Three Kids? You Showoffs

Washington Post ^ | Apr. 6, 2008 | Pamela Paul

[Politicalmom]

We only planned the first one. Luckily, the second came before we figured out what a handful the first was, otherwise he might be an only child. :p

[Antoninus]

If they're intellectually able, they can get scholarships. If they're highly motivated, they can pay for it themselves (work + loans.) If they're neither intellectually able nor highly motivated, why would you want to bust a gut paying for them to go to college?

Exactly. Our kids will know early on that if they want to go to college, they're going to have to get scholarships or work their butts off (or both, more likely).

I'm only going to offer to help pay if they go to one of the schools on my very short list of orthodox Catholic colleges or if they enter the seminary.

[Politicalmom]

I started kind of late (27), because we wanted to be financially stable.

My oldest has a lot of problems, and I am TIRED. I am fighting off baby fever these days. “You know what that turns into, you know what that turns into..... NO MORE BABIES!!”

:)

[CougarGA7]

We had planned at stopping at four when the second was born. Really, it was a good thing we did. My wife gets asthma when she’s pregnant and with the last one we almost lost him and we almost lost her too.

I attribute the fact that he’s such a goofball to the fact that he was deprived oxygen in the womb.

[CougarGA7]

It’s the gymnastics. Of my four, I have two in gymnastics (had three, but one is taking a break to try soccer). The cost for the soccer shoes, shin gaurds, uniform, special socks, and a soccer ball was less than one leo.

I recently built a balance beam because it was about the quarter of the price of buying one.

Gymnastics is an expensive sport.

[stevem]

I have 9 kids, that makes me a super showoff.

My parents had seven boys and no girls. My Dad always opined that he wanted at least to have his own pall bearers, but that's ancient history.

We had three, but that, too, is from days of yore. I s'pect kids were always an adventure financially speaking. I can honestly say I had enough, as they were a handful. My granddaughter is also a bundle of energy, and, while I wouldn't trade the minutes for anything, I can't express disappointment when her parents take over.

The thing of it is is, whenever I hear anything resembling a lament about too many kids, I try to think of which of my kids I would like to have lived without. The mere thought is pure torture.

[NavVet]

They know what causes that now. :)