To take DD 5 to McDonald's every other weekend?

It is 2 meals out of 42 meals she will have in 2 weeks (if you class just chips as a meal - maybe you still have lunch too after) - it’s fine! Funny because some of the righteous parents on here probably feed their kids food from the supermarket that are full of hidden crap much worse than McDonalds fries, UPF etc. but don’t realise it!

Okay love, if you say so

Hogwash. My family is very working class, and not privileged. But we were raised to be frugal, self-disciplined, cautious and self-reliant.

So basically you're saying that people should just procreate freely with no preparation, no contingency planning, living to the hilt of their incomes, partner or no partner, etc. because poor widdle women can't control their fertility until they can provide decent conditions for childrearing?

God forbid a woman use contraception until she has a stable career, a stable partner, savings and insurance. Because some combination of job loss, economic downturn, illness, disability, divorce, SEN, eldercare and other challenges happen in each and every life.

But why acknowledge that and prepare for adverse scenarios. That's just asking far too much, apparently.

Just mate willy-nilly and let the taxpayer pick up the slack.

This is from the perspective of a person who grew up with privilege. And by that I don’t mean someone who is wealthy, just that you have had a good education, most likely a stable family life as a child, and access to jobs that pay more than the minimum wage.

so you should only have kids if you have a spare £100,000 saved up per child in advance, to cover you for the next 18 years if you are in a serious car accident or develop a life limiting illness. Okay...

Not to mention the most common - people in committed partnerships plan their lives around 2 incomes. If their household income is suddenly cut by half or more (whether because of circumstances beyond their control or because one parent decides to opt out), most people would struggle. If you think you should only have kids if you can guarantee your partner won't ever leave, nobody would ever procreate. You can try your best to pick your child's other parent to be someone you can trust as much as possible, but you can never be sure.

Being given the information to make those decisions is privilege. Having the money to purchase insurances is a privilege.

But by your own logic, if you die and the insurances don't pay out, that's poor parenting on your part.

If you die and the person you've chosen to continue raising your child chooses to take them to McDonald's, that's poor parenting on your part.

I don't see the problem.
Many children have things like ckicken dippers, fish fingers, a packet of crisps in their lunch box more than once a fortnight.

And a McFlurry isn't unhealthier than standard store bought ice cream or pastry from a bakery (which is most often mass produced anyway)

Just because you take your child to a higher priced restaurant does not make the food healthier. Chips are chips no matter where you eat them.

We went full Maccirs every single week after swimming lessons when my kids were small. They are still alive!

You can do all those things and still shit and life happens.

People die, insurance companies don't pay up, people get sick and insurance doesn't cover it, people get sick and have to take leave from work and insurance only covers part of it, people get cancer for the 3rd time and because its the 3rd time insurance doesn't cover it, savings get eaten up, houses burn down, houses flood, businesses fail, pandemics happen

We went every week for a happy meal as kids, after swimming class. It’s fine!

I think you should start taking her every weekend tbh. Really lean into the "bad parenting" angle

You seem to be picking and choosing who you reply to. Not everyone can afford insurance, they should not have children according to you, is that correct?

Oh, come on. Proper planning, using contraception and purchasing insurance are not signs of privilege. No one should become a parent without appropriate provisions in case of illness, disability and death.

This thread is hysterical wow

Great way to let everyone know you’ve led a life of privilege without actually telling them…

My mum was similar, and while I didn't have an ED all that happened was as soon as I went to uni I went crazy for crisps, sweets, chocolate and takeaways.

Not everyone has the ability, for various reasons, to save, afford insurance or upskill. These people shouldn’t have children in your opinion as they would be poor parents?

I think that’s so sweet. Kids love routines and that must be something your child looks forward to every other week.

I bet the people who say it’s bad are the same people who drink every single weekend

YADNBU, my niece has Coeliac Disease & there are so many (everyday) places where she can't eat. Enjoy your post swimming chips & ice cream.

Simply is true. Depending on the individual as always.

Put the spade down dear.

No. They. Can’t.
By scientific necessity you have children earlier rather than later in your life (if you are a woman). There are very, very few people under 40 who could stop work completely and never need to earn again. That’s what you are asking for. It’s entirely possible for that state of affairs to happen to any one of us. It’s just luck if it hasn’t.

I’m saying 2 dozen is more than it will actually be (classes tend to have breaks in summer, and usually at christmas and Easter too) and if someone did something 2 dozen times I’d tend to say 2 dozen not ‘dozens’ - unless I was trying to make it sound more frequent.