The Case for More Kids… Or Not

Credit Getty Images via WSJ

Whether or not we’ll have a third baby makes for interesting conversation around here. I can say straight away that the current consensus is a  confident, “No thanks, we’re all set.”

Asterisk… I’m 99% confident we’re all set. There’s this sneaky 1% that keeps floating around our heads. So we decided to take no permanent precautions because, let’s face it, a girl can always change her mind.

Not yet in my mid-30s, I have time to sort this out. I find myself looking for little clues and insights to validate our decision to stop at two.  I know our answer will come from within, not in numbers.  But I was intrigued by the recent Wall Street Journal article, The Breeders Cup: The Case for Having More Children.

The studies and statistics the economist, Bryan Caplan, uses are a bit dizzying, but the end message was clear – it’s OK to have one more. Gulp! It suggests, “As you weigh your options, don’t forget that the costs of kids are front-loaded, and the benefits are back-loaded.” Yes, the job is hard in the beginning, but as the kids get older they become more independent.

The article also suggests we should, “Focus on the big picture, consider the ideal number of children to have when you’re 30, 40, 60 and 80, and strike a happy medium.” After all, more kids now means more grandchildren later.

Then, this week’s TIME showed up with an interesting counter-argument. In the cover story, The Only Child Myth, Lauren Sandler reports that the recession is causing many parents to stop at one child – and she points to several studies that debunk the myth that having only one child is essentially bad for that child. The story shows that, in fact, the single kids are doing just fine.

So where does that leave us?  For now, we’re very content with our little family four-pack. One boy, one girl.  Man-to-man defense.  More time to write, travel and do our best with the two happy and healthy sweet peas here with us now.

But there’s that pesky 1% that keeps me asking myself: If we stop now, will there be a day when it’s too late that I say, “I wish we had more”?

In all honesty, perhaps that 1% chance turns me out to be one of those women, who at 36, decides I want one more shot at the baby thing before it’s too late. If and when that happens, my sister likes to add that it will probably turn out to be twins.

God help us…