Breed like the proverbial!

Says the Polish health ministry.

Marcus Roberts | Nov 30 2017 | comment

We’ve blogged a couple of times about the quirky videos put out by the Danish Government in the last couple of years encouraging couples to have more children (or, as one says, to “Do it for Mum” – an odd aphrodisiac exhortation I would have thought…)

Now the Polish Government has got in on the act with a video from the Health Ministry featuring lots of rabbits (see below). The idea is the obvious one: Poles don’t have very many babies (about 1.3 per woman – one of the lowest fertility rates in the world); rabbits have lots of babies; therefore Poles should be more like rabbits. Apparently (my Polish is not up to much) the video tells viewers that the secret of their big families is exercise, a healthy diet and little stress. Thus, “If you ever want to be a parent, follow the example of rabbits.”

The purpose of the video, according to the Health Ministry is encourage Poles in the prime reproductive years of their life to adopt a healthy lifestyle that would help to improve their chances of conceiving children. It was also intended to raise public awareness of this pressing issue for Poland’s future in a way that did not offend anyone and was “not vulgar”. But can a non-vulgar video featuring rabbits really help to raise the Polish fertility rate? It’s one thing to have a healthy lifestyle so that when one wants to conceive, one has a greater chance of doing so. But in the end, Poles still need to want to conceive. Do they want to have more children?

December 1, 2017

When I was at primary school many moons ago there was an institution called The Fun Doctor. A man with a battered suitcase full of tricks would come to the school once, maybe twice a year, and entertain us with jokes and magical stuff. On the whole, I think we were quite amused as there were no smartphones or television then to turn us into bored little sophisticates.

The reason for mentioning this is that even back in the Dark Ages people recognised that laughter is good for your health – hence, Fun Doctor. Today, there’s a whole branch of psychology dedicated to happiness, and no end of life coaches telling us how to be happy for the good of our health.

This very day, while I was staring indifferently at my laptop screen, someone sent me a heads-up about an article on how much just smiling can do for our psyches and bodies as well. But the main point is this: you don’t have to wait to feel happy to get the benefit of a smile; you can be tense and worried and smile anyway -- and presto! Your brain fires up, the dopamine and serotonin start flowing, your stress goes down and your heart rate lowers, and your mood lifts. And not only you, those whom you smile at feel better too.

Our articles today were not exactly designed with smiles in mind, but they are not lacking in wit and encouragement, starting with Zac Alstin’s reflections on providence and freedom. So smile – and take the plunge!