This is a "hot topic" for me. Families who keep having babies that they can't afford and then bitching about money just puts me on the edge of screaming at them. And before anyone says "you can get pregnant on BC too", I know that. I know BC fails sometimes, but at least they are trying to be responsible, correct?
If you want tons of kids, more power to you...especially if you can afford them. I'm not saying that people shouldn't have more than one or two kids, not at all. I personally think large families are wonderful. I wish I had a large family growing up.
I see a lot of women on some of these army wives pages complaining about not having enough money for christmas, or for diapers, or needing assistance with this or that. I completely understand that sometimes things happen and finance messes up pay and it could be you're just having a momentary problem. My issue lies with the ones who have kids already and already can't provide for them the way they would like. Then they get pregnant because they weren't careful enough to use birth control.
If you can't afford another baby, no reason is a good one to have one. Having "baby fever" or a recent deployment is not a good enough reason to bring another child into the world that you can't afford, in my opinion anyways... If you know you can barely make car payments, what makes you think you can afford a baby?
From the Tricare website:
Birth Control
TRICARE covers the following forms of birth control when prescribed by a TRICARE-authorized provider:
Contraceptive diaphragm, including measurement, purchase and replacement;
Intrauterine devices, including surgical insertion, removal and replacement;
Prescription contraceptives, including the Preven Emergency Contraceptive Kit containing special doses of regular birth control pills and a self-administered pregnancy test;
Surgical sterilization, male and female.
TRICARE does not cover:
Condoms;
Nonprescription spermicidal foams, jellies or sprays.
Something else I notice that happens - some men seem to like to pressure their wives into having more kids once they come home for deployment or before they leave. The cases I have seen like this are the ones who are trying keep their women tied down because they don't want them out doing things while they are gone. If you feel like this is your husband... run... this is controlling behavior and not cool.
Done with my rant now. =)
Tricare covers BC
LOVE it!!!! I tell people this every day. I swear sometimes I think its in the water.lol. I was on birth control for 5 years because we werent at the point where we could afford or ready for a baby. We only went off it because we want a baby. And whenever we get pregnant and have a child I will be going right back on birth control. More people need to be responsible. Its a human life not something you can just take back because you cant afford it.
ReplyDeleteim 28 and started taking bc at 16. I am not the best at remembering my pills and have forgotten 2-3 days at a time frequently. amazingly I have 2 kids, 3 yrs and 4 months, both of which I had stopped my pills for 3 months before getting prego. I know peoples bodies react differently to bc but I find it hard to believe that women get prego by missing 1-2 days when if u take combo pills( not mini pill) the instructions do not advise to use back up methods. I know the mini pill is iffy at best but most women should only need to take those if breast feeding or allergic to combo pills. Dont you think Your current kids and the any unborn child deserves better than barely scraping by?
ReplyDeleteI usually love your blog but man you have been all up on a high horse lately! I just don't really know what to think about it. I'm sure some fellow commenters will love flaming me and go ahead.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you even get off getting upset about this? You don't have to hear about people struggling you don't have to read about it either, ignore it.
Personally we will soon have 3 kids under 3 years old and I get your comments all the time. Sometimes I even get "you and your husband aren't responsible for repopulating the world you know" a lot.
These people who say they are struggling and they cannot afford their children often have other issues at hand, not just their children costing them money.
I really think you may offend many people with this post, myself included.
I have to agree with BC. I know it is everyones choice on how many kids to have or not to have, but if you are having financial problems, it is not the time to get pregnant. I can understand the rant, if you look at the Sears page there were many posts about how unfair it was that they did not get in and now they cannot have Christmas for their 6 kids. I am not a high ranking wife and I only have 3 children, but I can tell you this - I cannot afford another one. (I have been done having children for almost 7 years) While they were little, it was a piece of cake, I breast fed and we never went out to dinner. I coupon and we didnt have vacations. Now - I have a teenager - he eats more than I do and plays select sports. Baseball alone costs over $2000 a year. I paid less for him when he was little than I do now.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't care how many kids anyone decides to have, but when you have 6 kids, have not been on a vacation for 8 years and can't afford a new car or Christmas - DONT COMPLAIN...
To some of the previous comments: complaining about people complaining, isn't going to keep them from doing it. Just freaking ignore it....lol
ReplyDeleteMorgan, struggling sometimes to me is not the same as people who keep having kids when they can't afford the ones they have.
ReplyDeleteoh and I've been on my "high horse" lately? why? b/c i think people should be responsible when having kids? or b/c i was ashamed at how those military wives were acting all racist over soulja boy?
ReplyDeleteJamie Lynn,
ReplyDeleteI want to preface this comment by saying this: I do agree with you that people shouldn’t continue to have kids and then complain about how they can’t afford them. But I think the issue here is that they are complaining about it. I also have a problem with those that “accidently” have kids that they can’t afford. With that said, I don’t think people should not have kids just because money is tight. Many people choose to have a large family and honestly, if you are enlisted you will make sacrifices somewhere because the money will be tight. My husband is a SGM and we find ourselves trying to figure out where the money went sometimes. Our soldiers just don’t get paid enough. My mom had 6 kids and my dad served in the Marine Corp for 22 years. Was it tough on them financially? YES!!!! My dad was enlisted so the pay wasn’t great even when he was a senior NCO. But we are Catholic and my mom did not believe in birth control because of our religion. So, she continued to have kids and trusted that God would find a way and he did. There are periods of my childhood that I have no pictures of because my parents couldn’t afford film. But guess what, 30 years later, my parents have 6 grown children who are all productive citizens. And honestly, I don’t remember us going through rough times when I was growing up. All I know is that we always had clothes on our back, food to eat, and 2 loving parents. So, if people want to have 10 kids I don’t think it is our place to judge. It is a choice made between a husband and a wife and really nobody else’s business.
well said anonymous. I think the problem doesn't lie with how many kids people have. Look at our economy people. Food and gas is at a all time high. Clothes, Cost of living and many more necessities have gone up. Everyone is having some sort of financial impact on todays world. Birth control is not full proof believe me. I had have an 8 month old and was on the implant when I got pregnant. We were financially secure no however, we make it work. I think the problem is society puts to much preasure on parents. We have to give our kids everything and in all reality that is what is wrong with todays generation of kids. They are over weight, unrulely, and feel as if they are entitled to everything. IF we went back to the simply life where kids played outside, did chores, and respected their parents the world would be a much better place. I think that no matter how many kids you have weather your rich or poor you at some point going to have hardship. Its not our place to judge other becuase you never know when you might have to walk in there shoes. Having kids doesn't mean giving them everything it means loving them and providing a good life. Our society is way to messed up in its thinking of trying to tell people how many kids they should or shouldn't have. Some people don't take birth control because of their religion that doesn't make them a bad person.
ReplyDeleteMy blog wasn't about how many kids someone has... I could care less how many kids people have... Like I said in my blog post, I wish I had a large family growing up... I'm simply venting that - IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD MORE KIDS, STOP HAVING THEM OR STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE MONEY.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny because in my Tricare Prime handbook it's says that birth control is not covered.
ReplyDeleteTricare always covered my BC
ReplyDelete