“Open your eyes,” …[Corinne Maier] tells French women. “Your children will be baby-losers, destined for unemployment, insecure or low-grade work . . . They will have a life even less rigol-ote (fun) than yours, and that’s saying something. No, your marvellous babies have no future, as every baby born in a developed country is an ecological disaster for the whole planet.”
I’m only a few pages in and already I’ve clocked that this is war ”“ war with Europe’s most fecund country, which last year had a higher birthrate than any of its neighbours ”“ an announcement greeted like a sporting triumph by the country’s media.
“Why was this a victory?” asks Maier. “Perhaps because it is the only thing France has left to mount on a podium.” There’s no doubt about it. Maier, whose book has been at the top of the French bestseller lists all summer, is on a crusade to puncture France’s love affair with bébé.
“Children are there to stop you enjoying yourself. It’s a child’s hidden face. Believe me, he will be very inventive in this area. He will be ill when you (finally) arrange a night out, he will bug you when you celebrate your birthday with your friends, he will hate it if you bring someone he’s never met back for the night, and beyond that you won’t dare tread for fear of traumatising him for life.” She goes on to list the things you will almost certainly have to give up after having children. They include: a full night’s sleep, a lie-in, deciding to go to the cinema on the spur of the moment, staying out later than midnight (babysitters have to be relieved), visiting a museum or exhibition (children start mucking about after five mintues), taking your holiday anywhere other than destinations where there is a beach and a kids’ club, taking a holiday during term-time and smoking in front of your children, now deemed a “crime against humanity”.
I have an idea. Corrine Maier and women like her SHOULD be forbidden to have children, as they will obviously grow up neglected at best, and likely with deep-seated self-hatred as well. As for the rest of us who are not the center of our own pleasure-driven worlds, let’s have children. They are a blessing from the LORD and a great joy to the hearts of mothers and fathers who know their heavenly Father.
Speaking as the father of a two-year-old, I find this individual’s ideas repugnant in the extreme.
Sounds like a self-parody of the 1970s.
No, Miss Maier and Miss Tucker, my life would have been immeasurably poorer without my children. My greatest disappointment is that I did not have more!
As a youth, my goal in life was to try everything once. And by age 27, i was running out of things to try… life was losing its meaning…
Now that I have children, my life is once again full of interesting “first time” experiences. And with any luck, someday I’ll become a grandfather (I’ve never done that before) and the cycle of “hey wow, I never thought I’d be doing this” will repeat itself.
Yes Nikolas, I too wish I’d started sooner, and had more.
I feel really sad for people who actually beleive that “…every baby born in a developed country is an ecological disaster for the whole planet.”
And I don’t let my kids anywhere near them. It wouldn’t be safe.
Mme Maier believes that each addition to the population of an advanced western country is a net detriment to the environment. If that really is her concern, why doesn’t she do the unselfish thing and kill herself? I mean, if a child born tomorrow has less merit than concerns for ecological and resource preservation, then the same logic can be applied to a child born yesterday, or 50 years ago.
See there! America has not cornered the market for either self centeredness or self indulgence!
Much of what she says is true. Having children does not allow one to do things one might otherwise want to do. Spontaneity becomes a rare and valued commodity in parents’ lives. When one has no responsibility for children, and writes about having children in a negative way, one obviously is writing with little knowledge of the subject. One is writing with a projection of how having children will affect a self-centered life. One, such as this woman, does not have the knowledge (or experience) to know the joy of an unselfish, sacrificial life. Thus, she can only write from the negative, self-centered perspective she reveals. And, thus, she has no credibility in her writings, for she has no foundation from which to write.
Without my daughter, my life would barely be worth living.
Greg let’s not go too far the other way. We can’t tie up the value of living in another person, even our spouse.
What a doofus.
“Child-free” is just as loaded and pejorative a term as “child-less.” The onus has merely switched to the child instead of the adult.
Much of this woman’s thoughts strike me as a denial that people need to grow up and be trained to take a place in society, which produces chaos as that learning takes place.
Of course, France’s educated women could follow this woman’s advice, surrender their future generations and let the breeding classes take over the country. And then spend their old-age complaining about the way their country has changed since they were young. That might BTW lead to a greater Islamization of France as Muslims tend have a higher birthrate.
Hey, Frenchie,
Thanks for the Mayonnaise!
