Are Children a Good Idea?
“Children have become a consumer decision,” writes Lydia’s House (Cincinnati, Ohio) co-director Mary Ellen Mitchell, “a luxury item not unlike an expensive mortgage or a Tesla: good for you if you can afford them, but don’t ask for help with that. The result is a collective lack of willingness to sacrifice for children that are not our own.” But her lived experience at Lydia’s House—along with the parenting practices of the Mbendjele people—suggests that there’s a way to celebrate the birth of every child and to support every mother.
