The standard of living of an average Saudi family has dramatically risen during the past few decades. In the 1970s and 1980s Saudi Arabia witnessed the biggest baby boom in the world. Population of some cities reportedly increased by threefold in less than a decade.
The capital city, Riyadh, grew from a humble city of a few hundred thousands into a developed city of 5 million people. Currently, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest if not “the highest” birth rate in the world and has one of the highest numbers of children per family.
Gone are the days when raising children was considered an easy task. Nowadays, it has become a fulltime job that not only requires financial strength but also warrants full attention and careful handling.
In the past, the number of children (mainly male) was considered a necessity. In the desert, men with larger families were accorded a prestigious status and in the coastal or agricultural areas, the large number of children meant more working hands. Each and every child had a duty to perform and at that time children demanded very little of their parents. As long as they had food on the table and cloth on their bodies, it was a happy day for all. But, times have changed and with it needs of children as well. And yes, this is true for many countries around the world, but we still have the highest birth rate.
During the economic boom, many Saudi families did not change their spending habits or did not think of spending their wealth in a proper manner. Every man wanted to see his son and daughter lead a better life and many did not want their children to experience hardships they had once experienced. Consequently, the children got spoiled and became irresponsible in many ways. Each child wanted what the other child had. They wanted new cars, new laptops and latest gadgets etc. Every boy wanted to travel abroad and see the world. Saudis are known to be the top world tourists. And it is fine if they want any new gadget or wish to travel but it is always the father who pays for it. Many of our youths don’t do part time jobs and put money aside to help the family. And it is not only money that our youths spend unwisely. Many of our youths simply spend their spare time wandering aimlessly either driving around or just sitting at coffee shops. They don’t read or indulge in healthy activities. With today’s requirements and needs of the new generation, the average income of a family appears to be shrinking. And it is not shrinking in the economic sense, but many of our youths are wasting many resources such as electricity. There is no awareness among our youth about the need for conservation of electricity or fuel. These commodities are very cheap and heavily subsidized by the government and they don’t appreciate it. Saudis have free education and free health care, but they are not aware of the need for adaptation to any changes in the country’s future economy. It is true that the Saudi government is trying to do its best for the youths, but the young generation has to display a responsible behavior. Saudi youths must be told and educated about a very important point: Oil will not last forever.
Today’s Saudi families must have family planning in regard to the number of children. This planning will give the family more time to be with the children and less financial stress. Feeding seven children is not like raising two children. In the past, we never heard about child abuse, but due to economic hardship there are chances to have less stable families and with it comes the cases of child abuse or mistreatment. Many families are broken because the father can’t bear the responsibilities of taking care of a family.
Ironically most of the impoverished families in Saudi Arabia are the ones with the highest number of children. So, it is necessary to educate them about the importance of family planning. As for our youths, they must be taught at a very early age about their duties and responsibilities toward the society. And they must be encouraged to help in household chores. In other words, they should be taught that instead of paying SR10 to get their cars washed by an expatriate, they should do it themselves.
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