HW 41 - Independent Research

A

Belkin, Lisa. "Why Does Anyone Have Children?." Motherlode: Adventures In Parenting. New York Times, 07 JAN 2010. Web. 31 Mar 2011. <http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/why-does-anyone-have-children-2/>.

Someone wrote in to the author of the blog, asking why people decide to have children. The author of the blog then tells her story of why, and invites others to do the same in the comments section. This source is more of a personal story type of writing, but it is still valid, and provides some valuable data. This source would be helpful if I wanted to quote someone saying why they had kids. 

Pikul, Corrie. "The Clock-Watcher: How do you know when - or if - you should have a baby?." Elle Magazine. Feb. 2011: 164-166. Print. 

Author discusses her own ambivalence about whether or not to have a child, and wonders if she will stay indecisive, or if her body will give her some signal. Cites evidence from various studies that try to find physical/psychological "signs" that women are ready to have a baby. Touches on emotional aspects surrounding peoples decisions ("For any given woman, the desire to have a child can be a heartfelt longing, a fantasy, an excuse, or something to be denied - or all of the above, at different times"). Seems like a very good source of information, although it is sort of vague (she basically says that there are a lot of different factors that make people decide, and that it's different for everyone - well, obviously).

Bailey, Ronald. "Why Are People Having Fewer Kids?." Reason.com, 26 FEB 2008. Web. 31 Mar 2011. <http://reason.com/archives/2008/02/26/why-are-people-having-fewer-ki>.

Discusses a film about the worldwide decline in births, and the various factors contributing to this decline. Lots of statistical data about birthrates in different countries, which would be useful for a discussion of why women in different countries decide to have children. However, this may be a biased source, seeing as the author mentions that him and his wife do not have children.

"Evolutionary Biology Explains Why Poor People Have Lots of Kids at a Young Age." Neatoblogs. Neatorama, 24 JUL 2010. Web. 31 Mar 2011. <http://www.neatorama.com/2010/07/24/evolutionary-biology-explains-why-poor-people-have-lots-of-kids-at-a-young-age/>.

States that people who have had tough experiences growing up have children as a sort of defense mechanism, since these people have a greater risk of something happening to them, and therefore feel the need to have children. Article is too short to be very useful, but further research could be done as to whether this statement carries any weight.

Jayson, Sharon. "Most parents have kids for 'joy'; to many it 'just happened'." USA Today, 06 MAY 2010. Web. 31 Mar 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-05-06-whykids06_ST_N.htm>.

Discusses a poll taken by the Pew research center, and the various responses to the questions people were asked. Statistical data seems valid, and could be very useful. 

"Does Having Children Make You Happy?." Newsweek 28 JUN 2008. Web. 31 Mar 2011. <http://www.newsweek.com/2008/06/28/having-kids-makes-you-happy.html>.

Discusses how in America, parenthood is portrayed as making people nothing but happy, when the fact is that this isn't always true. Author asserts that people are disillusioned, and like to believe that they are happy, even when they aren't. May be a slightly biased source, seeing as the author has a child, but it adds to the conversation, since it brings up how parenthood is portrayed, as opposed to how it actually is.

Senior, Jennifer. "All Joy and no Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting." New York Magazine 04 JUL 2010. Web. 31 Mar 2011. <http://nymag.com/news/features/67024/>.

In-depth discussion about why people decide to have children, and whether this make them happy. Longer and more detailed then any other article about the subject. A good source, since it discusses different points of view, backed up by actual data (not just personal experience). 

Courtenay-Smith, Natasha, and Morag Turner. "Meet the Women Who Won't Have Babies - Because they're not eco friendly." dailymail.co.uk 21 NOV 2007. Web. 31 Mar 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-495495/Meet-women-wont-babies--theyre-eco-friendly.html>.

A woman talks about not wanting to have a child, and how it was hard for her to find a doctor that would let her get sterilized when she was younger, as they thought she would regret the decision. This also ties into the aspect of doctors having control over patients. While this is an interesting viewpoint, it might not be the best source of information, as most of the article is the woman discussing her reasons for not having kids, as opposed to universal ones.

Belkin, Lisa. "Does Having Children Make You Unhappy?." Motherlode: Adventures In Parenting. New York Times, 01 APR 2009. Web. 1 Apr 2011. <http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/why-does-anyone-have-children/>.

Author discusses a study that found that people who have children report being significantly less happy than people who don't, even after their children aren't living with them anymore. Author quotes a psychologist talking about the reasons people have children. This is a valid source, but the sample size of the study, among other things, would have to be investigated.

B

I would like to use this research to write an essay discussing the different reasons people decide to have children. This topic is interesting to me, because it is interesting to question why people do things that seem commonplace - is it because they want to, or because they know it is expected of them? This would enable me to learn more about different people's perspectives, as well as the biological/ psychological reasons behind them.

My essay will focus on the following questions - Why do people decide to have kids - Is it simply because having children is what is considered normal, or is there a broader biological reason? What factors do people take into account when making this decision? (For instance, in countries where parents receive money from the government to support their child, are people more likely to have children because they feel they can afford it?)