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I'm coming in late to this thread, and I've skimmed some of the comments and am very disappointed by many people.

I am a mother of four. I have always wanted children, I love them, and I feel that my life would be incomplete without them.

I know a woman who's a few years older than me who never wanted children. I've known her for more than 15 years and she didn't want children then, and now--even though she's married--she doesn't want children. You know what? I'm glad. She's awful with kids, has no patience, and is far more interested in traveling and partying than raising a family. Fine. That's her choice.

I don't think anyone on this list advocates "forcing" women to have children who don't want to. (this is far different than abortion, mind you; once the child is conceived, murdering that child for the sake of convenience--which is what all abortions are--is evil and wrong). But if a woman decides never to get pregnant and doesn't want kids, let her.

HOWEVER, that being said, there is a MAJOR societal problem. People with large families are often laughed at and ridiculed. I read the post about the family expecting their eighth child and the people who snickered and laughed behind their back.

When I was pregnant with my fourth, the woman I mentioned above who doesn't want kids, went to a good friend of mine and said, "Did you know (gophack) is pregnant again? That's number four." It was said in a very condescending tone with an eye roll.

People who choose to have large families should be praised and helped, not made fun of and ridiculed. I get comments like, "Well, it was your choice to have four kids, you shouldn't complain" and similar things. I never complain about my kids. I never complain about being tired, not having time for myself, not having money for vacations, or not being able to go out every weekend. Most of the time I don't care about those things. But when I come in ten minutes late because it's Halloween and I had to get my kids in their costumes for school and it took longer than I expected, I am frowned upon.

It's a two-way street. But there is definitely an antagonism toward large families that needs to end.

In a century, the families that have eight (or any number greater than three) children will have the last laugh, especially if they home school, or if they can afford it, have their children attend a private school dedicated to the Christian faith and Western culture and if they attend a conservative evangelical church where they worship and which is their primary social support. It would be even better if the head of the household is also an independent entrepreneur. Families that are, as much as possible, out of the loop of the mainstream culture but are well connected to church and home school networks are the ones that will thrive.

If even two-thirds of the children of such families stay true to the Christian faith and in turn marry and choose large families, their numbers and influence will increase. There are currently two million homeschooled chidren in America, of whom probably 90% are evangelical Christians. If two-thirds of them remain committed to the Christian faith and to traditional values (using the pattern with Amish and Mennonites), and assuming the families they form have an average of five children, in 20-25 years, today's home schooled children will have about six million children. In another generation, that figure increases to 20 million children. That number increases to 67 million given another 20-25 years. By the end of this century, well over 100 million Americans could be products of an intensively Christian, strongly traditional, and anti-statist background.

The fact is that liberals, moderates, and even secular conservatives are not reproducing in numbers that ensure the continued dominance of secularism and anti-Christian attitudes in the long haul. (As nonbelievers, they took to heart Keynes' dictum that in the long run, we are all dead. Conservative Christians recognize their Biblical duty to provide for their progeny and to subdue the earth.) Perhaps the meek will inherit the earth, or at least 22nd Century America.

I don't have a problem with people not having children either. My brother and his wife seem pretty happy with their lives sans kids. I think he would make a good dad, but he breaks out in a cold sweat just thinking about it! LOL! So he is a terrific uncle, that's plenty.

But it is true, there is an undercurrent in society of hostility toward large families. It's even worse when a couple eschews "birth control".

Just know that we are happily passing on the banner of conservatism to our 6.5 children, so others don't have to ;-)