Some people have children

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keannu

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1. I think "have a child" usually means "give birth to a child", but can this also mean "possess children"?
2. "be supposed to" has several meanings such as "should(obligation)", "be scheduled to", "be presumed to". So how do you tell the difference? Does "the fulfillment mother hood is supposed to bring" mean "be presumed to"?

p2)People have many different reasons for wanting children. Some really like children and want an opportunity to be involved with their care....Some people have children simply because it's expected of them. Because society places so much emphasis on the fulfillment mother hood is supposed to bring, some women who are unsure of what they want to do with their lives use having a child as a way to create an identity.
 

5jj

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1. I think "have a child" usually means "give birth to a child", but can this also mean "possess children"?
I don't think that to 'have' children is to 'possess' them. Have is simply the word we use in family relations:

I have six brothers and two sisters.
Mary has lots of cousins in America.


This is of course not the same as 'Emma had a baby last week'.
 

emsr2d2

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I agree with 5jj but it can be used to mean "produce", "bring into the world" or even "start a family" rather than actually "give birth".

People choose to have children for different reasons = People choose to bring children/a child into the world for different reasons = People choose to start/add to a family for different reasons.
 
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