"My husband and I love kids, and we had always planned to have our own. But now we're in our early 30s and have realized kids are probably not in the cards financially-unless we can get some child care help from my in-laws. My husband and I have the regular problems everyone has: crushing student loans and inability to afford more than a one-bedroom apartment."
"I also have a chronic illness that requires expensive drugs and yanks me out of the workforce for chunks of time, and my husband is in a career field that's getting decimated by AI. We're trying to work around this. He's working on a career switch, and I've picked up a side gig to try to cover more medication costs during my good months. Together, we make too much to qualify for any type of social programs, but somehow we're still really financially stressed."
A couple in their early 30s loves children but faces financial realities that make having a baby unlikely without in-law childcare support. Both partners carry student loan debt and live in a one-bedroom apartment. One partner has a chronic illness requiring costly medications and intermittent time out of the workforce; the other faces job instability from AI and is attempting a career change. They earn too much for social programs yet remain financially strained. In-laws hint at wanting grandchildren but appear unable to provide financial help and hope to retire. The couple contemplates asking for heavy childcare involvement and grieves the possible loss of parenthood.
Read at Slate Magazine
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