Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Does family size matter?



The average family size in Philippines is 5. Minimum wage in NCR is 367.00-404.00 Php (as of June 2010). In a practical sense, how will a family of 5 be able to budget this to pay for FOOD, rent, clothing, EDUCATION, utilities, etc. If only 1 is working in the household, how is 8000 or so per month can cover this much cost?

Will you be able to feed your family with adequate nutritional benefits? Will you be able to send 3 kids into school and to at least reach Secondary Education? I think it will be very hard.

In a study made by Virola and Martinez shows that families with smaller members have higher Per Capita Income (family income) which translate to higher level of expenditures (family expenses) and higher savings (family savings). This kind of observation is consistent from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Moreover it was observed that those poorest of the poor families with utmost 6 members have higher per capita income compared to those with at least 7 members.

In reality, families living below poverty line tend to have higher members (bigger family size)…

Now what is wrong? Some say it is family size, some say it is only due to lack of economic opportunities, some say it is because of the corrupt government. They are all correct but we can’t cure it by excluding one from another and this problem is multi-faceted.

First thing I think that should be addressed is proper population management. Then spur economic growth. And hopefully it will create a trickledown effect on every pockets of society. I guess it is a matter of educating the public and it should not just be limited on giving free condoms (but is an important aspect).

In my personal opinion, can we really convince the society that we should live a righteous life and do not have sex to avoid unwanted pregnancy and ballooning of family size (abstinence)? I think it is a good way and may be effective. And this message has been relayed to the whole community (A COMMUNITY PREDOMINANTLY CATHOLIC- RELIGIOUS).

But my inquisitive mind still asked, despite the religiosity and pervasiveness of this teaching, why do we still have the problems of unwanted pregnancy and ballooning family size?

I am Pro-life and I will say that pro-life (for me) means living a righteous path but at the same time living in a decent condition.

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