Let's get some people riled up.

I'm going to do it. I'm going to talk about WIC and what I find lame about it.

Let me first say though, that when women ~need~ it, I think it's a great program. When buying milk and fruits and cereal is a hardship, having this program available is a godsend.

But here it is ... Qualifying for WIC does not mean you should take it.

This is a program of need, not want. I can't tell you the number of people I see whipping out their WIC forms at the grocery store while the rest of their groceries include high priced steaks and sodas. WIC is not so you just can get free things. It's for women who ~need~ help buying these items to stay healthy during pregnancy and allow their children to be healthy. If you honestly don't need it, why take it? It's like going to the soup kitchen for dinner when you have a pocket full of money.

Hey, things are hard right now. Gas prices are crazy. The cost of living is going up. The job market isn't the best. I understand WIC does allow many, many, many families to not worry about budgeting for these items, so they can afford gas and their mortgage or rent. But when families use this program to get free items and then use the money they "save" on McDonald's everyday? Yeah, that bothers me.

Now, I don't think people on WIC should not go out and splurge on going out to dinner or buying steaks. I don't believe in keeping the 'needy' down. But when the recipients aren't really needy, I think it's really immoral to TAKE. If WIC really helps you on a month to month basis - great, it's a program for you. But if WIC simply allows you to get some things you would normally buy for free? Yeah. That's my point.

Another thing I think WIC is a disadvantage for is breastfeeding. WIC just gives out free formula. For women on the fence about breastfeeding, the aspect of free formula gives an advantage to simply giving up on breastfeeding.

I'm pro-breastfeeding but I'm not anti-formula. If formula is the right choice for you, great. But I do believe there are advantages to breastfeeding and if possible, breastfeeding should be at least tried. I think too many women give up on it too early. True, many women cannot breastfeed, but I think that number is actually smaller than the amount of women who say so. It can be very hard, very frustrating and very painful. It can be a struggle. Sometimes it takes some serious motivation to push through this struggle. WIC dangles free formula in front of every woman on the program - and many just say "screw this" and takes the formula, when they really may have been able to overcome whatever breastfeeding issue they had.

Let me give an example. One of the teachers at my daughter's school was complaining about her milk not drying up. I asked her if she was done breastfeeding and her reply was "Why would I do that when I get free formula from WIC?". Ugh. I said "It's not free, everyone with a job pays for it." And she laughed saying "that's true! If you want to, you can write a check directly to me!" and continued to laugh and laugh. (hence the reason this whole subject is on my mind) Maybe she would have given breastfeeding a shot if she had to pay for formula. But maybe not.

So that's my opinion on the subject.

And just to let you know, I'm not going to create a big debate here in the comments. You can agree. You can disagree. But PLEASE understand I know there are two sides to every subject. Usually posts like this will create a huge amount of personal stories which points out why I am "wrong", but understand that I ~know~ there are going to be those stories. I understand some women really can ~not~ breastfeed. I understand some families really need WIC. No need for anyone to take this personally. If WIC really helped you financially, I'm happy it worked for you, as you are the type of family it was designed for. If you really couldn't breastfeed or if you simply choose not to, I'm glad formula is such a great product these days.

I'm simply giving my opinion on those who really do ~not~ need WIC but take it anyway. Or those who could have breastfed, but the aspect of free formula was what changed their minds. That's all.