It's 6:30a.m and I just finished reading an article titled "the economic reason to have only one child." She (the editor) and her daughter went out to grab a pizza, and while they were eating their slices they became transfixed by a TV segment on a massive number of homeless families that had settled in a makeshift community in the California desert. One father told the reporter that until six months ago he wore a tie every day to work, but then he lost everything and was forced to move there with his three kids. The daughter (of the editor) then turned to her and asked, "Mama, that won't be us because there's only one of us instead of three."
Another article titled "Congratulations America, only the rich can afford to have kids!" goes on to say that the expenses for having children are growing. And while for most families it takes both of the parents working to support them, what happens when one's health fails or when obligations force one away from being able to work?
The gist of it all for me is, like I was saying to a few friends the other day, the decision to have children was the decision to not be rich. This doesn't mean that I will not have money to spend or that I will need to live in a make-shift community out in the boonies. But I've accepted that it's unrealistic to have two HUGE focuses such as 1. becoming a millionaire, and 2. raising good kids. I will choose raising good kids every time to the neglect of high monetary investments if it meant a choice between one or the other.
It's a completely different story for people who first became rich then decided to have kids. If, after making their fortune, they succeed to turn their focus to their kids, then perhaps they would succeed to have both.
As for me personally, I have three kids. The decision to have them was a decision that I wanted them. It would be pointless if I were to use up all my waking hours supporting them, unable to watch them grow, too busy to enjoy every change in their development. While it's clear to me that in this falling economy it's becoming increasingly more difficult to be the sole breadwinner, I'm doing my best to do so without neglecting my kids.
