Why we should have children?

I see them everywhere .. little ones in strollers, in mummy's arms, in restaurant's baby chairs, stumbling to find their balance as they careen down the supermarket aisles. Somehow the urge to have my own eludes me .. which can be worrying at times, given how my friends are being rather prolific in this department. "Why?" I often ask, both to friends and to myself. "Why have children?". The generation before mine often relies on the rationale of perpetuating the family name as the ultimate reason. My friends do it for various reasons .. because their mother-in-law wouldn't stop asking; because their hubby want to be fathers; because they want someone to look after them in old age. For me, these reasons hardly hold water. And so I have harboured the thought of not having any. Until I met with 2 very interesting friends yesterday. Over lingzhi tea and dried mulberries, my friend shared how she came to be enlightened by the wisdom of an aunt .. who said that it is our responsibility to bear and raise children if we have the right values, are physically fit and healthy, and have the financial resources to do so. It is our contribution to society to raise children who will contribute to the good of mankind. I countered that there are already enough population in the world who can be superheros and save the world, but as my friends say, as long as the contribution of my child outweighs the cost of bringing him/her into this world, then his/her existence is already well justified. Well, there you have it. For the first time, I am seeing this matter in a completely different light. And some day, there might just be a little me running around, making this world a happier place.