Dynamics of need for children (RESUME)

NANA MENABDISHVILI

Need for children refers to one of the most important social needs of man. It is formed under the influence of social and reproductive childbirth norms and determines peculiarities of its reproductive behaviour.

Dynamics of need for children in Georgian population was studied by socio-demographic regularity that contributed to finding necessary information about the needs of children of three generation’s representatives, students, their parents and grandparents. Comparative analysis of the older generation’s realised needs and younger generation’s non-realised needs revealed changes in families’ and society’s needs of three generations. As a result of the research it became clear that generations of students’ grandfathers and grandmothers preferred to have families with many or not so many children, which contributed to the expanded reproduction of population. However, generation of their parents was inclined to have middle or small families and very rarely, families with many children. This generation made only for the cut reproduction in population.
Significant changes are observed in the realisation of wishes for children among the students. There will be a high number of families with a small number of children and there will be, in fact, no families with many children. Even when students’ wishes for children will be fully realised (which is, in fact, ruled out), only cut reproduction of population will be provided, which will continue the trend of Georgian population’s decrease in the first two decades of the XXth century. The trend of children’s decrease observed in Georgian population from year to year was caused by the sharpening of demographic processes. It stipulates deformation of age and sex structures in population, sharpening of problems of labour resources and draftees and other negative results. At the same time, this threatens the perspective of Georgian gene background with degeneration.
Thus, with the purpose of providing optimal regime of population’s reproduction, it is necessary to establish such socio-cultural and moral norms and values that would contribute to the formation of positive attitudes towards families with three or more children.