Education Is Key

Over the course of this quarter, something I personally struggled with a lot was disillusionment. After learning about what human development can be and should be, I often got caught up in wishing that Americans would educate themselves more before deciding to become parents. After discussing everything from fetal development to death and dying, I find myself wishing that everyone could take a course like this. There were so many times in class where we would come to the conclusion that, "If everyone would just do x, y, or z, then people would be better and the world would be a better place!" Many of my blog posts reflected this same script, in so many words.

For example, back in January, I wrote about my frustrations that oftentimes American cultural practices override scientific facts. After reading many studies that provide ample evidence that breastfeeding is better than formula feeding and that co-sleeping is better than isolated crib sleeping, I find it incredibly disappointing that most people don't give much credence to scientifically supported facts like these. We are so dependent on our culture to set the standard for child rearing that we may ignore helpful information if it deviates from cultural norms.

Instead of focusing too much on my disillusionment though, I want to emphasize instead the importance of education. Even though the United States is a first world nation by most standards, we are falling behind in education. Americans are starting to come to terms with this, but part of the problem may be that we are too financially miserly to allow ourselves to be properly taxed when it comes to schools. Most Americans, if asked, would probably openly claim to value education, but the evidence to back that up is hard to find. We don't pay our teachers enough, we don't pay childcare providers enough, and a college education is becoming more and more expensive every year. So while we may claim to value education, we really aren't putting our money where our mouths are and making that education accessible to everyone. If the government subsidized schooling like they subsidized corn maybe our children's brains would be bursting with new ideas and information instead of their clothes bursting from drinking all of those high-fructose corn syrup filled soda drinks. If we truly valued education, it would be reflected in how our children are cared for, taught in school, and ultimately in how American adults make decisions on a daily basis. If we don't value education, we don't value teachers, and if we don't value teachers, then eventually no one will want to take it upon themselves to teach. We need to break the unfortunate cycle that devalues education and find a way to make it a top priority. Maybe then, people will listen to scientific reason and just breastfeed their infants already!

The Future of Parenting... My List of "What Ifs"

Parenting is a struggle. And not just for couples who are financially, physically, and mentally unprepared for parenthood. Parenting is a struggle even for affluent and available couples who, on paper, seem to be completely ready to bring new life into the world. Parenting is stressful and in a world that is quickly developing an overpopulation problem, what if some couples chose to feel complete without children? If Americans were educated about the stress that comes with raising children and if birth control options were looked upon more favorably by Americans as a collective whole, would couples consider not having children as an option? In some ways, not having children could be more fulfilling to couples, while having children would seem absolutely necessary to others. IF, however, we viewed the choice to not have children more positively in the United States, we might find higher rates of life satisfaction and lower rates of depression among American adults.

How realistic is it to encourage people not to procreate? Most humans, and other species as well, feel an innate, subconscious desire to pass their genes down by making babies. Could we fight this need if it was more culturally acceptable to be in a committed relationship without the prospect of procreation? Another concern would be that more stable (and potentially more disciplined) couples would chose to be childless while couples deemed unfit to parent due to financial, circumstantial, or emotional instability (or those more likely to give in to their hedonistic urges) may continue to procreate without abandon. More children growing up in unstable households certainly doesn't sound like an ideal future for our country. Too many "what ifs..."

Obviously regulating procreation is unAmerican and wrong by most standards. It is unrealistic to assume that we could ever control population in this way, but the more simple solution is to slightly alter our attitudes toward procreation, parenting, and the choice to not have children. We need better access to birth control and abortion clinics in all areas, not just in more liberal leaning states and counties. Attitudes toward birth control and women who use birth control need to be more positive. And of course attitudes toward the choice to be childless need to become more positive. Instead of thinking of childbearing as "the next step" in the sequence of life, we need to think of it as a possibility or a choice to be made at the discretion of every couple when they feel ready. Parenting is difficult, stressful, and time-consuming-- it could be very possible then, that parenting is not for everyone. Having the choice to parent or not to parent could be a relief to future couples if our society starts considering that as a realistic option.