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From: demillo@uwmacc.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: Child As Surrogate Pet / Re: To Breed or Not to Breed
Message-ID: <187@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 2-Aug-84 17:27:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.187
Posted: Thu Aug  2 17:27:55 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 5-Aug-84 05:05:50 EDT
References: <8478@watmath.UUCP> <3901@fortune.UUCP>, <802@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 40

Clay, Judy and others ---
   The concept of a child being a surrogate pet for some
has occured to me over and over. I know quite a few single
people (mostly women - not a comment, just a statistic) that
want a child. These people vary in age from mid-20's to
late 30's, but they all have one thing in common: they have
never had a child and do not wish to get married.
    The "surroget pet" idea makes a lot of sense. In talking
with these people, one can not help but feel that they would be
irresponsible parents. They never want to talk about the money,
energy or pain that goes into having another human being totally
dependent on you for 16 to 18 years. They  are more interested 
in "seeing what kind of a person they can make." (That was a direct
quote from one of my women friends...and I don't mind telling you
that statement scares me a lot! In further conversations with this
person, it is quite obvious that she wants to mold what, in her mind,
is the perfect human being...totally oblivious to the fact
that the child will develop a will of his/her own.)

   But I degress...
   When one buys a dog, for instance, the period of the dog's 
total dependence on the human lasts for only a few months. Then,
other than "feeding the dog" type chores, the dog is perfectly
able to entertain itself, go to the bathroom, tend to its
own wounds, etc...relying on the human for the more pleasant 
aspects of a relationship: walks in the woods, companionship,
game playing, or just hanging out. It has stopped being an
emotional and physical "parasite." (Now, now...I don't mean
any negative connotations here, but children are parasites
for quite a few years.)
   For some of these people who simply want children for
the sake of playing mommy and daddy, one can only wonder.
Do they realize that there is more to being a parent than
being a dog owner?
   Comments?

               -- Rob "if you break it, it's yours" DeMillo
                  MACC