2011-02-09, 03:30 AM
Rick Wrote:Yes it is. If you cannot afford to give the child a proper life, DO. NOT. HAVE. IT.
My parents had me and my three siblings between ages 22 and 31. For most of that time they were poor students working part time jobs. (My youngest sister was born during Dad's post-doc).
We turned out fine, all of us.
I waited until I had a stable job and my own home and car before I had my kids, but that was more due to my own laziness than because I thought being unable to provide a child with a roomful of "educational" toys would somehow put them at a disadvantage. I just preferred to have less things to worry about. But "a proper life" has very little to do with money. I hate sounding like a cliche, but I've seen screwed-up kids who never lacked for anything money can buy, and well-adjusted kids whose families were just barely scraping by.
Not that I recommend having children if you don't feel you can afford to give them what you think you should, but I am not going to automatically assume anyone who is "poor" (by whatever criteria) will ruin their children's lives.