Father of Eight Won't Pay for College - Hero or Villain?

[retired?]

Which Harry Chapin song?  Love that guy.

As someone else mentioned, as long as he was direct about his intentions.....perhaps starting to discuss when each child was 12-14 or so, then it is not a problem.  No obligation.  His money, he can do what he wants. 

Personally, though, I think the choice of having 8 kids and having less for each is somewhat poor planning.  Personal choice.  I am no fan of the Duggers, et al.  Some of his kids will likely want to have careers/lives that require college.....perhaps the cost will cause them to choose something else.  Again, no hardship, but perhaps he isn't doing the best he could.

8 kids is ridiculous....to me.  I cannot see having 7 and saying "let's have another.....why not?"  Again, personal choice, but geez.

[Skyhigh]

Which Harry Chapin song?  Love that guy.

As someone else mentioned, as long as he was direct about his intentions.....perhaps starting to discuss when each child was 12-14 or so, then it is not a problem.  No obligation.  His money, he can do what he wants. 

Personally, though, I think the choice of having 8 kids and having less for each is somewhat poor planning.  Personal choice.  I am no fan of the Duggers, et al.  Some of his kids will likely want to have careers/lives that require college.....perhaps the cost will cause them to choose something else.  Again, no hardship, but perhaps he isn't doing the best he could.

8 kids is ridiculous....to me.  I cannot see having 7 and saying "let's have another.....why not?"  Again, personal choice, but geez.

I do not believe that anyone who grows up in a house with 8 kids holds any delusions about their parents paying for college. Kids from big families become self reliant early on. If they want college they will find a way. I never thought that a paid for college education, company car, or expense account was in the parent-child contract anyway.

Skyhigh

[Lyssa]

I think you missed the "father of eight" part and maybe because your parents paid for college you don't have a good sense for how freaking expensive it is.

The guy had eight kids. If he wanted to be frugal my suggestion would have been,



For the rest, since he has decided to spend the minimum on his children, and turn their lives into a money-making scheme (his book), I am sure his children will remember this when he's old. A song by Harry Chapin comes to mind. Perhaps they'll tell him to fund his own medical care, and write a book about how to look after your elderly infirm relatives.

So the choice is....  either have children, or be frugal?  It can't be both?  You can't have children and be mindful of your expenditures at the same exact time?

As the grandchild of someone who was the last of nine children I don't look at my great grandparents through the same lens you insist this guy's children should view their parents.  What a ridiculous notion.  Thankfully it's irrelevant with Social Security and Medicare.

There is a lot of wiggle room between no children and eight children...

My father is the second youngest of twelve. But those were different times. What I do notice in his and his siblings stories is a lack of individual attention for and parental relationship with each. If it's a fulltime job to keep everyone fed and clothed while the mother is almost continuosly pregnant something has to give. And that guy's 'one size fits it all' approach to parenting confirms my secondhand experience that attention for individual differences is usually among the first things tossed out of the window.