If life is suffering, is it ethical to have kids?

I had an interesting conversation with my elder brother and wanted to hear what others think.

I asked him something that had been on my mind for a while. In Buddhism, the first noble truth taught by Gautama Buddha is that life is suffering. If that’s the case, is it ethically right to bring someone into this world knowing they will inevitably suffer?

His answer was pretty straightforward. He said there’s nothing wrong with having children if you’re responsible enough. According to him, if you have the financial stability, the maturity to take care of them properly, and you actively teach them how to deal with the world and its challenges, then bringing a child into the world isn’t unethical. In his view, suffering is part of life, but good parenting can prepare someone to handle it.

I’m still unsure where I stand. On one hand, suffering seems unavoidable. On the other hand, life also has meaning, joy, growth, and relationships that might make the suffering worthwhile.

So I’m curious how others think about this.

If life inevitably contains suffering, does that make having children ethically questionable? Or is it justified as long as parents are responsible and prepare their kids well?

Interested to hear different perspectives.