Expanding the family always costs money and not for a short time, but over a longer period of time. In expensive times and in times when the economy is not doing so well, the discussion about the number of children per family starts again. Various questions then arise, such as whether the number of children should depend on financial income and whether there will be money later to allow all children to study. Three children still fit in the backseat of a car, but what do you do when a fourth comes along, and so on. The number of questions is numerous and the answers to them are very diverse and not easy. Each couple must decide for themselves, because no one can accurately judge their options.
Expanding the family is a matter between two partners
Having children is first and foremost a natural phenomenon and a fundamental human right. Each couple can decide together whether they want children or not. No one else has anything to say about that. People who love each other and want a child should be able to decide about this freely, without being hindered by the people around them or by the government.
Comments from others are not important
The decision of two partners to choose to have a child is a private decision. Others have nothing to do with that. At most if the others also have to take care of it. Then of course it is something different. For the rest, the partners do not have to worry about the opinions of others. Whether a couple chooses one, two, three children or more is their own business, as long as they can ensure that those children get the home that every child is entitled to. A loving home and the opportunities to learn how to care for themselves and their own family in the future.
Expanding the family often costs some luxury, from an economic point of view
Dutch people are used to a certain luxury. Most people are used to the luxury of the car, the computer, the smartphone, tablet, good food and drinks, holiday trips, and so on. Anyone who has a partner and lives together has a double income and can also afford more luxury than someone who lives alone. If there are children, this means a financial limitation, because three people have to live on the income. Usually that is not a problem, because good parents do everything for their children and want to raise them as best as possible and prepare them for life.
The parents are responsible
Each further family expansion limits the financial space for each member of the family. Choices have to be made. Choices that are not easy, especially for responsible parents. Usually the interests of the children come before their own interests and at the expense of their own material wishes, but they often step aside out of love for their children and enjoy immensely when their children are doing well.
Happiness cannot be measured in money
Money doesn’t buy happiness, says an old proverb, and that is indeed true. People with a lot of money can also be hopelessly unhappy, but money is of course easy to make everyday life pleasant. It’s nice to have enough money to go on holiday to Thailand with the whole family, but a car holiday or a holiday at a campsite in the Ardennes or Bavaria does not have to be less foreign, less relaxing or less fun.
Children also make us happy
Children often not only complete a family, but also increase the happiness of the parents. Having a baby is an experience that cannot be told. A rollercoaster of emotions, which will be continued many times afterwards. It is wonderful to see what a child learns in the first six years. Not only the first smile and the reaction to the people around him, but also the first tooth, the first words, crawling, standing and walking and much more.
Parents are usually proud of their children
Childless couples are often annoyed by the many stories that couples with children tell about their offspring, but that is a very logical consequence of the close bond that exists between parents and their children. All the progress makes the parents proud. Conversely, children are very loyal to their parents. For example, every parent makes mistakes in parenting from time to time, but they are normally all forgiven magnanimously, as long as the parents let the child know that they love him or her.
Choosing between money and children is not actually necessary
Anyone who wants children, but is concerned about the financial costs, can also think in a different direction. Of course, a baby room costs money, but that can often be solved by taking it over from another couple and renovating it with a lick of (child-friendly) paint and some homemade bedding. Anyone who is creative can paint a nice picture on the walls of the baby room.
More options to reduce costs
A large wicker basket can even be made into a cradle, where the baby can be kept nice and warm for up to three months. In the beginning, babies cost at most diapers, food, some baby care products and of course a lot of work, but that usually also means enjoyment. Visitors often bring baby clothes and toys and only after a few months will they need a jacket, some small shoes and a pair of pants here or there, because the little one has torn them.
Buy on the internet
Besides that, the internet also offers great opportunities. You can often even buy branded items for a small price via the Marktplaats site, Ebay, or other sites. Not only clothes, but also toys and other things that people need during that period. For example, those who are handy with a needle, thread and a sewing machine can often make nice blouses for small children from old shirts where the cuffs and collar are worn.
Bigger children do indeed cost money
As they grow up, children indeed cost more and more money. However, this happens so gradually that it does not immediately fall on the family like a stone. Adjustments to the financial situation therefore usually happen unnoticed. Only towards puberty do the costs of clothing for a rapidly growing teenager start to become noticeable.
Order clothes from older brother or sister
In a family with more children, certain items of clothing can still be passed on to young people, because when an adolescent has grown out of his size within two or three months, not everything is worn out yet. Sometimes things can be taken over from nieces or nephews who are a little older and have already grown out of it. Making your own clothes, sale offers and Marktplaats are a number of other options to reduce costs.
Children often go to college later
Most prospective parents are concerned about the future studies of their possible children. Sometimes that prospect suppresses the desire to have children, but is that actually realistic? Who can look eighteen years into the future and decide what it will look like then? After all, you cannot yet judge which professions there will be in the future. Twenty years ago, one could not have imagined that so many IT specialists would be needed today. It is very difficult to predict what our society will look like in eighteen years.
Teenagers can take a job
In addition, it is no problem if teenagers take a job and earn some money to pay for part of their studies or some extra luxury. That only makes them better, because then they immediately notice that the money does not fall from the sky, but that they have to work for it. This way they immediately gain some work experience and immediately discover what the money is worth. An adolescent who has everything thrown at him will handle money differently than an adolescent who has to work for some luxury item.
Love and attention from parents are important for children
Where children receive a good upbringing at home and always find love, attention and support, they will grow up to be positive and happy people who have a strong outlook on life. Society also needs children who can function well in society when they grow up. In this way, society remains alive and productive. A childless society is a lifeless society and no one wants to go there. Politics will also have to make room for parents who want to provide good care and education for their children.
Consider whether expanding the family is still responsible
Partners who would like to have children, or who already have children but would like to have another one, would do well to think about the decision, but even if a pregnancy presents itself completely unexpectedly, they should still Leiden is not in trouble. Many roads lead to Rome and where there are two children, a third can fit in. If there is an unexpected multiple birth, that will work too. Of course, things may need to be changed or cut back here or there, and creativity is always required, but your reward is the love and happiness of your children. No money can match that.