I was interviewed this week by a reporter doing an article on whether the economic recession would effect my decision about having another child.
Quite clearly, the short answer is no. I don’t let little things like common sense, birth control, and economic disaster stop me from having babies. I went ahead with baby #6 for several reasons.
First reason is I believe, that for the most part, children are as expensive as you make them. Sure there is that initial cash outlay with the first child, but if you go on to have several children you are really just getting more bang outta your buck. When I look at our very worn out bassinet, stroller, crib and change table, I feel like we got good value for dollar. Sometimes I think I’d like to buy a bigger house but then I remember that my MIL was raised in Holland during the war where she slept in a drawer in the kitchen. She has great childhood memories and turned into a fabulous adult. It is a good reminder that my kids will be just fine having to share bedrooms and household space. I suppose many families need to consider the additional daycare costs involved with another child, but with a family of our size it makes more financial sense to opt for a nanny over daycare so these costs do not increase as substantially.
Another reason the recession didn’t stop me is because I assume that some sort of economic crisis is likely to hit at some point while the kids are still on my dime. It would probably hit us harder when they are heading off to university or college one after the other, year after year. Having said that, I’m not adverse to having kids pay their own way through school. I somehow managed to get through my few degrees while working two jobs, managing a residence hall and still heading to the campus pub far too often. University is a great place to fine-tune their multi-tasking skills.
It has also become clear to me that the term “being able to afford” is relative. I may not be able to afford flashy cars and a closet full of designer labels, but I can afford to have another baby. Conversely, I have friends who can’t afford another baby but do head off for expensive family holidays and manage hefty mortgage payments.
Each family is best able to make the appropriate decision for their own situations. For me, the further I go along in this pregnancy and the more excited I get about meeting the new little person, the stronger my feeling is that I couldn’t afford not to have this baby.
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Here here!
That’s one lucky baby, to have a mom with so much love to give!
You are my hero — seriously. I admire you.
We only have 3 children, but people still thought we were nuts.
When discussing whether or not to have that third child, my husband said he wasn’t sure we could “afford” another one. I said if you look at it that way, we can’t really afford the two we have. LOL.
But seriously, I could not afford not to have that third child and have never regretted it for a moment….and for the record my husband has actually thanked me for convincing him to have the third as well.
In my books it’s not about the “things” you can give them (although my 2 teenagers might beg to differ). it’s all about the love you have to give them.