The Right Number of Kids Is...
b'What\\u2019s the right number of kids? For most of us (at least most of the time) it\\u2019s the number we actually have. Here\\u2019s how our listener Mahima put it:\\n\\xa0\\u201cas many babes as you are blessed with is the perfect number.\\u201d\\n\\xa0Still, it\\u2019s a question we ask ourselves at many times throughout our lives, before and after we become parents, and there are many factors which play into the decision\\u2014 like money. Here\\u2019s a sobering statistic:\\xa0a 2015 report by economists at the US Department of Agriculture estimated that middle-income married-couple family will spend $233,610 from birth through age 17 on child-rearing expenses.\\xa0\\nPer child.\\xa0\\nNot including college.\\xa0\\n(Editor\\u2019s note: Amy was also going to put up a link to their \\u201cCost of Raising a Child Calculator\\u201d but Margaret has forbidden it on the grounds of it being too depressing.)\\nBut finances aren\\u2019t the only consideration, and families of each size have distinct benefits (and okay, a couple of drawbacks). In this episode we discuss:\\xa0\\n\\xa0\\nall the things we (and our listeners) considered when making this decision for their families\\nwhy only children may maximize their mothers\\u2019 well-being\\nwhy two children may be the magic number for familial happiness\\nwhy, in our own experiences, three children is awesome\\nwhy parents with four or more children might not actually be crazy\\n\\xa0\\nObviously there\\u2019s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. When you know, you know, but it\\u2019s okay to be undecided, like our listener Chana:\\xa0\\n\\u201cI just had my 10th. I haven\\u2019t found the perfect number yet. I guess I\\u2019ll keep going till I do.\\u201d\\xa0\\nGo Chana!\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'