Selfish reasons to having more kids

by Bryan Caplan

Great book! New recommendation for new parents! Another new favorite author!

• Im a professor by trade, but the blogosphere is my intellectual home. Academic writing feels too narrow and timid. Blogs are the New World of the mind
• Many people are relucant to have more children because we think the pain outweighs the gain.

• The claim of this book is that current and prospective parents have accidentally tipped their scales against fertility.

  Parents are much more worried than they ought to be. Kids are much safer today then they were in the "Idyllic Fifties"

  Many of the benefits of children come later in life. Kids have high start-up costs, but wise parents weeigh those against a lifetime of rewards.

• Careful measurement confirms that parental effort is at an all-time high.
• Odds are you kids will painlessly inherit your brains, success, charm and modesty.
• Children cost far less than most parents pay.
• Our main challenge isnt kipping our kids safe, but appreciating how safe they really are.
• Parenting is stressful, but much of the stress is unnecessary.
• Married couples with big families are much happier than childless singles. Studies show that child care is a form or work, but its nice work if you can get it.
• Parents use a lot less discipline than they would if they counted their own interests.
• Disciplane needs: Clarity, Consistency, and Consequences Disciplane is like dieting : It works when tried
• If you can sharply improve your quality of life by midly punishing you kids, do so without apology. If cruelty is the price of slightly better behaviour, dont buy.
• Driving your third-grader to the store is vastly more dangerious than leaving him alone without a bodyguard.
• There is absolutely nothing wrong with paying your children cash. You're not trying to raise a communist.
• Parents should be mature enough to protect their kids from secondhand stress.
• Children are far more resilient than we realize. Once upon a time, nature vs nutrue was a matter of opionion, but now we have answers: Nature wins, especially in the long run. In the long run, Nature matters a lot more than nuture.
• Identical twins are MUCH more similar than fraternal twins – even when separated at birth – and their similarity increases with age.
• Its more important to deserve my childrens appreciation than to get it.
• Both twin and adoption studies confirm that parents affect how theirr children perceive and remember them. "Good memories" are one of the few parental wishes that clearly depend on how you raise your child.
• If the only lesson you take away from this book is that scientists have solid but shocking answers to the nature-nurture puzzle, Ill be happy.
• "We worry what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today" - Stacia Tauscher
• You can have a better life and a bigger family if you admit that your kids future is not in your hands.
• I dont expect that the way I act toward my husband is going to determine what kind of person he will be in 10 or 20 years. I do expect, however, that it will affect how happy he is to live with me and whether we will still be good friends in 10 or 20 years. Should be the same with kids.
• No child has EVEN been killed or seriously injured by Halloween treats.
• Raising kids isnt easy, buts its way easier than it used to be.
• The total number of people on earth AND the average standard of living has skyrocketed over the last 2 Centuries.
• The main source of progress is new ideas.
• You need more smart, creative people to get new ideas, but they're not enough. You also need armies of customers to turn creativity into a paying job.
• Resources have been getting cheaper in the last century and a half.
• Identical twins are naturally occuring clones – two humans who have all their genes in common. Clones already walk among us.
• The best way to understand a position is to argue on its behalf. You learn as you speak. Critics dont just keep you honest; they show you the light.
• As long as you dont do anything crazy your kids will probably turn out fine.
• Parenting is graded pass/fail.