These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
Money seems tight for many families, particularly in our unstable economic times. To make more money, we have to work harder and likely longer hours. We might convince ourselves that it’s worth it to be financially sound, but is it? Will money really make all your parenting problems go away? A poor parent in Reddit’s Regretful Parents sub wants to know what problems still exist if you always have enough money to meet your family’s needs and beyond. The answers might surprise you.
Money doesn’t mean a perfect family.
One parent who claimed a net worth of $4.5 million admitted that children don’t make them happy.
“My younger one has special needs and as such we plan on working as long as we can so her future is secured, as opposed to just ours. I regret having them every day, and we have felt this way for years and years. Money probably helps, but it is not the only thing by a longshot,” the parent wrote. “The fact that even as our kids are getting older, we get no time to ourselves and are essentially just caretakers is way higher on my mind than the fact that we are financially secure.”
Some parents felt life got harder when they had more money.
Another parent described things like the late Notorious B.I.G., who believed in “Mo Money Mo Problems.”
“We are a 7 figure income home. We have an 8 figure networth. Children will see you as a piggybank and blame you for not being there even if you provided well for them but use babysitters,” the parent shared. “People do not realize that wealthier kids also get into a lot of legal troubles due to boredom. It is the other end of the poor kids getting into trouble. Lots of legal expenses to keep their record clean. Well at least we have kids to give our wealth to once we are dead.”
No amount of money can prepare you for the shift after children.
But another parent pointed out that no matter what your income level, children change your life. And that change might not be right for everyone.
“I think money can alleviate the stress of many different problems, but not all. No matter how much money you make, once you have a child your life changes from being about you to being about them,” the Redditor explained. “And you can use your money to delegate some of the workload of raising children, but you still have to make the decisions, you still have to provide the money for their life, and you still need to do the parenting etc. etc.”
Kids take a mental toll on most parents.
Another parent warned that even with money, you still have to keep up with all of the duties that parents have.
“We still both regret it daily. Our entire life is all about keeping our kids alive and well and I feel even with all the resources it’s still coming at a cost. Cost of losing my mental health, energy and being preoccupied by the mental load of managing my kids’ life,” the parent complained. “I still feel like their slave. Even though I’m outwardly a well off slave…I’m still a slave.”
Everything must align for a perfect family.
At least that’s what this parent believes.
“If you have loads of money (I am talking about things like taking a full time nanny on international vacations and lots of house help) and everyone is healthy, then in my opinion there will be no regret,” the person wrote.
Does money make people happy? It doesn’t seem so for everyone. It may make some aspects easier, but parenting is hard no matter what. In the end, it’s all about balance and living within our means. That’s a lot easier said than done these days, and we all feel it.
