Last week’s announcement that the government would cut the baby bonus for new parents from $5400 to $5000 attracted plenty of criticism last week, with Tony Abbott calling it "a rip-off to the forgotten families of Australia".

But the overwhelming majority of online commenters seemed to support the cut - with some saying the ‘’middle class welfare’’ should be scrapped altogether. Older commenters pointed out that they received little or nothing when they raised kids. Many took aim at bonus recipients, saying they were part of an entitled, welfare-dependent generation. Others said the bonus encouraged a generation full of young, single mums and bogans who were having babies to buy plasma TVs, stereos and PlayStations.

I have no problem with the cut - $5000 is still pretty generous. But making generalisations about an entire generation of parents simply because the government gives them more support than previous generations seems a bit ridiculous – as does making assumptions about the ways they spend the money and parent their children.

Admittedly, I have heard of some parents who have had a child for the money, but they are not the majority. It can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise a child from birth. Any person who would overlook the long-lasting costs and responsibilities of having a child for a quick payout is exceptionally stupid, lazy and irresponsible. There are people with those attributes in every generation.

Any person offered $5000 as they were starting a family would accept it - that doesn't make them entitled, lazy or dependent.