For practically my entire life conservatives have said that we can’t give money to the poorest kids because it will cause the people that they don’t want to have kids to have kids.
But the countries that give money to kids show that the effect on birth rates is pretty small and the effect on child poverty is very large.
The way I see it, giving money to kids is the obvious way to reduce child poverty and spread the cost of kids across society. Because even if not everyone has kids, everyone was a kid. And because we clearly have the money.
Good for them, Proper family planning, including choosing not to have children, is the sign of a responsible adult.
I know a lot of people say they ‘cant afford’ to have children, and yes it can be expensive. But more than that I’ve noticed my own kids simply don’t want to. I have 1 step child, and 1 biological child, neither wants children.
And if I had it to do over again, I would have chosen not to have children, too, & my wife feels the same way. We make a lot of money, but that doesn’t make it more enjoyable, you will not have privacy, flexibility in your schedule, the ability to retire early, the ability to travel abroad, etc etc. There are 1000+ things you can’t do when you have children, and the things you can do become an expensive and logistical nightmare.
You would have to pay me to have another child, you would have to pay me a lot. Like hundreds of thousands, maybe even a million dollars.
Having kids sucks.
source: I have kids.
We are DINKs, so happy with the decision.
DIKs*. fixed it.
As they should. Kids can be crazy expensive
“Fuck them kids”
Yea we are
NTBCW the DILDOS (double-income little dog owners)
We never felt smarter
To be a contrarian, my wife and I are 30 and high earners. We loved our no kid life, but we had a baby girl 5 months ago and we’ve never been happier. I understand it’s not for everyone, even we were on the fence, but man I’m so glad we chose to have her (and probably a sibling soon). She makes every day better and we’re having a blast. We haven’t had to give up our lives either (yet) because we just bring her along where we go. Sure, we’re saving less, but I’d give up all my money if I had to for this peach.
Makes me a bit sad seeing how many people in our generation are going kid-less, but I guess it’s better than people having kids who don’t really really want them.
And where will they live? I don’t have a basement.
Here’s my hot take.
While child-related costs are not cheap. In truth, I think I used to spend more on alcohol, entertainment, clothes, and dates. When you have a baby/toddler, you’re not going to sporting events, concerts, clubs, or nice restaurants anyway.
By the time my daughter was 14 months old; we had already traveled to 5 countries (babies still fly for free at that age). Being able to work remotely was key.
Raising a young child is not that stressful. Trying to juggle your work while doing parenting duties is stressful. But the stress comes from your work; more than it is from your kid. Most baby/kid stuff is pretty predictable and milestone-driven. People have literally been doing it since the beginning of mankind.
In my case, I didn’t think I would have kids because of my lifestyle and career choice. I didn’t plan on having my daughter. My life was pretty awesome before my daughter. At least, on the surface of things. Traveling to different countries each month. Dating a someone different each month. Eating the best foods, drinking the best booze. Buying whatever latest tech toy. Then I had my daughter, and that was more fulfilling than having or doing all of that.
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For practically my entire life conservatives have said that we can’t give money to the poorest kids because it will cause the people that they don’t want to have kids to have kids.
But the countries that give money to kids show that the effect on birth rates is pretty small and the effect on child poverty is very large.
The way I see it, giving money to kids is the obvious way to reduce child poverty and spread the cost of kids across society. Because even if not everyone has kids, everyone was a kid. And because we clearly have the money.
Good for them, Proper family planning, including choosing not to have children, is the sign of a responsible adult.
I know a lot of people say they ‘cant afford’ to have children, and yes it can be expensive. But more than that I’ve noticed my own kids simply don’t want to. I have 1 step child, and 1 biological child, neither wants children.
And if I had it to do over again, I would have chosen not to have children, too, & my wife feels the same way. We make a lot of money, but that doesn’t make it more enjoyable, you will not have privacy, flexibility in your schedule, the ability to retire early, the ability to travel abroad, etc etc. There are 1000+ things you can’t do when you have children, and the things you can do become an expensive and logistical nightmare.
You would have to pay me to have another child, you would have to pay me a lot. Like hundreds of thousands, maybe even a million dollars.
Having kids sucks.
source: I have kids.
We are DINKs, so happy with the decision.
DIKs*. fixed it.
As they should. Kids can be crazy expensive
“Fuck them kids”
Yea we are
NTBCW the DILDOS (double-income little dog owners)
We never felt smarter
To be a contrarian, my wife and I are 30 and high earners. We loved our no kid life, but we had a baby girl 5 months ago and we’ve never been happier. I understand it’s not for everyone, even we were on the fence, but man I’m so glad we chose to have her (and probably a sibling soon). She makes every day better and we’re having a blast. We haven’t had to give up our lives either (yet) because we just bring her along where we go. Sure, we’re saving less, but I’d give up all my money if I had to for this peach.
Makes me a bit sad seeing how many people in our generation are going kid-less, but I guess it’s better than people having kids who don’t really really want them.
And where will they live? I don’t have a basement.
Here’s my hot take.
While child-related costs are not cheap. In truth, I think I used to spend more on alcohol, entertainment, clothes, and dates. When you have a baby/toddler, you’re not going to sporting events, concerts, clubs, or nice restaurants anyway.
By the time my daughter was 14 months old; we had already traveled to 5 countries (babies still fly for free at that age). Being able to work remotely was key.
Raising a young child is not that stressful. Trying to juggle your work while doing parenting duties is stressful. But the stress comes from your work; more than it is from your kid. Most baby/kid stuff is pretty predictable and milestone-driven. People have literally been doing it since the beginning of mankind.
In my case, I didn’t think I would have kids because of my lifestyle and career choice. I didn’t plan on having my daughter. My life was pretty awesome before my daughter. At least, on the surface of things. Traveling to different countries each month. Dating a someone different each month. Eating the best foods, drinking the best booze. Buying whatever latest tech toy. Then I had my daughter, and that was more fulfilling than having or doing all of that.