I was going to suggest that raising children was something enjoyable that resisted monetization. But upon further reflection, I would be wrong.
Thanks.
In my experience, the families that had 3 to 5 children, where at least 2 or 3 of them supported each other went far further than others. They save money by being each other's insurance, are able to share resources and knowledge, help each other in rearing their own set of children, and the implicit trust is something that can't be bought.
Of course, it can all go sideways too, but that's applicable in any situation. But the upside is huge.
Children are indeed a backup plan.
Their small hands are great for working on modern cars (especially the electrical connectors with tabs that are hard for sausage fingers to manipulate).
When you're carrying something heavy they can make every door open automatically.
They also make great confined space welders.
All the energy they have makes them great for manual labor too. The manual labor has the side benefit of making them less picky eaters and better at sleeping.
Kids are great for helping with all sorts of around the house projects too. Having a helper is an invaluable force multiplier.
Edit: Why is this opinion not acceptable here? Are kids supposed to stare at a screen for every waking hour not consumed with school work?
Thank you for the chuckle! As a kid who grew up "helping" (often just learning, but occasionally actually contributing), I find your list pretty reasonable! I didn't, unfortunately, learn to weld until my early 30s.
I think one of the greatest boons of parenthood, for me at least, is the complete and total conviction and faith that I'm doing something meaningful with my life. Before kids, I always had doubts that I was using my time here well. Before kids, I really didn't know what unwaivering faith felt like. It's really quite reassuring. It allows me to enjoy my career because my career is no longer the focus and the thing that I must get right. Life is fleeting.
A parent telling you how happy they are having the kids IS NOT telling you that you should do the same. They're just enjoying it and exposing it as a maybe these days forgotten way of realization as a human being.
PS. I am in no way opposed to the idea of having children.
There is both a boring-common-unobserved case where children are expected to contribute to the household, and the less common but higher profile case where parents have written off their own chances of "making it big" and begin managing their children full time, most visibly in sports or acting/music.
I think you just described nicely the psychology of child beauty pageants.
As a soon-to-be parent, I really worry that I start thinking like this. I mean, there must be something more to life than just growing to adulthood and having children, who'll then grow to adulthood and have children, ad infinitum.
Of course. Don't worry. You can do meaningful things and become a good parent.
Why? I'm not claiming there isn't, or that there is, but it does seem plausible to me that we're just part of a recursive function in the universe that came about due to chance and will last as long as the boundary conditions allow us to.
Perhaps what makes people think they are special or that there "must" be a greater reason for their existence is the portion of their brain which is programmed (by chance) to tell them so, in order to facilitate the aforementioned recursion by securing resources, attracting a mate, and furthering the recursion. Some call it ego.
I didn't mean it in religious sense, that there is a deeper meaning that's prescribed to us. Right now I do believe we're this "part of the recursive function", but we're also that part that recognizes concepts like "meaningful" and can strive to achieve it.
I meant that merely continuing the "grow, reproduce, die" cycle like every other living organism on the planet feels deeply unsatisfying to me. What I find satisfying is learning things, building things, and contributing to the society and the world in a way that makes other people - now and in the future - ever so slightly happier and less in pain.
I like to think, "The world doesn't have to end, for your world to end." It helps me grasp the importance of the day to day things I do, and appreciate them.
Enjoy the life you have, help the people around you, and do what you can to make the world just a little bit better. Maybe you'll get lucky and make the world a whole lot better, but making things a bit better is good enough.
I truly thought it was possible. How naïve was that?
It might be pleasurable, but it's a biological response to get you to nurture your children, rather than an objectively meaningful one.
Such thing does not exist.
I actually agree with you. My kids are awesome and I enjoy the time playing with them and watching them develop. But not everyone receives that same kind of joy from child development nor do people have the same goals.
To me, side projects are probably a rent seeking activity. If I can find 20 minutes here, and there, and turn it into something that generates cash... maybe... just maybe... I can use that to buy some time.. the thing I cherish the most.