Each child brings its own fortune : an enquiry into the value of children in a Javanese village

Abstract

One of the important issues in the discussion of motivations for large families is the degree to which parents might regard children as being valuable in fulfilling various material and non-material needs. This is particularly relevant in the study of peasant communities where the family is frequently the basic economic unit of the society. This thesis examines the implications of the concept of the value of children in the context of a community in central Java, with a mixed occupational structure which gives rise to socioeconomic contrasts that are related to perceptions of the value of children. These, in turn, are related to the fertility and family planning behaviour of community members. Various issues of importance in the community, including the recent increase in the availability of schooling, the problem of uncertainty under conditions of extreme poverty, and the reasons for resistence to the use of modern forms of contraception, are explored in the light of the value of children concept. Show more