>Having babies and raising them fully--especially doing it well--is not avoiding work.

It was pretty obvious from the context that the person you're replying to meant "working" as in "working a job for money".

You're right, but you ain't making the big bucks. Even then, they seem to find it rewarding enough.

If I was woman and I decided to have baby, I'd probably be either very stressed with my current job, or looking for something part time.

Now imagine if I live in Sweden or the like where the state hands out money for raising children.

wait, there are countries where the state does NOT hand out money for raising children?

In Canada and the US, the state will take children away from parents in poverty rather than hand out money. But then it gets really weird; they then place the children in foster homes, which get significant handouts.

Yeah, probably most? IDK, I don't have the stats at hand, but in plenty of places you're alone agains't what it comes to you, no matter your gender.

The personal and societal reasoning about parenthood changes, but they still do have babies, despite being on their own. For many people, children is their retirement plan.

Anyway, it's not the same to have a nice monthly stipend than a small cheque far in between. Spain, for example, is considerably worse financially-wise for raising a kid than countries more up north. Not only because the country job market is shit (which is important even if you don't work, because your partner has to bring money home), but because the state really doesn't do much about it.

Now imagine living in a place where there isn't really a functional state to look for.

It's not avoiding work, but it is making a choice to pursue one type of work (child rearing) over another (market labor in shitty, unfulfilling, but well-paid jobs). That's a choice women have substantially more ability to make than men.

Some replies might be missing the point that it may well be reasonable to pay people raising children. OP implies it's a handout. I would argue it's an unpaid service to society and those of you relying on a crop of well-educated non-criminals to be your employees and peers are freeloading.

I don't think that the parent comment meant that raising children isn't work. It absolutely is, and an extremely massive one too. What they most likely meant by "avoiding work" is "avoiding a paycheck job".

Having babies and raising them partly isn't avoiding work either. Babies get partly raised for all sorts of reasons.