> It's more like military service and jury duty -- an essential service that some people perform to ensure that society as we know it can continue to exist.

I like that analogy a lot and it has me switching my opinion to an extent. While having children is a huge responsibility, many parents don't actually treat it as so. (I would like to think the vast majority do). Is there a way we (socitey) can reward for responsible parenting? Can we decide as a collective what makes "good parenting".