You might spend your best years on children and get nothing but ingratitude and selfishness in return. Not always, but often enough to be a real risk — especially when parents don’t really raise their kids. And nowadays, that neglect has practically become a norm.

this qualifier is key.

You’re a distorted reflection of those who raised you and those who influenced you socially.

everybody has free will. yes, offspring can go off and become failures whether or not their family and friends and environment treated them right. more often than not, it is not the case. if your concern is the risk factor for awful parents, i agree 100%. it is incredibly easy to conceive a child, built into every human being's body. being a smart, good, decent parent? that requires work. if you go into it worrying about the risk of having a kid, but you do nothing to prepare it for life, then you have already failed. and should not be surprised when things turn out poorly.