From what I’ve read, Maier’s book is intended as satire. Granted, even viewed as such, the book’s got a nasty undercurrent. But still, her “no child” message should *not* be taken at face value; Maier’s a firebrand author who writes biting satire for a living. No one’s going to write government policy based on her works. I recommend folks take a deep breath and relax before getting wound up about this one.
May the contents of one thousand Pampers dump on her head.
Anne, #17, thanks for clarifying — I was wondering about this statement:
[blockquote]…and I can say with experience that childbirth and breastfeeding are no picnic in the park.[/blockquote]
you really had me 😆
#17 — Ha! Anne’s revenge for all the time Matt has posted using her computer.
Anne,
[blockquote]Isn’t that what every liberal wants? No more people. An earth devoid of God, human beings and polution.[/blockquote]
Guess it depends upon your definition of liberal. Some would call me a liberal, but I don’t want the world devoid of human beings or God. I’d be fine without the pollution. Could one say that conservatives want more pollution?
Anne from TN,
I think Anne+ was refering to the fact that the left has turned environmentalism into a religion. I am a conservative who likes to plant trees on my family farm and leave places as nice or nicer than I found them. The left (large portion though of course not all) has reached a point where they no longer value large families and are putting certain plants animals and trees ahead of humans. (I would argue that a person should try to have only as many children as they can reasonalby expect to support in resources, time, and mentally) The left also has a nasty habit of wanting the landowning class to bear the brunt of their enviromentalism Some conservatives tend to put profit ahead of being responsible and they should not.
8 days – count them, 8 days until school starts.
The timing of this article coming into the media is very interesting…. think of all of the crazed mothers counting down the days until school starts (I am one of them, by the way!) who might, in a great moment of weakness, read this article, and then, in a very very teensy small place, give an “AMEN!”
And then, we come back to reality, tear our eyes from the computer screen, wipe a nose, clean up the syrup which has mysteriously exploded in the microwave, kiss a boo boo, drive a child to another sleepover….. and unexpectedly get the biggest hug and sloppiest kiss with an “I love you Mom!” from the sweetest most adorable child in the world – then we think, “what would I EVER do without this child???!!!”
Well, I’m glad to read that this might be satire. But it’s too close to what a not-insignificant number of people think these days.
However, the problem may eventually be self-correcting. James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal has documented what he calls the “Roe Effect”: the tendency of people who dislike children and/or approve of abortion, to have fewer babies. Children aborted or contracepted away, starting in 1973, did not vote in the 2000 & 2004 elections. With time, the selfish old misanthropes die off, and the country is inherited by children of folk with more birth-positive attitudes.
There was a long article on the front page of USA Today a few days ago on the uptick in births in European countries like France. It reported much rejoicing of thgis fact. The message from USA Today: Do not worry about the birth dearth in Europe any longer. But the story was most likely a fraud or at least a cover-up. For nowhere in the article did it mention WHO in these European countries was having the babies. According to other sources the uptick is caused by the huge Moslem families in those countries, NOT a sudden increase in the size of the families of native Europeans.
YESSSSSS!!! Dana Henry! Exactly what I was thinking. And now, I must take the 2-year-old trying to type this for me to his bed. 😉
#17 — ROFL!!! Glad you explained! I was wondering if we should be sending Fr. Matt a “man-zierre” or the Bro. (re: Seinfeld).
Yes, this is satire but there is one point on which I ABSOLUTELY agree with her on — too many of today’s children are spoiled and catered to beyond belief. Parents seem to think that they are being neglectful if they aren’t rushing out to buy the kids every new gadget and enrolling them in an exhausting plethora of enrichment activities. (Kids don’t seem to be able to spontaneously play outside and organize games of kickball anymore. Now it’s “play dates” and adult-led classes and organized activities.)
It’s NOT healthy and we’re raising generations of young people who have to be led and can’t resolve conflicts but are FABULOUS at being consumers. They have to be entertained constantly and can’t handle quiet time because of the go-go-go schedule their parents started with them from when they were young. I would never have dared say, “I’m bored” to my parents growing up but that’s the common complaint of kids, who are surrounded by entertainment devices that my generation couldn’t fathom when we were young. When I was teaching, I constantly fought the battle of administrators thinking that good, sound teaching practices weren’t enough if we didn’t throw in an element of “entertainment,” too.
So, she’s right when she says that kids need to get used to NOT being the centers of the universe. It’s hard for parents to resist the temptation of over-indulgence but, ultimately, it’s better for the kids.
