Chapter XVI 

 Financial Aids to Parenthood 



WE have seen that the inefficient and the poor often 

 have large families. We have also seen that the well- 

 to-do, who ought to have several children, generally have 

 very few. Why not make the rich poorer, and then it 

 would seem that they also would have large families ? This 

 desirable result is not, however, as we shall see, to be 

 obtained in this manner. 



Let us first consider why the poor have large families. 

 For this fact there are several explanations. The man 

 who depends on the use of his muscles to earn his daily 

 bread can do his best work when young. His wages soon 

 cease to rise, and he can marry with no more imprudence 

 when young than when older. The younger the age at 

 marriage, the larger will be the family as a rule. Hence day 

 labourers have comparatively large famiHes. 



It would, of course, be folly to try to make men with 

 good natural abilities rely on their muscles rather than on 

 their brains. This explanation why the poor have large 

 families points to no way of increasing the size of the 

 families where such an increase is to be desired. 



Another reason for the big families of the poor is that 

 their children go to work at an early age and soon begin to 

 help to fill the family pot. Such children are regarded as 

 a help and not a hindrance, and parents are thus encouraged 

 to have many. But children who go to work when young 

 must leave off schooling at an early age. We want fewer 

 children to be thus handicapped, not more. If all children 

 in all classes were made to suffer this disadvantage, our 

 high civilization would disappear. 



Lastly, many couples have big families because they are 



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