"People Love Kids" - But Should Every Person Be a Parent?

I recently read a comment on one of my earlier articles from the always entertaining and witty AC producer Zac Wissink. I had written about Philadelphia mayoral hopeful Michael Nutter, whose last-minute campaign strategy of featuring his pre-teen daughter in ads touting not only what a good dad but what a good candidate he is. Charmingly done, young Ms. Nutter made a very real impact on Philadelphia voters; her dad won the Democratic nomination, no doubt in no small way influencing voters with her poise and physical attractiveness. She was the kind of young lady you hope your children would choose as a friend. Zac's succinct comment started with a simple sentence: "People love kids." And how true that is.

But just because we can have children, does that mean that everyone has the right to be parents? As I get older and hopefully somewhat wiser, I think not. My own daughters are now in their late teens to early twenties. Would I choose to choose parenthood again, knowing what I know now? I'd love to be able to say quickly "Oh, yes, of course! Kids are great! They're our legacy. Yes, it was tough at times, but it was really worth it in the end." To be brutally honest, I'm not sure what my answer would be. I would need time to think over my answer.

Don't misunderstand, I love my daughters very much. Each of them is quite different, quite unique in their own way. One is high maintenance, and always has been. She has had numerous issues during her short life that have put every one of those gray hairs on my head. She is a beautiful young woman about whom we like to say that she was 'born winking at the doctor'. She knows that she's beautiful, and that many - far too many - things have come too easily to and for her in life. She is compassionate, amiable, funny, carefree, sociable, savvy and a hard worker, when it's to her own benefit. She is also lazy, irresponsible, impatient, and makes poor choices in life, especially when it comes to the young men with whom she has had relationships.