Are you speaking for all woman or yourself? Many women do want a career. Some have children and a career, some do not. I had a career as a wildlife biologist for many years with children and I loved my job and my children. I decided to stay home with my last child and my only regret is that I did not do it with my other children. I am so very fulfilled in ways I never would have imagined. That is my experience, it is not everyone's.
In my experience, I didn't have good spousal options for a long while. Few willing to marry before both partners have an established career, and even then few willing to wait until marriage for intimacy, and many of those not interested in several children. So I married at 31, 10 years after I was ready, and with each of my 4 kids my health is reduced and I have difficulty being consistent in my parenting due to poor health days. I'm not feeling like my goal of being a "joyful house of virtue" has been achieved. Research says Chances are high my kids will leave the faith eventually, and choose to be child-free themselves. Couples are not trying to thwart procreation. Idealism alonebreeds kids, but risks more doubt and regret if a supportive environment is not firmly established before the first kid.
Thanks for leaving a comment. Sorry to hear about your struggles. God is always with you, even when you can't achieve a "joyful house of virtue". Pray and trust in the Lord.
My parents had 13 children, with our youngest sibling born in 1962. We siblings were so very blessed and today we love each other and stay in touch. Our parents made a huge sacrifice and God rewarded them. They were very faithful Catholics and built a strong foundation for our faith. Families with children are so important to our church and community. My wife and I have two sons, one in heaven. We also had 5 miscarriages in between our sons. We accepted what God gave us and took from us. It’s important that mothers stay at home, with their children, at least until their children are in high school. The husband/father needs to be the breadwinner in the family. Men should be able to earn enough to support a large family without having to depend on the government for help. God will provide for your needs.
I think most people are somewhere in between DINKs and having unlimited children, being open to life every moment of our lives. Couples do want to control when in their lives they have children and how many children they're willing to have. That's why we no longer have the large families such as the one I grew up in (eight), and most families, even Catholic, have 2-3 children.
We can't afford children anymore! No budget, inflation is high. Women need to work to make ends meet. Two incomes are needed. This is not the 80's anymore. One salary is not enough.
My wife and I are a single income family in one of the most expensive cities in Canada (our cost of living is substantially higher) and are expecting our fourth kid. I do this on cop wages and about 50% taxes here. It is more than possible, you are just prioritizing material comfort and luxury over respecting the natural law and God's first command to humanity, Go forth, be fruitful, and multiply
You comment this acting like cop wages are minimum wage. Not to mention you most likely aren't feeding yourself or your kids the best food, and have some other help aswell. You also probably have a much higher tolerance and mental fortitude than the average person. You are the exception not the rule.
Except that my parish is full of single income families spanning all sorts of wage brackets and all sorts of numbers of kids, but all 3+ unless fairly newly married. Biggest I know of is 7 kids. My point is that it's about sacrificing keeping up with the Jones' not really about income. We buy used as much as possible, especially consignment kid's clothes. The one place where we are forced to spend is food. Cop wages look good on paper until (in Canada at least) you get to pay your bills, housing, food, etc on only half of the pay, the rest goes to taxes and other deductions that frequently aren't paid in other jobs. The take-home pay is a lot lower than most would think. My main point, which I probably failed to articulate, is that a family has to decide what's important. Do we need all of this stuff, eating out, coffees out, trips etc... Or.. Do we live simply so that we can live in accord with how the Church would teach us we should. There are many papal documents related to social teaching that decry working moms as a grave evil and injury to families, which are what build society.
@chriselvidge6221 yeah i doubt that, there just isn't enough money to survive off of one income, unless you're getting government subsidies or breaks. I absolutely don't believe everyone in your church has multiple children, and is surviving off of one income. It defys logic. You know you don't have to lie about things that the average person sees is true.
overpopulation is a very real thing (yeah i know these guys lives in some sort of fantasy land), so yes, i applaud the development. by 2050 we are looking at moving, in the best case, 1 billion, yes that right there is a b there, from regions of the earth that will become uninhabitable. more probably that figure is to conservative. so yes. we definitely dont need to add to the misery.
Even with the hypothesis of over population, war, famine, etc. naturally culls population. Low birth rate is the greater threat because only a percentage of any society is capable of procreation at any time, and those valuable members will be reduced in catastrophes, so starting off with an anti-natalist attitude can leave a decimated society unable to recover from a disaster and they will become extinct. The diversity of cultures will be dramatically reduced and we know from history that monoculture is very, very bad.
