Quote:
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Parenting standards have become “far more draconian” since O’Reilly raised her kids in the ’80s and ’90s, she says, pointing to a confluence of forces—the rise of materialism, consumerism, neoliberalism and social media—turning parenthood into a performance. Parents now raise children in a far more difficult, competitive world and are pressured to do more with far less, she says: “Expectations have been ramped up to such a point that standards are impossible to achieve.”
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This jumped out at me. Actual parenting is pretty easy once you drop out all of society's expectations on you. In terms of time commitment it can be managed. You just have to make the choice to be an adequate parent and not the perfect parent. And to ensure that you take time for yourself to do the things that you want even if it comes at the expense of something your child wants.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't regret having children and some do it much more sounds like they regret how they allowed the institution of parenting to affect their life.