There is an increasing trend around the world to have a small family rather than a large family. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of having a small family rather than a large family?

Small families have very few disadvantages both on a small scale as well

on

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in

the grand scheme of things,

however

, they pose a problem for the governments nowadays. On the small, a reduced family is cheaper to maintain because it does not need to split its income into thin slices between its members.

Conversely

of old times, when more children meant more workforce

for

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in

the fields, the income

on

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in

modern times is solely provided by the parents.

Hence

a family with a few children is the norm since the

last

quarter of the past century.

On the other hand

,

few

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fewer

children

also

mean less support for

old

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older

parents and increasing pressure for the state to step in with fewer resources.

For

example countries

Accept comma addition

example, countries

like Japan, where the population is shrinking due to families with a single child, have fewer and fewer people

to pay

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pay

taxes and more and more elders to take care of.

However

, if we move away to see a broader perspective, Earth cannot sustain the increasing population. At some point, we are going to reach the limit of the finite resources of our planet and great suffering will inevitably come.

Consequently

, small families are the way to go. Even if that means difficult times for governments in the near future, it will make the presence of the human race more tolerable in the long term for our tiny ball of mud spinning through space. Genetic engineering is an important issue in modern society. Some people think that it will improve people's lives in many ways. Others feel that it may be a threat to life on earth.