Mumbai Man’s Viral Post Reveals Why Millennials Are Avoiding Parenthood

A Mumbai man took to social media with a post—now viral—about the rising cost of raising a child. He highlighted the growing burden of school fees, which came to his attention after a conversation with his cousin, who is a school teacher. The post highlights why many young Indians today are rethinking parenthood, calling it a growing luxury few can manage.

In the now widely shared post, the man recounts a conversation with his cousin, a teacher at an international school, which opened his eyes to the steep financial demands of parenthood in the city. His informal calculation has sparked widespread discussion among young professionals, many of whom are questioning whether they can afford to have children at all.

The man estimates that the tuition fees for a typical international school range between ₹7 to ₹9 lakh annually. This figure excludes additional essentials like uniforms, textbooks, transport, and private tuition, which he pegs at another ₹2 to ₹4 lakh per year.

Together, the basic cost of education totals around ₹12 lakh a year.

Factoring in extracurricular activities, birthday parties, clothing, and general leisure spending—at an estimated ₹1 lakh a year—the total annual expense comes to approximately ₹13 lakh for just one child.

Taking a practical approach, the man notes that most parents typically spend around 30% of their income on their child. Based on that, to support a ₹13 lakh annual expenditure per child, a parent’s net income should be around ₹43–44 lakh.

But then comes the twist that truly resonated with readers—“Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost,” he writes, alluding to the ever-present burden of income tax. Accounting for a blended tax rate of 20%, the gross salary needed to sustain such a lifestyle rises to ₹55 lakh per annum.

'' And this is if you have ONE kid. Have another one, and these numbers increase substantially.I always used to wonder why people these days don’t want to have kids. Now I know why…,'' the post further mentions.

'' On a serious note - Yes education has become expensive across most schools. The sad part is the year on year cost increase is double of the inflation. It reminds of one of the movies that talks about Indian Parents will go to any extent (debt, what not) to educate their children.Another sad part - while most of India now has access to getting education, the cost is just crippling (the ROI is messed up)!This is where I miss the focus on public education systems,'' a user commented.

'' Two kids in icse , under 1.5 lakhs. Include books, transport and uniform, still under two lakhs. Hobby classes are separate, piano, carnatic vocals, cricket ~75 k a year. We buy a ton of books, sketch books and pencils, still under 3L. The rest is lifestyle,'' a second user wrote.

'' am shortlisting schools......and you get decent one's within lakh to 1.5/yr all inclusive. Now i am not saying this is less, but then your calculation is factoring fees of dhurubhai ambani school .....which shouldn't be the case, '' a third user said.