I’m pregnant with second child and terrified for their futures

[Loopywhoop]

AIBU?

I don’t know of my hormones have sent me crazy (due very new baby very soon)

but it’s come more into my knowledge since being pregnant and having more time on my hands to research and read forums that the future is super bleak for children unless they are super resourceful, intelligent and have generational wealtH. Even then with climate change, they could still be fucked.

we are just a ‘normal’ loving family in a very modest income doing our best.

I feel so sad to think I’ve ruined my eldest child’s life and brought a new life into the world only to suffer long term.

I can’t shake this feeling.

does anyone feel more optimistic about the world or life in general?

its been a tough pregnancy as it is and I was just starting to feel better but now I feel like I selfish, irresponsible cow.

mmmm I do also sometimes worry about the distant future but I’m not sure it’s as definitive as you suggest? Are you sure ur forums are thoughtful and evidence based and not just speculation?

Climate change, war, wealth ( lack of) ,
Shit NHS, crap state education,
Corruption, Crime, pandemics,
All the above and more have been a problem for a long time.
Children keep being born and the world keeps turning.
It will be fine.
Congratulations on your pregnancy

Yes there are a lot of shit things in life but I think we are starting to turn the corner with the generations coming through on some things. I think working life is going to become much more flexible. People are not going to be working to save for mortgages because they'll never achieve them. They will live much more for the present because their working lives will be so long. They'll take more interest in developing their interests and hobbies than a career

Yes they probably will never get on the property ladder and will have climate change to deal with. We are already starting to see that the teenagers today seem to be a lot more thoughtful to their future challenges way more than previous generations have been.

I imagine women during the world wars may have felt similarly to you. They made it through the tough times and so will our kids in their own way.

What is it you’re researching?

They will have a much better life than probably any previous generation ever. Read your history, OP.... wars, plagues, zero healthcare of any kind, no welfare state, no "safety net", limited education, poor working conditions, industrial accidents...I could go on and on. This generation of children are so, so privileged.

Study history. Life has never been better and healthier for children. Yes, we have problems, but we have ingenuity, too, and will solve those problems just as humanity always has.

Babies have been born into different situations forever and the as PP said, the world has kept turning. It's totally understandable to feel fear, some of it will be hormone related, you're trying to nest and find a safe place to birth a baby at the moment. Stay away from the news and the forums unless they make you feel better rather than worse, and make an active effort to surround yourself with positivity as much as you can. Control what you can control and take positive action where you can, rather than futile hand wringing, that's not going to help your babies.

You can't change the world, and there is a lot of shit going on for sure, but you can control what goes on on a micro level, what happens in your home, how you mother, how you love, the example you show them of how to be a good person in this weird world. They'll be ok, they will find their own way.

I don’t think people in third world countries living in poverty and slums feel guilty, and they will probably still be worse
off than your children OP. This isn’t to sound harsh I’m trying to say that babies are born in a hell of a lot worse- wars, famine, dictatorships, countries rife in disease and poverty. It’s just how it is.
All any of us can do is our best and make our own little bits of our world as nice as possible.

I won’t mind if my DC choose not to have children themselves. There’s a lot wrong with the world and an aging population, political unrest, overpopulation, climate change, a new age of AI… don’t make me think it will become a better existence.

If they do, I’ll hopefully be a loving, fun, helpful grandmother, but DC/DGC add vulnerability.

I feel generally optimistic about my ds(15)'s future.

He's a boy, tall, healthy (so far), born in the UK, has plenty of common sense, and that loads the dice in his favour from the start.

Ok, he's the child of a single mum, but I'm educated and employed, and have given him the calm, balanced and secure upbringing that I didn't have. And he has me on his side. 😊

He has as good a chance as anyone.

It's always been a terrible world. Look at history, there's always been awful things going on (Victorian times were awful for children for example!). Try not to worry.