What Is Wrong With Me Having A Large Family

Children are a blessing. We say it but don’t speak it. I am guilty of this as well.

I scroll through Facebook and see people joking about being pregnant and joking about not being pregnant. The newest joke is who can make it through the summer without getting pregnant. When I go places, my life seems to be a joke to many. A joke about not owning a television or having anything better to do all because I have five children and i am pregnant with my sixth.

When and why did we start taking life into our own hands?

The other day I was at the supermarket standing in line waiting to pay. The sweet cashier congratulated me on my 6th baby. The woman checking out turned to me and said, “oh sweetie there is a sale on Tv’s here, far cheaper than having children!”

I was pretty shocked. It was supposed to be funny, but why? Why is it common humor to joke about not wanting more children?

I understand children are hard. They make us sacrifice dreams and desires we had planned out. But I have never met a family that said they wished they never had their last child. Every single child has been a blessing. Every parent says that they can’t imagine life without every single child.

So why is it that we joke so much about having or not having children?

 Everywhere we turn, pregnancy is made a joke and looked down on, people also assume that they must all have different fathers or I am doing it for the money (we don’t claim anything other than child benefits).

So where did we go wrong? Why is life no longer celebrated? Why is life now limited when it was once begged for?

I think the first place we need to start is in our words. Are we encouraging people to value life? Are we making inappropriate jokes about someone else’s new pregnancy or telling them it is time to stop?

The first step to valuing life is watching what we joke about.