Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Long-Term Sustainability / on having children

[Racheli Gai (racheli]

Hi Sheryl,
I have two kids, so my family's contribution to growth is zero.  
(Because
my partner and I only replace ourselves).

It doesn't make sense to me to say that people shouldn't have any 
children,
in the same way that it doesn't make sense to me to say that people 
should
have children.  IMO people who are really thoughtful and motivated to 
put
a lot of their time and energy into child- rearing are the ones who are
more likely to do a good job.
We started by having one child, and a number of years later decided that
we seem to enjoy having kids, and are fairly good at it (to the extent 
that
one can judge regarding oneself...)  So, we ended up having another
one, and never planned having any more biological offspring.
I made raising my kids my first priority.  They were unschooled, which
means that much of my time and energy was spent on being with them,
interacting with them, facilitating their pursuit of their interests, 
and so on.

We also had a chance to model thoughtfulness in regards to environmental
issues, something which hopefully will affect how they think and behave
in the world.

Racheli
Sonora Cohousing, Tucson.



On Jul 7, 2007, at 1:42 PM, sherylcatmom wrote:

> You've both named something that I value as well:  less, not more,
> population.
>
> I have no human children (I adopt and mother homeless cats), so I
> hesitate to comment on this topic.  What I've wanted to say is that I
> have felt surprised by the number of people I encounter who advocate
> for cohousing and reduced consumption, and yet who also bear children.
>
> Maybe some of you can comment on reconciling the values of preserving
> our Earth and also having more children.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Sheryl
> in Vermont
> considering cohousing
>
> --- In cohousing-L [at] yahoogroups.com, OldSol@... wrote:
> > With Ron, I favor smaller, close-knit communities with gardens and
> negative
> > population growth world-wide.
> >
> > John Solso
> > A member of Milagro  Cohousing
> > where a few adobe haciendas are available for purchase
> > _http://www.milagrocohousing.org_ (http://www.milagrocohousing.org/)
>
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