Did the Last Generation Ruin Us on Parenting?

Many among the younger generations are scared of what having children will cost them, and not just financially.

Unlike previous generations, millennials aren’t nearly as interested in having kids. When surveyed, we list financial reasons, lost of leisure time, concern that we wouldn’t be good parents, and the impact on our careers, among other things. But most of it comes down to fear: kids take a monumental amount of time, money, and if you’re doing it well, character. We feel like we don’t have enough of any of those things.

In a story I read from the New York Times, one woman shared a glimpse of her past — her parents marrying right out of high school, getting pregnant immediately, and seeming miserable. My parents’ story isn’t all that different, at least the way I remember it. They got married right out of college, and immediately (accidentally) had their first kid. My poor mom was only 20, and she had never held a baby before. Can you imagine? The first time holding an infant, and it’s not one you can hand back to his mother. Terrifying.

Then, my mother had six more, the last five of us in five years, due to twins. She then chose to homeschool all of us. (For those of you forced to homeschool right now because of the pandemic, imagine…