I do not understand why people have kids when they can not afford them.

[sea74]

I know this topic will create lots of critics but i want to share my thoughts and see if anyone agrees or i am the odd one out.
I come from a european country where the fertility rate is 1.4 that is each woman/family has 1.4 child. Grandparents very often are the to help, but women (and men) are responsible enough not to have children if they can not afford them or look after them.
I grew up thinking that i want children not because i want them for me but because i have to donate life and their life must be a good life. Children are not mine but they are individuals.

Having said that, when i moved to the UK, i realised how things are different.
I feel that many people think children will not change their lives, they get pregnant easily, they do not really worry too much (and take contraception) in order to avoid pregnancies.
Then, when they have the child, you see that often these children live in broken families, or the single mothers do not have 50 pounds to buy them a decent meal, or they are left in front of the tv all summer because they had not planned childcare is expensive and grandparents live far.

Children should be planned carefully, i think and it is very selfish to have them without thinking of (and being ready for) the consequences.

Uh oh.

Yes, because no one in the rest of the world ever gets pregnant by accident or has birth control fail or any number of 1,000 things that can go wrong to make babies and not have enough money.

I keep forgetting that the rest of Europe is magic and the UK is crap. You would think I could remember such a basic fact.

That is all OP .... you have been warned.

Actually, that is not all - , if the UK is so shit and you think we are all so wrong, why do you CHOOSE to reside here rather than your own clearly fabulous country??

Well errr, I think, maybe...good luck

dons tin helmet and reaches for popcorn

Just FYI the average number of children to a woman is 1.7 in the UK

I am not saying UK is shit. At all. I love it.
It is just this attitude that should maybe considered.
What does that yellow symbolmean?

Whatever

Not the single mothers. Spending money on televisions

The evil bastards.

I wish I could move to another European country and have exactly 1.4 child. It sounds like Utopia. Where is this fractional paradise OP?

means arseholes.

And I might throw in that we are all so poor, supporting feckless European countries who can't manage their Euro

Erm....

This hasn't been done before.
Not at all.
It's completely new subject.

The Daily Mailers will have a field day with this one.

Ach, it's been a long time since we have had a thread slagging off the single mothers on benefits and their tellies, surely.

Oh do one OP.

Why does this site not have a rolling eyes smiley. It really needs one.

I think we should sell the children we can't afford to keep. I'll start - one slightly soiled 6 year old, really sweet at times but also a little madam. Needs to have expensive items (we can't afford) and childcare this summer..

£50 for a meal ? Do you feed your kids fillet steak ?

slinks away from thread as am a feckless single mother whose kids are currently watching TV......

JumpingThroughHoops
That is not the point of discussion...

Yeah, they have been a bit thin on the ground just lately.

It needs a get tae fuck smiley. A little smiley with a tartan cap on.

I'm so feckless :( I had three whole children..

yes, yes...single mothers and young mothers, and people who dont plan. Oh, and poor people. And people who dont yield from a long line of perfect/healthy family units. And definitely the mothers, and not the fathers...all FUCKERS...

other than that, the world is perfect

I am with Usual on this one. Whatever.