Raise More Kids

choi

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Jonathan V Last, Go Ahead, Have Another. Wall Street Journal, Apr 16, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703806304576242661295724864.html?mod=WSJ_Books_LS_Books_5
(book review on Bryan Caplan, Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think. Basic Books, 2011)

Quote: "Bryan Caplan's 'Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids' is the antidote to Amy Chua's best seller, 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.' Whereas Ms. Chua insists that parents should have few children and then drive them relentlessly toward perfection, Mr. Caplan argues that people should have more children; that they are cheaper than we think; that parenting is less important than we imagine; and that kids can basically raise themselves.

"But it turns out that parenting has almost no effect on children's life expectancy, intelligence, happiness or success.

"But the biggest effect of nurture, it turns out, is on how children perceive their parents. So you can greatly increase the chances of your children * * * thinking fondly of you.

"'You can have a better life and a bigger family,' he [Caplan] says, 'if you admit that your kids' future is not in your hands.'

"In study after study, researchers find that parents are consistently less happy than non-parents. No matter how you control the sample, if you have two identical people—one with a child and one without—the parent will be 5.6 percentage points less happy.

"The average college- educated woman today [in US] has just 1.7 babies over the course of her life, which is not enough to sustain America's population in the long run.


Note:
(a) Bryan D Caplan, Professor of Economics, George Mason University
http://economics.gmu.edu/people/details/bcaplan

Education: BA Economics, University of California at Berkeley, 1993; Ph.D., Economics, Princeton University, 1997
(b) scad(n): "a large number or quantity —usually used in plural <scads of money>"
(c) capoeira (n; Brazilian Portugese): "a Brazilian dance of African origin that incorporates martial arts movements such as kicks and chops"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51q1VB_dDik
(d) huzzah (n; origin unknown; First Known Use 1573): "an expression or shout of acclaim —often used interjectionally to express joy or approbation"

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/approbation
(Approbation and approval have the same general meaning)
(e) schlep (vt; Yiddish): "DRAG, HAUL"
(f) staycation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staycation
(a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays and relaxes at home, or vacations in their own country, possibly taking day trips to area attractions)
(g) tendentious (adj): "marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view : BIASED"
(h) For "natalist," see
natalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalism
(also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position; a belief that promotes human reproduction)

etymology: "Latin natalis, from natus, past participle of nasci to be born — more at NATION"
All definitions are from www.m-w.com, except otherwise identified.
(i) The "atomize" in "atomize their lives"
(vt): "to subject to attack by nuclear weapons"

Random House dictionary 2011: "to destroy (a target) by bombing, especially with an atomic bomb"

(j) 儿孙自有儿孙福，莫为儿孙作远忧。
    ——元•关汉卿《包待制三勘蝴蝶梦》楔子
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choi

本文通过一路BBS站telnet客户端发布


Jonathan V Last, Go Ahead, Have Another. Wall Street Journal, Apr 16, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703806304576242661295724864.html?mod=WSJ_Books_LS_Books_5
(book review on Bryan Caplan, Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think. Basic Books, 2011)

Quote: "Bryan Caplan's 'Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids' is the antidote to Amy Chua's best seller, 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.' Whereas Ms. Chua insists that parents should have few children and then drive them relentlessly toward perfection, Mr. Caplan argues that people should have more children; that they are cheaper than we think; that parenting is less important than we imagine; and that kids can basically raise themselves.

"But it turns out that parenting has almost no effect on children's life expectancy, intelligence, happiness or success.

"But the biggest effect of nurture, it turns out, is on how children perceive their parents. So you can greatly increase the chances of your children * * * thinking fondly of you.

"'You can have a better life and a bigger family,' he [Caplan] says, 'if you admit that your kids' future is not in your hands.'

"In study after study, researchers find that parents are consistently less happy than non-parents. No matter how you control the sample, if you have two identical people—one with a child and one without—the parent will be 5.6 percentage points less happy.

"The average college- educated woman today [in US] has just 1.7 babies over the course of her life, which is not enough to sustain America's population in the long run.


Note:
(a) Bryan D Caplan, Professor of Economics, George Mason University
http://economics.gmu.edu/people/details/bcaplan

Education: BA Economics, University of California at Berkeley, 1993; Ph.D., Economics, Princeton University, 1997
(b) scad(n): "a large number or quantity —usually used in plural <scads of money>"
(c) capoeira (n; Brazilian Portugese): "a Brazilian dance of African origin that incorporates martial arts movements such as kicks and chops"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51q1VB_dDik
(d) huzzah (n; origin unknown; First Known Use 1573): "an expression or shout of acclaim —often used interjectionally to express joy or approbation"

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/approbation
(Approbation and approval have the same general meaning)
(e) schlep (vt; Yiddish): "DRAG, HAUL"
(f) staycation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staycation
(a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays and relaxes at home, or vacations in their own country, possibly taking day trips to area attractions)
(g) tendentious (adj): "marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view : BIASED"
(h) For "natalist," see
natalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalism
(also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position; a belief that promotes human reproduction)

etymology: "Latin natalis, from natus, past participle of nasci to be born — more at NATION"
All definitions are from www.m-w.com, except otherwise identified.
(i) The "atomize" in "atomize their lives"
(vt): "to subject to attack by nuclear weapons"

Random House dictionary 2011: "to destroy (a target) by bombing, especially with an atomic bomb"

(j) 儿孙自有儿孙福，莫为儿孙作远忧。
    ——元•关汉卿《包待制三勘蝴蝶梦》楔子
--