another baby

It is always a difficult thing to comment on. Personally I would be very disappointed if either of my DDs deliberately became pregnant when struggling to meet existing commitments, were without the prospect of employment etc. I would feel they were being reckless & irresponsible. However my own DD2 was born as a result of a contraceptive failure (IUD) so I know that sometimes it is not all straightforward.

Since 2017 benefits are not paid for any more than 2 children. Apart from families who already had more than 2. Just saying.

I'm all for kindness, and being charitable, and I hate to see families struggling, especially in these difficult times. However, couples who choose to have several babies, which they can ill afford, has been a problem since way before Covid came upon us! And, frankly, the amount of young couples I see, with 3 or 4+ children, who don't work (many never have), and rely on benefits, well, I really don't believe it can all be blamed on accidental pregnancies. Lack of education, or stupidity, more likely.

I have no issues with couples having as many babies as they like, as long as they have the means to support them financially, and not expect to have them paid for with tax payer's money. There isn't a bottomless pot and, the way things are going right now, with businesses closing, and people being made redundant, goodness knows where the tax payers slush fund is going to come from in the future to pay out benefits to those who need them!

Someone mentioned that these children will one day grow up to be tax payers themselves, but the way things are going, I can't see there being any jobs for them to earn the money to pay any taxes!

Just my opinion, of course. But the situation really does concern me.

I agree with Grandmabatty, it is none of our business. People can become pregnant for various reasons. My own son already had 4 children (2 were not his own), My dil was waiting to be sterilised but had to wait due to health reasons with her kidney. She was called forward for the operation and given a pregnancy test and found she was pregnant, she was 5 months with no symptoms or showing any signs. It would seem she had been on antibiotics a few months back and that is then when she fell for the baby. So they now have 5, all are working and contributing towards the future of peoples pensions. So lets stop bleating about people have large families.
As for food banks, most people are in work but on zero hours or low wages.

Very complex situation - why do poor people have big families they can’t afford?

1) just very uneducated.
2) religion ( do not agree with contraception/ terminations )
3) mental illness.
4) rape in marriage ( yes it still happens )
5) just love kids and have them despite everything.
6) a combination of any of the above.

I will just copy and paste what Doodledog said about foodbanks
"Foodbanks are nothing to do with you, or the state. They are funded by contributions from people who care about others, so the woman concerned isn't costing any of us anything on that score. I think it's a national disgrace that we need them at all, but that's a different discussion."

I think it is horrible to treat human beings like numbers on a balance sheet. Children are a gift and a resource and are worth so much more than cash, quite apart from the fact that, as others have pointed out, we need young people.

Are the same people complaining about babies being born in this country the same people who don't want to welcome young people from other countries either?

The human race would have died out many times over if people had only had children the could 'afford'.

That might have been a blessing for the rest of life on earth, of course, depending on your viewpoint.

They have obviously chosen to have a fourth child as in 2020 contraception is easy to obtain. Surely child number 4 can’t be a mistake.

An environmental study published in Environmental Research Letters in 2017 stated that, in order to save the planet:

four choices were consistently high impact in cutting emissions: eating a plant-based diet, living car-free, avoiding flying and having one fewer child. The biggest impact choice of these? Having one fewer child, which would save 58.6 tonnes of carbon per year. The next most effective was living car-free for a year, which would save 2.4 tonnes. “That was basically showing every child that we would choose to create in a high-emitting country has a huge carbon legacy"

Of course, that one fewer child could have been the one who found out how to rid the earth of plastic.
Who knows?

This family may have never imagined that they’d have to depend on food banks when they took the decision to have a fourth child. So many people have had their lives turned upside down over the past few months. The last thing they need is to be judged by people who know nothing of their circumstances.

I’ve seen documentaries stating we’re not making enough children, yet we’re top heavy with older people. There’ll be no one to pay for them if there’s no younger people working and paying taxes.

I didn't see the news item the OP refers to, but I do wonder why they didn't interview a struggling family with one child.

Is it designed to bring out the worse in people?

Rather like when there's an item on shortage of school places, and they film it in a school where 95% of the children are obviously of immigrant background.

And when they highlight foodbanks with footage of overweight clients who have mobile phones.

Many women who have more children than they can support are married to husbands who feel entitled to as much sex without condoms as they wish.

The solution is to educate and otherwise support nubile women who are at risk of marrying men who don't respect them.

Riverwalk

^Having more than two children is irresponsible whether you can afford them or not^

However Bozzer having his 6/7th child was 'lovely'.

But Bozzer wasn’t having to rely on food banks to feed his admittedly large number of children.

How many children a family has is none of anyone else's business. Perhaps it would help to come to terms with their additional children by considering that when they're grown up, they may well be feeding you and wiping your bum when you're in a nursing home.

Crikey.

The milk of human kindness is overflowing on this thread, isn't it?

Esspee

I do consider it my business if my taxes are being used to support people who are doing nothing to help themselves.
Having another child when you can’t support the ones you have is totally irresponsible.
Contraception can be obtained free of charge and if using it is against you religion or whatever then abstention is the answer.

Completely agree.

Babies aren't always planned.

I think that it is irresponsible if someone plans to get pregnant knowing that she can't afford to support the baby, but life doesn't always work out the way we expect it to.

Foodbanks are nothing to do with you, or the state. They are funded by contributions from people who care about others, so the woman concerned isn't costing any of us anything on that score. I think it's a national disgrace that we need them at all, but that's a different discussion.

These are very difficult times for everyone, and I agree with Grandmabatty that a bit of kindness towards others would go a long way.

i agree with Grandmabatty.
we don't know the details of other people's lives, and this reductionism, as if people are just a profit and loss calculation is repugnant, and also invalid.
that fourth child may be the one who discovers a cure for cancer, or who comes to care for your dying relative, and is the only one they trust.
how many of us would have passed the test for net profit to the economy, or even the social/family circle we inhabit.

Qiuzqueen, I had five children plus a foster child. Their taxes pay /will pay your pension.

Having more than two children is irresponsible whether you can afford them or not

However Bozzer having his 6/7th child was 'lovely'.

It was predicted that there would be a baby boom as a result of lockdown.

Maybe the child was already conceived before CoVid intervened?

Are you a net contributor?
How many children have you had?

Having more than two children is irresponsible whether you can afford them or not, but especially when you can't afford them. It's no use people complaining about climate change, pollution, lack of natural resources, housing and other depleted services etc. when too many humans are being produced and living too long in the same finite space i.e Earth!!!!!