Kos hidup tinggi nak bela anak pun tak mampu

Aku ada baca ayat kat satu poster kat hospital Pantai Bangsar. Lebih kurang camni la ayat dia : "Unplanned family members might not be a happy addition".

Kalau orang kita baca jer mesti fikir, apesal pulak tak hepi bila dapat baby? Anak kan pembawa rezeki.

Betul. Anak pembawa rezeki. Tapi kalau life asyik kat takuk tu ja, bini pulak terpregnant lagi dan lagi dan lagiii.... Boleh haru beb.

Semalam, terbaca artikel dalam NST. Tentang anak jugak: "Setting the price for  children". Tentang orang yang tak boleh ada anak. Bukan tak boleh dapat anak sebab masalah mandul ke apa (no offence ya), tapi sebab tak mampu nak tanggung kos untuk memiliki anak.

Nak buat anak senang. Orang tak menikah pun terbuat anak. Tapi nak besarkan anak dan nak bagi kualiti hidup yang baik pada anak bukan senang beb. Kualiti hidup tu bukan setakat bab makan, pakai, tempat tinggal jer oke. Kualiti hidup ni termasuk MASA yang kita dapat spend dengan anak-anak kita setiap hari.

Taraf hidup kat KL ni tinggi. Gaji pat lima ribu pun belum tentu mampu nak beli rumah. Rumah mahal kot. Nak beli yang murah (murah lah sangattttt.. *tangan ateh bahu mata songket  ke ateh*) pun, kena cari jauhhhh dari KL. Jauh sampai pegi balik keje nampak bulan bintang jer. Matahari timbul tenggelam pun tak perasan.

Life camni agak-agak elok ke nak bela budak? Setakat campak anak ke rumah pengasuh/taska/umah parents dari pagi sampai malam, pastu tengok muka anak pun taim budak tu dah tido.. rasa-rasa sampai tak kasih sayang yang kita berikan? Tepuk dahi, tanya diri sendiri.

Camne eh nak teruskan kehidupan jaman nijam? Kang kalau tak keje bertungkus lumus siang malam pagi petang, tak dapat extra income. Keje penting. Tak keje takde gaji. Takde gaji camne nak bayar sewa, kereta, makan, pakai segala. Kos anak lagi.

Tapi kalau berkeje bertungkus lumus untuk cari duit untuk family, tak cukup masa pulak untuk anak bini. Kurang kasih sayang, perhatian segala bagai. Kualiti hidup tarak. Masalah lain pulak melambak.

Haih. Apa pun tak boleh

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WITH exception to "the one per cent" and those who have their needs paid for by the public purse, it is impossible for ordinary adult Malaysians not to feel the pinch of the rapidly escalating cost of living. In fact, the use of the word "pinch" in relation to economics may have to be boarded out, because the reality for many is more like an amputation. While in the past it was possible to not only dream, but also reasonably expect to own a home, now, and possibly forever after, home ownership will remain only a bitter dream for many. As the New Sunday Times' cost of living series has shown over the past few weeks, more Malaysians are finding it harder to make ends meet.

Faster than it takes a wage earner to calculate whether he or she can afford to buy an apartment unit or house, the costs go up; so much so that the only way to catch up is to run 50 or 100km out of town. This, many people do, and then spend much of what is supposed to be quality social and family time commuting between home and office. It is an impractical solution. The reality for many, however, may be that they will live out their lives as renters, not owners. And even then, inner city space is fast being cleared up to make way for high-yielding luxury condominiums. For the ordinary Joe, it could feel very much like the economy is conspiring to squeeze one out of life altogether.

But when it gets to a point where thrifty couples cannot even realistically afford having one child, that is when life starts getting pointless. Not that children have ever been cheap. Indeed, conceiving a child should be a well thought out and calculated event. The issue of affordability is far more serious than that of a housing mortgage because with children, there is no possibility of a shortsale. (Unfortunately, "repossession" can occur in instances where children are undernourished or due to accidents caused by lack of supervision.) There are many things that a person can learn to forego: a car, house, fine dining, expensive jewellery. But most humans are hardwired to produce offspring -- parental desire being an important survival mechanism, even though there is currently no risk of the human species going extinct.

Would it be a good thing for people to start looking at progeny as a luxury possession? Children are usually seen as "precious" any way, and, like it or not, human life does have a price. That manifests itself in the hidden costs of living a decent life, like paying more to live in a safe area, eating nutritious meals and getting quality education. Without a doubt, family planning is vital. But it will surely be a sad day when parenthood goes up for auction

Sumber: http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/editorial/setting-the-price-for-children-1.339572#