These people genuinely think that as long as they’re happy, their kids will be all right. “I’ll always be there to love them”, says one exceptionally narcissistic father, as if he knows he isn’t going to die. So very sure he is that whatever he wishes to give, will be exactly what his kids need – and heaven help those kids if they are ever ungrateful enough to want more.

I think it was the headline link on “gifting kids” that really got me more than anything. I thought we’d gotten rid of the notion that human beings are things that can be given as gifts. Especially since it’s not a gift if you’re paying hard cash to have the thing created to your custom specifications. (Question: if you hire a surrogate, and you die, can your share of the kid you paid for be left to someone in your will?)