ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the symbolic importance of children for adults. To begin this exploration the question of children's importance is looked at from a different perspective. Some couples are unable to have children due to fertility problems. This group of people want to fulfil their own and society's expectations, but are unable to do so. Childlessness threatens the sense of order, both in a biological and a sociological sense. At a time when national and international boundaries and institutions are challenged, the sense of order is threatened. Childlessness involves a major reconstruction of reality by partners, family and friends. For the majority of involuntary childless couples, childlessness will continue to be experienced as a stigma throughout their lives. Parents can relive their own childhood, putting perceived wrongs to right or trying to ensure their child achieves what they could not. Children are a mirror to the future, giving a kind of immortality in an insecure world.
