环球英语20160229：Choosing Not to Have Children
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Bruce Gulland.
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And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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According to UNICEF, there are over 2 billion children in the world. In many parts of the world women have many babies. But some people choose not to have children. This choice is becoming more common in some countries. Today’s Spotlight is on why people make the choice to not have children.
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Bri Seeley is 31 years old. She lives in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. When she was a child, her friends talked about being mothers. They talked about what they would name their babies. Seeley talked about businesses she would start. She talked about becoming a writer, fashion designer, or an activist. She never thought about having children.
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As an adult, she decided to be sterilized. This operation would make it impossible for Seeley to have children. Seeley found a doctor who would give her the operation. After it was done, she wrote:
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“I will never forget the feeling of freedom and comfort that I felt after the operation. There is nothing wrong with our decision to live a child-free life. And there is nothing wrong with women like me as human beings. The decision to not have children does not make us less than women who choose to be mothers. Yes, we are all born with the biology to give birth. But we are not all meant to be mothers.”
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Many other people - men and women - around the world feel like Bri Seeley. They do not want to be parents. This is especially the case in Western countries. But people anywhere in the world may feel like this.
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People want children for many reasons. They may expect the children to help in the family business. They may want to just see what their children will be like. They may want to give their own parents a grandchild. Or they may just have a strong feeling that they should have children. And some people have babies even though they did not plan to or want to. They may not have access to birth control or education about becoming parents.
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The fertility rate measures how many children an average woman in a country will have. In some countries, the fertility rate is high. Average mothers have more than six children. But in some countries, the fertility rate is falling. For example, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reports that one quarter of Italian women never have children. In Japan, people are also choosing to have fewer children. They have had fewer and fewer children since the 1970s.
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Experts around the world have studied why people in some areas are having fewer children. One of these experts is Kaye Walters. Walters lives in California in the United States. Walters and her husband have decided not to have children. She wrote a book called “Kidfree & Lovin’ It – Whether by Choice, Chance or Circumstance”. She also manages the website kidfreeandlovinit.com.
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On her website, she offers resources for people who do not want children. She also gathers information from them. And she used this information in her book. Childfree people can fill out a survey on Walters’ website. Walters gathered information from over 5,000 adults in more than 60 countries around the world.
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Walters organized this information. She found five main reasons people choose to have no children. First, she says the most common reason is that they just do not ever have the feeling that they need children. Raising a child takes a lot of time, sacrifice and responsibility. Walters believes it is difficult to provide these things if a person does not want children.
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Second, many people decide not to have children because they will have to change their lifestyle - the way they are living. Walters explains:
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“Lifestyle changes that happen after having a child usually include less time and money for your sports, hobbies, and travel. They include less time to sleep the hours you choose. A once peaceful home may now be too busy with noise and toys. And you may lose the ability to do the things you want when you want to.”
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A third common reason Walters sees for not having children has to do with child care. In many countries, people believe that raising children is a woman’s responsibility. People expect women to take care of the home and the children. However, many women do not want to do this. They want to have a good job. Walters says:
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“Women find that doing everything - being a mother and working - means that you cannot do anything really well. Both their job and their children suffer. This is one of the reasons some women choose not to have children.”
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Fourth, raising children is very expensive, says Walters. Many parents believe they do not have enough money. They fear they cannot give a child a good life. Or, they may want to spend money on other things, instead of on children.
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Walters suggests one final reason that people choose not to have children. They believe that having a child will change their relationship with their husband or wife. They believe that having a baby will mean less love in their relationship. They are happy with their current relationship, and do not want to change it in any way.
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There are many people around the world who are happy without children. Some of them organize special events where they can spend time together and not talk about children. But some just enjoy their lives without children. For some people, not having children lets them enjoy other peoples’ children more!
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That is the case for Heather Gentry. She lives in Georgia, in the United States. She is 28 years old and married. Even from a young age, she knew she never wanted children. Her husband agreed. So Gentry had a sterilization operation – now, she cannot have children. After her operation, she explained to the Huffington Post:
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“Something about making that decision was helpful. I can be clear and true to myself. If I am at the grocery store and I see a cute young child, I can say ‘Look at him! He is so cute!’ I have had no regret about my operation. It is one of the best things I have ever done.”
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Having children is a personal choice. But many things influence a person’s decision – culture, beliefs, family, and more. Do you want to have children? Or would you like to remain child-free? Tell us what you think. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at radio@radioenglish.net. You can also comment on Facebook at Facebook.com/spotlightradio.
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The writer of this program was Liz Waid. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘Choosing Not to Have Children’.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
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