the biggest asset of having children BY FAR was that you could put them TO WORK and thereby use them to increase family wealth. There were gender differences, though. Boys in many of these cultures were seen as assets and girls as liabilities. In some cultures, the groom would have to be paid by the parents of the bride a large % of family wealth - a dowry - just to marry her off. [Even in our culture, not so long ago the parents of the bride were expected to pay for the wedding.] These customs sometimes lead to infantcide (in India and China) and to wife burning (in India).

As for this country and time, don't count on your children looking out for you in your old age. The statistics on elder abuse - at the hands of children and other loved ones - are alarming. Many of the 'caregivers' treat their parents like ... oh, don't get me started. Then, there are the nursing homes - those institutions which many children commit their parents to and then visit - a couple of times per year.

Jerry