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That’s a negative even depressing way of looking at it.

Life is a beautiful miracle with a extraordinary low probability that any one person would be born let alone survive.

As parents we (in partnership with whatever natural or supernatural being coordinates nature) bring that gift to our children. The rest is spot on. We owe it to them to make this a better world.

... but indebted sounds so negative.

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Many parents do feel as if the kids have a debt towards them. If someone thinks that way, it is as if they think their relationship with their children in a business way. THAT is the negative and depressing way of looking at it.

The catch is, even if we are to see the parent-child relationship as business, then the "debt" lies entirely to the parents.

In the good occasion, that does not happen, and the relationship is healthy. And if you, yourself, put yourself in debt of your children, it doesn't seem bad things come out of it. It's you making the decision for yourself, after all. Not inflicting it on someone else.

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