Government funded information

The government, bless their little cotton socks, have funded an information pack from Fathers Direct, telling men what to expect, and how to behave, when having children. Aside from such gems as not having an affair when your wife is pregnant (really? I thought it was de rigeur...), it explains how children are expensive, messy and stressful. Which is all very obvious, but we do need the government to take that extra step and say what nobody's willing to admit: Having children ruins your life. You have no social life, no money, all your free time is spent looking after it, and then it gets older, demands more and more consumer goods and ends up mugging old ladies. Parents often come back with the "It's stressful but it's worth it" argument, trying to explain how the smile, or the first words make up for it. Bollocks, do they. They may be pleasant moments, but they're set against a backdrop of misery. How many of them think "I wish I'd never had children"? All of them, at some stage or other, but they can't afford to admit it, least of all to themselves. We need more honesty in this. Unfortunately, we're not going to get it, least of all from a government desperate to keep the next generation of tax-payers coming. But everybody else needs to think about it, and think hard. Having children ruins your life. Don't do it.