Should We Have Kids

張貼日期：Dec 13, 2010 1:7:8 PM

Should We Have Kids

Shawn Hou

      DINK is a new term created in the recent years and it means “double income, no kids.” Dink has become a new kind of family style, and the only difference between Dink and the nuclear family, the traditional family, as we know, is children. In Taiwan, there are more and more people who don’t want to have kids after getting married. I think Dink has some advantages and features that attract modern people to choose this kind of family style.

      Although with children or not is the only difference between Dink and the nuclear family, this main point makes them completely different in other aspects. The first is the living style. The nuclear family must pay all attention to their kids because children are their focus of life. For example, they have to take care of kids and spend most of their time with them. In contrast, Dinks don’t have to care about children since they don’t have any. Without kids, they have much more time to do other things with their husbands and wives, such as going to a wonderful restaurant or a movie after work and having their own space and time at home.

      And the second difference is time. Once parents have kids, they must spend most of their time on their kids, such as playing with them and teaching them. Parents must have less time to get along with each other or do something they want. But Dinks are totally free from such burden. They can have their own time to do everything they want, like going out with friends and learning something new.

      The third, finally, is economy. Parents of the nuclear family have to spend a lot of money on their kids, like child care and school expenses in addition to everyday living expenses. On the contrary, Dinks can save all the money. And they can use their savings to do other things for themselves, like traveling or having better quality of life.

      After comparing Dink with the nuclear family, I find out that I prefer Dink, because I really think that kids are a burden in the modern society. But I don’t hate children at all. I just like simple life. It is very hard for me to raise children, and I even can’t imagine that I am a father. It’s terrible. In the end, I have to emphasize that these two kinds of family styles have their own advantages, and my choice doesn’t mean that I hate the nuclear family and kids or something. I just think Dink is more suitable for me.