At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)
What if our bodies were made to have healthier babies later in life?
(I know this isn't the way things actually work, so the idea is to flip what is. What if the younger you are, the less healthy your offspring would be?)
I didn’t inherit the parenting gene, so I can’t speak to how this would affect me personally. But as an afterthought-kid born long after my four siblings, I’ve always resented how little time I had to spend with my parents. If the ‘what if’ situation were reality, I think we’d have (healthy) kids who’d end up parenting their parents. Might be a great form of birth control.
ReplyDeleteVR Barkowski
Then, like the other commenter, I would hope we would live longer so we could raise our children to adulthood and beyond. We would also have to have more energy, too, LOL, to keep up with them :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Then I need not worry that I don't have kids right now.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both!
DeleteEgads!!
ReplyDeleteImagine a world in which this is true. You don't have to apply it to our world.
DeleteYuck! That would mean I would be able to pop them out when i am in my 50's or even later? Talk about a nightmare:)
ReplyDeleteYeah, maybe.
DeleteI'd be saying no, then again I'm saying no now and I'm not even 30 lol
ReplyDeleteA definite no? That is, of course, your option.
DeleteThat might work. You could spend your younger years working to establish yourself and then go have children. Of course, you wouldn't be around to see your grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteThat's what a lot of people do now. No thanks - I wouldn't want kids asking my son if I was his grandfather.
ReplyDeleteYour question poses a question: would the human race still be limited by the finite fertile period or would that rate and capability increase with age as well?
ReplyDeleteAh, good questions!
DeleteWhat we get with bearing children is first of all genetics witch is a roll of dice. other possibility is the environment we are expose to and what sort of emotional baggage we give our children.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
But what sort of different environment would they have if their parents were older?
DeletePossible more income and time.
DeleteParenthood at a later date pairs, ideally, emotional maturity with physical maturity. At 46, I'm still too 'unripe' to have kids. :) Of course, in this reality the choice to conceive is fast slipping away from me anyway.
ReplyDeleteYea. That is the thought process behind the question.
DeleteThere is no way I could look after a baby full time now I'm in my fifties let alone look after a teenager in my seventies!
ReplyDeleteBut imagine if your children weren't already grown...
DeleteWhat I meant (I realize this makes no sense), is what if you hadn't already been worn out by raising them, but instead had your 20s and 30s to play around and have fun?
DeleteWell, the kids would benefit from the wisdom and life experience. :)
ReplyDeleteYep. But there would be drawbacks as well.
DeleteI think there would be a lot of really tired moms.
ReplyDeleteWe would need a corresponding ability to keep up with them, for sure.
ReplyDeleteNaturally.
DeleteWould people wait until they were practically on their death bed to have a child just so that it would be it's healthiest? And, if so, would that increase the number of deaths during child birth?
ReplyDeleteOh, that's an interesting question.
DeleteGiven that our ability to care for children would not change in our scenario (ie aging causing less energy but, hopefully, more maturity) this would be interesting indeed. I suspect many people would wait, meaning children would just have a few years with their parents. And, what about death in childbirth? I was in my late 30's when I had my first and only child and had issues because of that. Then again, there is Janet Jackson and Haile Berry... Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteYes, those are considerations to ponder. How would they play out in this circumstance?
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