next child is going to be. Sort of like opening presents at Christmas. The baby isn’t just a blank slate that will grow into ’my child,’ but each one is a surprise.
“I really do think that small families lead to giving more weight to parenting than to a child’s inherent personality. A family with several children knows just how different the results can be from the same parenting. A person is less likely to take credit for the well behaved child when the hyperactive one is standing right in front of you.”
From “Bookworm,” whose must-read Bookworm Room blog regularly raises the spirits of conservatives doomed to live in liberal zones:
“Out here on the ritzy Northern California Coast where I live, three, even four children, are becoming the norm for the upper-middle class. I will say, though, that the moms I know who are busy repopulating the world with little blond tykes, are lovely and loving mothers. They are the devoted primary caregivers, and they are having more children because their husbands bring in enough money to sustain the population boom within the family.”
And from another regular, W.W.:
“My children are the crown jewels of my life. I am sorry I did not have a dozen of them. I will make do with what I have, but still…There may be those who wish they had fewer children. I weep for them.”
Coming from a family of five kids myself (and our family bred every sort, from the hyperactive to the way overcontrolled), I heartily applaud the new trend. Larger families, paradoxically, give both parents and children breathing room. Parents can relax and comfort themselves with the fact that if one of the offspring doesn’t get into Harvard Business School, maybe another one will–and it’s not the parents’ fault. Kids can be themselves, not 24/7 parent-pleasers. And yes, liberals can make devoted moms, as were so many of the moms of my baby-boom childhood. So go on fighting back, blue-staters! We red types cherish a fair fight. Our kids against yours!