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The end of the world is YOUR fault!

Parent24 Editor, Scott Dunlop
Parent24 Editor, Scott Dunlop
I occasionally do something stupid. I’ll read an interesting or shocking news article online, and then scan the comments section afterwards. It’s very common to see comments like “he should never have been born”, or “that person should never have been allowed to have babies”.  Well, dear commenters, you don’t get to have a say in anyone else’s fertility choices other than your own (and perhaps your partner’s choices).

The theory appears to be that everything from murder to rape to massive devastating wars- all of those things are the fault of people who choose to have kids. Especially if you’ve chosen (or had by surprise) more than one child. If you have had lots of kids and you hit the news headlines for some negative reason, then people will accuse you of accelerating the very end of the world!

I’m willing to concede that even history’s most vilified and tyrannical characters had moms and dads who probably (at some stage) wondered whether or not they were to blame for their child’s personality defects, but who can tell by comparing one baby with another which one will be a crazed psychopath, and which one a gentle, balanced adult?

Take this article I came across: A debt-collection agency, while on the phone to a woman who owed money, a woman who happened to have 5 kids, told her “you should have learned to keep your legs shut”. How’s that for an insult

Even if you’re just a normal parent or a great one (like most of you), you’ve probably come up against haters in the supermarkets or restaurants. People who will say rude things to you while your toddler is having a tantrum, or dismiss your opinions simply because you have ‘rugrats’.

I’m aware that many parents struggle to support their kids - I’m no stranger to wondering just how I’m going to feed the children when the end of the month is much further away than the end of the money - but what good does it do to say to a parent “you should never have had those kids”?

Hopefully we’re more supportive of each other, though. I’d like to imagine that although we know how hard it is, and we’re full of fears about how to pay for our children as well as raise emotionally-healthy kids, a community like Parent24 is a safe place where we can all come to find not just neutrality, but kindness and empathy.

There will always be ‘bad’ parents, as well as kids who grow up to be ‘bad’ adults, but part of the reason we’re part of this parenting community is to make the world a better place for our kids, by learning how to raise better people.

If we fail, by all means, blame the end of the world on us: We’re ready for you- we’re parents, and we have a ready-made army.

Have you ever been insulted for having kids? Let us know on chatback@parent24.com and you could win a R250 kalahari.com voucher.


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