If kids is going to set you back by a few hundreds/thousands in your retirement, what are some driving force to have kids?

Kids make life complete - They are the fruits of your love and bring immense peace and happiness to your life -- their antics/tantrums/behaviour, wins/losses, joys ,trials and tribulations make you re-live your own childhood moments; you also begin to appreciate your parents' efforts when you raise children - so it's a wonderful experience,imo. Having said that, bearing and raising children is no mean task, physically,emotionally as well as financially -- the physical , mental and emotional stress you can handle only if you are financially comfortable. So the "kids" decision needs a fair bit of planning upfront-- suggest to invest 1215% of your take-home pay, towards this goal for at least 34 years -- have a certain comfort level, and then take the decision.

Meaning

Family?

Hello, raising a kid can be expensive for sure. especially in today's environment where rising cost of living can be stressful. but yeah they say that kids can bring you what money cant buy -- i would say its a whole different experience that makes life - life. there are also subsidies even for childcare, you can read up on what are the subsidies available to see if it helps you better.