Costs of having children

It is only a few days into the academic calendar and the drama has already begun. The education alliance is calling for scrapping of registration fees; universities (and their residences) are oversubscribed; and the euphoria of the matric pass has long since evaporated.

Ron Derby’s column on youth unemployment and their disenchantment makes for scary reading ( Derby’s County January 1521). I have been saying for ages that we must blame the people who randomly bring kids into the world without any thought for their future. A friend of mine has his two grandchildren in a preschool and this costs him R4 000 a month. These are children under six years old.

We need to educate prospective parents about the costs of having children and the importance of giving a child the best possible start in life.

My other concern is that too many young people scoff at taking on menial jobs, even just to earn cash and gain work experience. There is this perception that a university degree is a ticket to a life of cruising.

The biggest problem in Africa is changing the mind-set that having many children gives some sort of status and a misguided affirmation of manhood and fertility. Tony Ball, Durban