[igetspam]

Don't do it. I did. It didn't improve my life. It did make it harder. Have kids if you want them. Don't if you don't. Don't ask the internet to tell you why you should or shouldn't have kids. I'd do it again and I have my reasons, which are very personal.

For what it's worth:

* My wife is the primary caretaker and doesn't have a paid job. I split as much of the parental load with her as possible.

* My grandparents pretty much all sucked and so do my kids'. They're fine. We do the child rearing and occasionally have a date, so we hire a babysitter.

* What increase? We've expanded the scope of autism and are better at detection. This feels like a wild claim.

* Is it? Or are pockets overpopulated? I don't think saving the planet (or continuing to destroy it) is as much a matter of population control as it is behavior. Kids skew more liberal than their parents, on average. Maybe they can unscrew this.

But seriously, don't do it. It doesn't sound like you want to or you wouldn't be looking to have your mind changed. For some people it's everything and for some it's genuinely a mistake that can't be undone. If you think it might be a mistake, stop.