Reality check on raising kids

A baby plays with toys at the Monahans Bright Stars LLC daycare center in Monahans, Texas, U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018. More than 1,400 children were on daycare waiting lists in Midland and the surrounding area earlier this year, according to the latest available data. Its a statistic thats keeping both families and communities from taking full financial advantage of the Permian Basins rise to energy dominance. Photographer: Callaghan OHare/Bloomberg

I READ the letter “There are low cost ways to raise children” (The Star, Sept 12), which was written in response to the report “Malaysians find it’s too expensive to raise a child now” (The Star, Sept 11), with much interest as a working mother. I wish to speak up because gender roles and economics are among my areas of research as an academic. I also wish to speak up as a parent trying to raise two children in Klang Valley.

I do somewhat agree that parents should only spend within their means when deciding on expenditures that are related to their children. This should mean that four-figure strollers and baby shoes that sometimes cost more than adult shoes should be out of the question for the rational parent.