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Comment by cercatrova | Hacker News Reader

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cercatrova·

Another solution is to not have kids, interestingly enough.

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Another one is to have a stay at home mom.

Or dad.

Or a nanny.

What is the point of "productivity" if you're not accomplishing what is important in your life?

That's predicated on the false assumption that everyone finds kids important. Many certainly do not, like myself. I'd rather have more money and time than raise a child.

Simple question: If not your kids, who's going to be at your funeral?

This is a strange justification for having children, thinking of who'd be at one's funeral. I don't care, because I'd be dead, incapable of caring.

You say you don't care, so if not your kids who's going to be at your funeral?

I just said it doesn't matter, because I'm dead. But if I'm going to answer your question, friends and family would be there, just like everyone else's funeral. Even if I don't have kids, I will have other friends and family who do.

As someone with a kid, this seems like a very bad reason to have kids.

At my funeral, since I will be dead, the only ones who will (presumably) be suffering at that point will be the mourners, so arguably, the less people at one’s funeral, the less overall suffering there is.

Funeral's don't have to be about suffering - Death isn't the end of the story for many people of faith. Leaving a legacy to the next generation is quite possibly the most meaningful thing we are capable of doing, no?

In terms of the lens of the Regret Minimization Framework (for me) I would regret not having the family I'm leaving my legacy to at my funeral.

My wife? My friends? Honestly though I don't care who is at my funeral, I'll be dead

Sorry, horse has left the barn on that one.

Sure, I meant for other readers who have not (yet?) had kids.

A wrong but self-correcting strategy.

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