The Real broached the subject of parenting and finances earlier this week, and there were definitely mixed opinions regarding the subject of individuals having children without enough money to support them. Whereas Jeannie Mai stressed the importance of love over material possessions during the “Girl Chat” segment of the show, Loni Love appeared to be unmoved by the notion of love being enough.
The subject as a whole sparked a rather lively discussion online. Many YouTube viewers were more favorable of Loni’s opinion, which was that of parents needing to have a balance between financial and emotional stability. Other commenters believed that love could conquer the challenged that limited finances bring.
YouTube user Stevie Bana was one of many who spoke from personal experience. “I live in the Bronx I grew up struggling because only my father has a job and my parents had me young. My mom barely even had an education. I feel like if my parents were financially stable that they should have had kids. I know it’s not their fault but I wish that they would have planned and waited. My mother is always complaining to me how she is struggling with me and my autistic siblings, and I just think to myself she should have never had us. For me personally, I want to have a secure job before I start thinking of a family because that’s not fair to the child.”
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— @grrlscientist.bsky.social 🌍 ⧖ Ⓥ SciComm @Forbes (@GrrlScientist) August 15, 2018
Steve is not alone in his feelings as several articles support the notion of parents doing more harm than good by failing to plan financially before trying to have kids. Susan Lowery O’Connell, a psychologist who focuses on early childhood development, recently discussed the mental toll that poverty has on children.
“When you don’t have a roof over your head, you’re not really worried about emotional literacy,” O’Connell explained. “If that happens during your children’s development, it’s really making a mark,” she shared.
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O’Connell went on to point out that impoverished children stand to have more difficult times in life due to the financial problems that plague the family. “Poverty works against resilience,” O’Connell revealed.
BCK Asks: What do you think? Should future parents take a hard look at their finances before considering kids? Should an outsider have the right to tell a person when he or she is ready to have a child?
