Table Of ContentPaREntinG Caplan
(continued from front flap)
s e l f i s h
$24.99 Us / $29.00 Can
Caplan’s most striking claim is that modern Advance Praise for
parents aren’t having enough kids. Parents selfish Reasons
who endure needless toil and sacrifice are to have moRe kids
t oday’s parents drive themselves very
overcharging themselves for every child. Once R e a s o n s
hard. Americans spend more time
you escape the drudgery and worry that other
s parenting than they did in the Baby
“Original, lively, well-researched, and wise, this book could change your life.”
parents take for granted, bringing another child
e Boom. But what choice do you have? If upbringing
—Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology,
into the world becomes a much better deal. You
l
is the crucial ingredient that transforms children
Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Blank Slate
might want to stock up. f
to h av e
into successful adults, parents who fail to sacrifice
i
s
“Provocative, fascinating, and utterly original, Bryan Caplan’s book overturns the conventional wisdom fail their children. No wonder kids seem a little
h
about why parenting matters.” —Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist and Adapt scary, and big families positively terrifying.
R But what if parents’ fear is misplaced? In
“Imagine this: Parenting doesn’t HAVE to be a chore. Your kids are safer than you think, smarter than e m o R e k i d s Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, economist,
you think, and besides—you have less influence than you think! So sit back, relax, and read this book a blogger, and father Bryan Caplan shows that
o with your newfound free time. The sanity you save may be your own.” —Lenore Skenazy, author of s parents’ sacrifices and fears stem from deep
di
Art-Stu the book and blog, Free-Range Kids o misconceptions about nature and nurture. Twin
oto n and adoption research reveals that the long-run
h Why Being a Great Parent Is
P “A lively, witty, thoroughly engrossing book. Bryan Caplan looks at parenting from the viewpoint of an s
s effect of parenting is surprisingly small. Health,
k’
oo economist, as well as a father. His conclusions may surprise you, but he has the data to back them up.”
C intelligence, happiness, success—even character
© t Less Work and More Fun
—Judith Rich Harris, author of The Nurture Assumption and No Two Alike
o and values—are largely dictated by heredity. Kids
B r y a n C a p l a n 6.25 x 9.5”
aren’t like clay that parents mold for life; they’re
S: 7/8”
“This is one of the best books on parenting, ever. It will bring life into the world, knowledge to your mind, h t h a n Y o u t h i n k
is professor of economics at George Mason more like flexible plastic that pops back to its B: 5/8”
and joy into your heart.” —Tyler Cowen, Holbert C. Harris Professor of Economics, George Mason University a
University and a blogger at EconLog, one of the v original shape once you relax your grip.
BASIC
Wall Street Journal’s Top 25 Economics Blogs. His e These facts are wonderful news for anyone
“I loved this book. Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids should be required reading for parents—as it will HC
first book, The Myth of the Rational Voter, was be for my children, who are now having their own kids and getting caught up in the more-work, less-fun m with kids. Being a great parent is less work and
named the best political book of the year by the more fun than you think. Instead of struggling 4/COLOR
traps of parenting covered here. And as a geneticist, I can report that Bryan Caplan has the facts right. o
New York Times and made the Financial Times to change your children, you can safely relax
Even better, he interprets those facts in a way that will change our view of parenting.” —Robert Plomin, R
FINISH:
list of the Best Books. His writing has appeared and enjoy your journey together. Stop second-
Medical Research Council Research Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry e matte poly
in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall guessing yourself and draining the fun out of
k
Street Journal. He lives in Oakton, Virginia, with parenting. Raise your children in the way that
$24.99 US / $29.00 CAN i
his wife and their three children. ISBN 978-0-465-01867-3 d feels right for you—they’ll still probably turn
52499
s B r y a n C a p l a n out just fine.
Jacket design by Alyssa Stepien
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
(continued on back flap)
04/10 www.basicbooks.com
9 780465 018673
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Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids
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Selfish Reasons
to Have More Kids
why being a great parent is less work
and more fun than you think
g g g g g
Bryan Caplan
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
New York
9780465018673-text_Layout 1 1/20/11 2:07 PM Page iv
Copyright © 2011 by Bryan Caplan
Published by Basic Books,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books,
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810.
Books published by Basic Books are available at
special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by
corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information,
please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group,
2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800)
810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected].
Book design by Linda Mark
Set in 10.5 New Aster
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Caplan, Bryan.
Selfish reasons to have more kids: Why being a great parent is
less work and more fun than you think / Bryan Caplan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-465-01867-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-465-02341-7 (e-book)
1. Parenting. 2. Parenthood. 3. Children. I. Title.
HQ755.8.C37 2011
306.874—dc22
2010040085
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
9780465018673-text_Layout 1 1/20/11 2:07 PM Page v
To my parents, who gave me life—
and my children, who give me joy
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Contents
acknowledgments ix
introduction
1
1
chapter You Count Too: A Commonsense
Guide to Happier Parenting 13
2
chapter The Case Against Guilt: A Parent’s
Guide to Behavioral Genetics 37
3
chapter Behavioral Genetics: Can It Be True—
and What Does It Mean? 75
4
chapter What About the Children? Kids Today
Are Safer Than Ever 93
5
chapter Enlightened Family Planning:
How Many Kids Do You Want When
You’re Sixty? 109
6
chapter Your Kids Are Good for You—But Are
They Good for the World? 123
7
chapter Selfish Guidelines for Want-to-Be
Grandparents 137
9780465018673-text_Layout 1 1/20/11 2:07 PM Page viii
8
chapter Life-Giving Science: What It Means
for You 147
9
chapter Be Fruitful and Multiply: Four Chats
on Kids, Parenting, Happiness, and
Self-Interest 163
conclusion
179
notes 185
index 217
9780465018673-text_Layout 1 1/20/11 2:07 PM Page ix
Acknowledgments
MANY AUTHORS SAY THEY COULDN’T HAVE WRITTEN THEIR BOOKS
without their families’ inspiration and support. In my case, it’s liter-
ally true. I was familiar with most of the facts in this book years
before I became a dad. But my children inspired me to ponder what
the facts mean. They transformed my cool curiosity into an enthusi-
astic philosophy of parenting. And while my wife thinks I go too far,
she has always been happy to hear me out and work side by side to
make our family something special. I love you all.
My other great debt is to blogging. I’m a professor by trade, but
the blogosphere is my intellectual home. To me, academic writing
feels too narrow and timid. Blogs are the New World of the mind—
the land where science meets common sense, and logic meets life.
For years, I largely kept my parenting thoughts to myself because I
lacked a forum to develop them. Then I became a blogger for Econ-
Log. My second post was called “The Selfish Reason to Have More
Kids”—and before long, parenting was my favorite topic. I owe the
most to Marginal Revolution’s Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, who
gave me my start as a guest blogger; Cafe Hayek’s Don Boudreaux
and Russ Roberts, who paved the way for me to become an EconLog
regular; my co-bloggers Arnold Kling and David Henderson; Liberty
Fund for hosting us; and our many thoughtful readers. I also thank
the Mercatus Center and George Mason University’s economics de-
partment for every kind of support.
ix
