[msl09]

Most of my coworkers work two shifts, most of them got a second job when they realized that it was impossible to raise their children with their previous income. At some moments they are so tired that they relegate child rearing to technology, none of them chose that willingly.

[nomocrypto]

I argue that having children is 100% a conscious decision (well, unprotected sex is) and if you can’t afford to actually raise your children, you are not in a position to have them. Seriously, why does nobody do the math and make a budget BEFORE having children? I know the answer: lots of babies are accidents and abortion is still seen as wrong by a lot of people. If you don’t have the means to raise children (financially or time-wise), don’t have them.

[msl09]

Some people don't live in countries where abortion is legal, as it's the case for my friends. It's also important to know the huge influence of culture and peer pressure on having kids. I got physically upset when I went to parties with friends and couples were told non-stop that they needed to have kids, "it's wonderful", "I didn't know what it meant to be a woman before then", "your biological clock is ticking", and of course there's peer pressure back at home as moms tell their children that "they need grandchildren", "soon they will be too old to help with raising them".

Ignoring that pressure sometimes means alienation in most social occasions as your friends and siblings only have interest in "parents talk" that you cannot engage in.