Children Should Be Raised By the State

Rebuttals1. Early Childhood Development My opponent mentions orphanages and institutional care being given to the children but that is not necessarily how such a system would work. Children raised by the state just means that they are being raised by an entity that is part of the government not necessarily that they'll be raised by current state institutions. The state can assign a small group of caregivers to a small group of children during their formative years. The system can behave similarly to preschool education programs which can start as early as 3 years of age. Such programs can start earlier and the other hours in the day not devoted to sleep and preschool-like educational programs would be devoted to being tended by caregivers to meet the children's emotional and physical needs on a more personal basis. It is widely known and respected that preschool education has a plethora of benefits for children that improve their abilities both linguistically, socially and physically [1]. These benefits have been found to be long lasting and long term and parents and educational workers are in agreement that it is a good program [2].This care would not be "institutional" as my opponent wants to paint it but rather a type of preschool-like development and education from birth supplemented by unique and individual care by the same caregivers to meet the children's needs. Therefore the negative affects of such care that my opponent described would not truly be a factor in this type of system.*Opponent's ConcessionMy opponent also concedes one of my major points to me. He writes: "that would...reduce the risk of children being abused"My opponent concedes that this system, due to the guidelines proposed, would indeed reduce the risk of child abuse, which is a huge problem in today's world. This is a large concession. The children's welfare could be vastly improved as the risk of abuses is drastically decreased. This is especially true since the negative affects that my opponent tries to tie to this statement could be eliminated. 2. Unfulfilled Adult Lives If adults wish to have connections to their children or children in general they would have a few options in this system. First, they could apply to be a caregiver or educational worker and be able to work with children all the time. Adults who have a deep need to connect with children do not have to be deprived of child contact at all. They can work for the state and work with children at any stage in their development. Adults can form connections with children who are not their own that are just as enriching and rewarding as a natural born child. This can clearly be seen in adoptive families in which children develop strong connections to people in their lives in which they are not related. There are opportunities to form these bonds within this system. Also, simply because a child is not being raised by their parents does not mean that they cannot see their parents or form a loving relationship with them. Grandparents (usually) do not raise their grandchildren yet they see them fairly regularly and form loving lasting bonds. Same thing goes with quirky aunts or godparents. They do not actively raise a child yet they still develop these relationships with them. The state would take all of the hardships and difficulties of raising a child but leaves the option open to form these connections that humans need with each other intact. It's the best of both worlds. 3. Rapid Decline In Population and EconomicsMy opponent is thinking about this program as it is being initiated. They are in a mindset as if this were going to happen overnight and the reactions of people who are not privy to this system. This is fine but we also have to look at the long term process and effects that this system will create. While it may seem pointless to go through pregnancy if children are just going to be raised by the state that is not the case. Down the road women in this system will understand the duty and benefits of bearing children for the society. Society needs children, everyone knows that now and they should know that in the future during this system. The motives would simply shift from being primarily selfish in nature (I want to raise a kid) to one more community oriented (the community needs children so I should have one for the general good). This is not an inconceivable or even farfetched change in attitude. Women need only to have two children or men only need to father two children in order for the population to stay stable, a state that would be beneficial for the population as a whole as it would negate the rapid population growth that the Earth is undergoing and could prevent future population problems. As the incentive to have many children goes down the duty and incentive to maintain the population rate increases which is a net benefit for society.Further Argument1. Decrease in Certain Social StigmasThe stigmas of being a single mom, having tons of children, having no children or having children out of wedlock or with multiple partners would all vastly shrink as this system goes into place. Since children would no longer be inherently connected to their parents these traditional ideas and the stigmas they create while considering children and family would shrink away. This would increase people's sexual ambitions and their happiness and would play into their more free lifestyles that are now possible due to the lack of child raising. Forced marriages due to children, broken households, and awkward child arrangements would all vanish which would be a good social benefit for society. Conclusion- Children still get their early childhood development and is shown that current early childhood state programs are beneficial to children as a whole.- Adults can still gain fulfillment from children in a plethora of ways, all more relaxed than before. - Populations have an incentive to stabilize rather than shrink and childbearing would shift to more of a dutiful role than a selfish one. - Certain stigmas about marriage, family and households would go away increasing societal acceptance and bonding by decreasing judgement and confusion in this area.Thank you. [1] http://www.greatschools.org...[2] http://www.jstor.org...