It is too expensive to produce. Kampala has finally made me stop my dream of having three children. Two are already too many.
This morning, James a 30-year-old asked me: “Mustapha, I need advice. At day-care they are asking for Ugx. 1,500,000 per month to look after my 2-year-old baby. I cannot afford it.”
That baby is too young. Why not let him be with the mother? I asked.
To which James replied that the mother left us.
“She woke up one day and said, I am going back to school. Your child is here. You are not yet ready to marry me.” And she left. I have never had a call from her.
The fact that she could abandon a young innocent child with me, I am a lucky man that she left.
Ok, I said “pay the money for the day care if you cannot take the child to live with the grandparents on your side.”
“My salary is Ugx. 1m net. I cannot afford the cost of day care. I need to borrow to keep the child in school”, James said.
Well… in that case, become a stay at home dad and save Ugx. 500,000 monthly. Seriously, the cost of living is so high, and it calls for all of us to tighten our belts. The solution is not cutting costs, some costs cannot be cut.
It calls for working harder to increase our revenues.
Parenting is too expensive. The younger the baby, the more expensive.
Daycare is very expensive. Nursery expensive. Primary affordable and secondary not a problem.
Is government implementing family planning by making the cost of bringing up a child prohibitive? We need answers.
