If wealthy Western mothers had heard opposition leader Tomislav Karamarko stating in his election campaign that (if the party wins the elections) the state would gift one thousand euros to every newborn child, it would be quite clear to them what kind of nation is in a ‘banana’.
Namely, it seems that in wealthier Western countries there is a trend of large families, and not among the average or poorer populace, but among the elite who would not receive a dime for expanding their families, but rather, on the contrary, show how generous their bank account is through their children. Children are, foreign media write, the ultimate status symbol of the new era. So, if you want to quickly and effectively show everyone how affluent you are, you should forget about Birkin bags, private jets, or winter vacations in luxury ski resorts and start having, or making children. As Wednesday Martin noted in her memoirs ‘Primates of Park Avenue’, this trend is spreading in luxurious New York neighborhoods at the speed of conception. She recently moved from New York’s West Side to the Upper East Side and quickly concluded that among affluent families, three children is what two used to be (a perfectly ordinary average), four what three used to be, and five the best indicator of the depth of someone’s pocket.
Three as the norm
As Business Insider states, children have become status symbols for a very simple reason: raising offspring is very difficult, especially in Western countries like America where the average cost of educating one child is around 250 thousand dollars, and in expensive cities or neighborhoods like New York’s Manhattan, it can climb to half a million dollars. When you add the costs of nannies, supplies, clothing, ultra-healthy food, and similar expenses, it is clear that the elite must have a few million dollars at their disposal if they want to raise a child according to the standard they are accustomed to. Comedian and screenwriter Tina Fey reflected on this trend four years ago in her piece for The New Yorker, which has actually become commonplace today. She also moved to New York’s Manhattan with her daughter and husband expecting that having one child would be the norm. Anyone who has watched the cult series ‘Sex and the City’ would likely think the same, where women are mostly free-spirited individuals who do not achieve motherhood until their thirties, or when they gather enough experience, romantic failures, and cathartic self-discoveries. As Fey notes, her expectations were wrong because her daughter is the only only child in her class. ‘With over four lovely children, often named after kings or fruits, parents send the world a message: ‘We have a four-room apartment and fifty thousand dollars for annual tuition per child. And how do you live?’ writes Fey. As Business Insider continues, or the aforementioned Wednesday Martin, children are not only indicators of family wealth but also reflect the image of ambitious mothers.
