Urban famalies aare generally smaller than famalies in rural ares. Long ago when societies were largely agrarian in nature, famalies were bigger as this means more hands to help out in farm work. Futhermore, people of those days did not have the advantage of science and technology to keep theire famlies small by choice. Children were considered to be God-given and artificial methods of birth control were not practiced. Hence, large families were the order of the day unless plagues and fevers struck and reduced the size of those famalies. .
Today however, there is an element of choice. There are many people who choose to have smaller famalies. The adventages of having smaller famalies are numerous. Firstly, the parents can give more attention to the nurturing of these children. They can see to their needs comfortably and not be burdened with having too manu mouths too feed. They can give their children material comforts, the right kind of education and even leave them an inheritance if possiblle. .
On the other hand, siblings in a large family have to fight for attention and love. They have to share the financial resourcesand if there are many children, it follows that they will have less to share. They may not be able to fulfil their basic needs and therefore experience a sense of frustration. It is logical to assume that it is easier to give 2 children what they want rather than to fulfil the desires of 8 or 10 children. .
Some may argue that children in a larger family may turn out to be more responsible and caring. They will learn to share and therefor be more considerate and moderate. Others believe that parents of a smaller family will have more time to spend with their children and should be in a better position to teach them better values. As the family is smaller, there should be less squabbling and conflicts. .
The are many different opinions as to whether a bigger family or a smaller family is happier.