This should be higher. So accurate, and I think there are many people in similar situations that feel the same.

You forgot to include the unstable future outlook for the childen-to-be.

That’s not “world” thats America .

Them: "Who should sustain our welfare if there are no kids?". Also them: "Do not complain if you leave colleague with a debt, have no parental leave and cannot afford a house."

Inaccurate. I'm a married man and I frequently get asked when or why we are not having kids. Since we are unable to have kids, it's really depressing being pestered about it all the time.

I'll just say that if my mom hadn't felt pressured to have kids I would have had a much better childhood.

i mean... we kinda are

"Who cares" is also a question that people who want children ask themselves. And if the answer is "No one cares for my family" then they might not have children.

And climate change. Species extinction, etc.

Correction *more* than your yearly rent

that's 100% USA. In Latinamerican countries you can give birth for free

I'm in Canada so that wouldn't be a reason here.

Wow that is insane :/

Just had a baby, got fired because I was sick constantly, no health insurance, so far bills are approximately 10k.

Let's not forget about inflation on top of those stagnant wages

Godexx forbid we have paid parental leave like nearly every other industrialized nation on earth.

Yup. We are poor because we had kids - because to nurse them it is impossible to work and then kids get sick, a lot, which means someone has to be home with them - we have minimal sick leave and this makes working and having a child impossible. So one of us is home (me), BUT as a biologist/biochemist who understands evolution I also understand this artificial bottleneck in our population is a genetic opportunity. We're financially poor, deliberately, but banking on generational (non-economic) wealth. There is rich and there is rich, we have a rich life and we also get to go extreme minimal on our taxing the earth (our household is carbon neutral for eg) and we have kids. We'll never be middle class (rich to me), but maybe that's okay, IDK.

This!!!

DUH

I know exactly how that feels. And it isn't good.

$13k is just a yearly daycare bill in our household.

You also have the right to ask them why they are so concerned with what goes on in your crotchal region. Those are the same types of people who are overly concerned with the genitals of said child (not in a pedo way, just 'is it a girl or a boy'). Of course, that invites more conversation. A good 'none of your fu***** business' is an acceptable answer, too. Just be sure to yell it really loudly and make them uncomfortable. I highly suggest Naruto running the other way after yelling it, maybe throw and iced coffee on them for good measure. Maybe they'll think twice or at least spread it around that you're crazy. Fewer questions.

Gotta ask about the text-censorship in this post. One word largely blacked-out, then the same(?) word not blacked out. Is this a human error, or machine error, or just an overall bad idea?

For f-u-c-king real.

This.

Kidnapping. The third option. (Although I wouldn't recommend it.)

Actually, it WILL maim you permanently. Some get away with small, easy to ignore problems, but that little parasite will leave you with some permanent damage that you will then be routinely ignored or gaslit for. And make no mistake, a fetus may not be a parasite in it's full definition, but it is absolutely parasitic on the host's body.

because👏 we👏 are👏 broke👏

It's called the American Dream, because it's just that, a dream.

I concur.

It's not counterintuitive at all. This relationship is well-known. Education and privilege mean more choice, general, and given real choices in life, women in almost all cultures will choose to have fewer children.

This