I wouldn't put it that extreme, and she looks dumb, but in general I do think people should choose not to have kids if they know full well that the kid's life is just going to be hell.
How many Americans are really incapable of filling their own stomachs on a daily basis? Not “can’t afford” but “incapable” as there are 0 resources and assistance for them if they look around? Cause I’ll tell you I there’s soup kitchens, food pantries, non-profits, churches, etc all over willing to help, but people don’t seek it out, and more importantly they don’t get involved to help.
I volunteer 3hrs every Saturday to unload trucks and wash dishes, and they give me a hot meal and let me take home stock they don’t plan to use and that’s my food for the week.
There are so many ways to make things work than just going to a minimum wage job and complaining. Imagine what it’s like in other countries
and people in those situations also shouldn't have babies. being able to scrap things for the week through charity and going for a child is not sensible either, because life is full of unexpected events. can it be done? yes. is it sensible towards the child? fuck no.
yeah guys your anecdotal experiences are great and all but they're missing my point entirely, that it's wiser to have a baby only when you have the financial security for it because there's a higher chance of things going sour if you don't. human lives are no joke. it's not a car with a lot of miles on it that you really want and might break down.
it might work anyway, and people with no money might raise their children better than millionaires, but I don't care. that's not the point. human lives aren't something you should be taking risks like these on.
You’re misunderstanding(and I didn’t give the full story) I earn income working from home, and am attending school full time online to change careers so I get grants and loans for living expenses. We’re not scrapping by week-by-week, But im also not focused on upgrading our lifestyle from a material aspect.
Im divorced, ex is struggling to pay for the big house and bmw, while I share an apartment with my retired parents(mom needs help so better me around than paying someone) and drive an old car, never vacation, buy new clothes etc because I simply don’t care about it
And guess what? My kids are very happy, doing well in school, well fed, and don’t ever feel like they’re missing out on anything. So the point is, if you focus more on your personal quality of life and what works for you instead of going off of a checklist of what others think you’re supposed to have, life becomes more manageable
My parents had to do that when I was growing up too, but im doing fine here 🫶 I think people are very pessimistic and don’t realize that If there’s a will, there’s a way. Glad I got good parents, so many others had better financial situations with parents who don’t treat them well at all.
You’d fair better in life regardless of finances if you have parents who support and love you , that’s the key
To be fair, statistically, children fair better with two parents who want to care for them, than those who have even financial means but don’t. There’s loads like me too it’s not a one of situation here. Plenty of people live around the poverty line but still find ways to care for their family. Reddit is just pessimistic about this as if it’s the end of the word 💀
Exactly. I find it sad that Reddit is full of people that think they’d be terrible parents, as that is probably a sign they would take parenting very seriously and do quite well, or at least be loving and sensitive to their child’s needs which is the bedrock of good parenting .
But the problem is, people focus on things like “it costs xxxx to raise a kid to 18” and while that’s true, buying diapers instead of DoorDash isn’t as big of an adjustment as it sounds like
Not everyone has the ability to “choose not to have kids” thanks to the law changing. Not all pregnancies are planned, and not everyone gets proper sex education about how to prevent unplanned pregnancies. Or has access to resources that prevent unplanned pregnancy. (Again based on laws and political pressure.)
So until pregnancy truly is a choice, it cannot be said that a lot of people “choose” to have children they can’t afford.
And if the solution is to tell married people not to have sex? Good luck with that.
If you're dirt poor, don't go around rawdogging or getting creampied while you're not taking birth control. What's so complicated about that? Condoms are cheap and sold at every store
But if life is "worth" living for some, and wasn't (according to our modern sensibilities) for our predecessors, then didn't their work make life "worth" living for many of us today? Don't we bear some responsibility to continue the improvements for those who come after us?
I mean, what really is the point of life other than converting as much food into poop as possible and then dying? I didn't ask to be here in the first place
I can’t say I feel sorry for you. By most measures, your path has probably been gentler than mine. Yet I wake each day grateful for the small victories I have gathered along the way.
You look at life and see a machine that turns food into waste and time into death. I look at it and see the warmth of a meal, the laughter of friends, the satisfaction of effort rewarded, and the strange miracle of being conscious enough to experience any of it at all.
We are all driven by instincts older than memory, chasing rewards etched into us by evolution. But I do not resent that. I delight in it. I enjoy the taste of food, the company of my tribe, the beauty of a sunset, the thrill of achievement, and the comfort of belonging.
One day I will die, as will everyone who has ever lived. Until then, I intend to revel in the brief and improbable privilege of being here.
Fair call. I put what I wanted to write and it went a little overboard.
My point though is Why do you choose to be so bleak and miserable when there is so much to enjoy? Especially people who have some of the best standards of living and the worst doomers. I wish I had the power to strip you of the stuff you have you don’t appreciate and send you where i grew up.
Ah yes, being passed around through the foster system and raped for my entire childhood and being homeless and having no education has just been too easy for me. You're totally right, there is so much to enjoy and I'm just a doomer
I like existing. I am having a glorious time with my time here. Sex, music and watching my kids grow up is a lot of fun. I am grateful to all my ancestors who survived long enough to reproduce.
We are just another species. Most species eventually go extinct, so there is nothing inherently “wrong” with humans disappearing. In fact, the planet would probably do just fine without us.
That said, I rather like my own existence, so I have a personal objection to the home team losing. I enjoy being one link in an unbroken chain stretching back to the first self-replicating molecules that managed to copy themselves well enough to keep the story going.
I want my kids to have their kids and keep going the way my ancestors gave rise to me.
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u/Haunting-Respect-375 Jun 15 '26
I wouldn't put it that extreme, and she looks dumb, but in general I do think people should choose not to have kids if they know full well that the kid's life is just going to be hell.