**Reposted from Stand Firm**
Considering that I’m in my 19th week of pregnancy (our first), I hope I can keep my temper in check in regards to this woman’s “list”. At least most of what I would say has been said more eloquently by other commentors.
As for most of the items on that list, I’m looking FORWARD to them:
[blockquote]— Childbirth is torture[/blockquote]
that’s what painkillers are for…
[blockquote]— You will become a mobile feeding bottle[/blockquote]
I knew there was a reason they kept getting bigger…
[blockquote]— You will struggle to continue having fun yourself[/blockquote]
Really? Every mother I know still knows how to have fun (some more than others ;))
[blockquote]— You will lose touch with your friends[/blockquote]
Considering half of my friends are mothers themselves…
[blockquote]— You will have to learn a language of idiots to communicate with your children[/blockquote]
I have yet to see anyone communicating with their child look like an idiot…they usually look joyful.
[blockquote]— Your children will kill your desire[/blockquote]
So is that why so many families have more than one kid?
[blockquote]— Children sound the death knell of the couple[/blockquote]
Not in a healthy marriage.
[blockquote]— Having children is conformist[/blockquote]
oh poor baby
[blockquote]— Children are expensive[/blockquote]
see above.
[blockquote]— You will be duped into thinking that there is such a thing as a perfect child[/blockquote]
No one is perfect, but all children are a blessing from God.
[blockquote]— You will inevitably be disappointed by your own child[/blockquote]
Life is full of disappointments, get over it.
[blockquote]— You will be expected to be a mother before you are a professional and a woman[/blockquote]
DUH!
[blockquote]— Families are a nightmare[/blockquote]
Someone has some traumatic childhood issues…
[blockquote]— Children will put the seal on your childhood dreams[/blockquote]
And for those of us whose childhood dreams include motherhood? I should think that children would be the realization of that dream.
[blockquote]— You can’t stop yourself wanting complete happiness for your progeny[/blockquote]
She says it like it’s a bad thing. God wants His children to experience His goodness, why can’t we want our children to be happy?
[blockquote]— Staying at home to look after children is breathtakingly dull[/blockquote]
Stressful, yes. But I can’t imagine it would ever be DULL.
[blockquote]— You have to choose between motherhood and professional success[/blockquote]
Again, oh poor baby.
[blockquote]— When a child appears, the father disappears[/blockquote]
Since when did this become absolute fact? I know plenty of men who are great fathers. There’s also this thing called a marriage vow that is usually taken seriously…
[blockquote]— There are already too many children on the planet Children are dangerous. They will take you to court without a second thought[/blockquote]
And just what planet is this woman talking about?
Many of these reasons seem to me to be obvious results of a lack of parental responsibility.
I’ll get off of the pregnancy induced soapbox now…mmm…cookie…
I read someplace that the birth of a child is God saying there’s still hope for the human race. At the same time, it seems the folks that are the most vehemently anti-Christ-ian tend to go along with the anti-child folderol as well. Could we be having a crisis in original thought?
chips,
[blockquote]I think Anne+ was refering to the fact that the left has turned environmentalism into a religion.[/blockquote]
I would agree that many on the left have done so. I guess my point is that speaking in absolutes doesn’t further the discussion much. I know many liberals (their term, not mine) who are Christians, and consider themselves to be stewards of God’s creation. Not all “liberals” are eco-terrorists.
I guess I get frustrated with this notion of Biblical orthodoxy = political conservatism. I don’t think it’s that simple, and the sort of labeling that says liberals want “an earth devoid of God, human beings and polution” doesn’t show much charity for those with whom we disagree. No disrespect to Anne; we all do it sometimes. I was just pointing out the fallacy of such thinking.
Without the children there would never be the grandchildren — and that would be the biggest disappointment in my life. If the children aren’t perfect — well — the grandchildren always are! …. from a doting grandma of 11!
saj—Ditto–Grandfather of 7–and more on the way. God knew what he was saying when he said “Be fruitful and multiply.” 10,000 ads a day on TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc. scream at us to be greedy, selfish, and hedonistic–even at the expense of life. But LIFE is the greatest gift of all to those who are born and to those who conceive it and nurture it. It is a sad and evil culture and time which is only concerned with promoting contraception, abortion, and sex as a mere recreational sport. It is doubly sad that so many Christian denominations have become part of the evil.
Simply put, the answer is “NO, my life would not be better without my children”.