Anyone else decide not to have children... R U treated differently?

[Sillystunt]

Quote:
LMAO! RIGHT THERE WITH YA! i had 2 four year olds both of different races. People would stare and try to figure out what happened. My husband smiled & said, "They are twins, she cheated with a black man!" They lady almost choked to death & we just laughed so hard. The lady checking us out at walmart was confused and after the first lady walked away, we told her we were foster parents. Then she almost choked laughing.................

 

[spook]

I think what gets me with not having kids is when your friends and family come to you with issues and you tell them that you would expect a few rules from anyone, friends/family then these people who whine about their kids turn to you and say, "Well, you don't have kids, what do you know".
Then the religious people (not only) that know us often ask when we are going to marry. Then (my other half) once these people realize that we will not, nor can I have children, they try to "hook" him up with another woman that can have babies. Good grief I say. Glad he is on my side! LOL!!!!

In the 50s, 60s it was expected to have babies. 70's free choice came in, yet women were still expected to reproduce. 80's careers became a dream come true and then in the 90's we openly chose to be kid free and now, people seem to be back sliding in the need to have babies again. Perhaps its just the area I"m in.

Great topic guys!

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Kuddos to you for not having kids! WOOT!

It's not for everybody. I have two and I love them to death, but would it have been OK if I hadn't had any? yep.

I am not much of a kid person. DD is in scouts now and they needed a new scout leader. I just looked at them like what? I don't like kids especially gaggles of little girls shudder.....


So DH - who loves kids and gets along great with them - is now a girl scout leader!

I had actually been told I could not have kids so here was me and DH on our honeymoon - honeymooning our little hearts out and I came home with an extra special souvenir.

Dang doctors.

Being an aunt is the greatest! Take em cool places, play like crazy, fill em full of sugar, get them over excited, and over tired and take em home! And remember to give presents that make lots of noise! Or my favorite sand art!!!

 

[StupidBird]

we've loaned out our kids to childless friends who were wondering about maybe...



...now they're still childless.

 

[Illia]

Wow, and I thought I was just the odd one out for thinking this. But ahoy, there's a whole thread!

I too have had no desire, throughout all my life, to have kids. My chickens/livestock are my kids.

Really, there's SO much poverty, demand for food, sad parenting, overpopulation that goes on in the world - Why in the world, honestly, should anyone have another kid unless they KNOW, absolutely, that the kid will grow up healthy, happy, and not in poverty? And at the same time, that the parent will be healthy, happy, and not in poverty? I just don't want to pop out a kid just to have it also demand to the world its money, food, space, and beliefs which are likely quite opposing to the rest of the population. Sorry for sounding cynical. We have over 6 billion people on the planet, we are in NO rush to populate for survival

Also, I too just wasn't really the kind to play with dolls, and imagine having babies and kids and all. . . Just isn't my thing. Well, there's pets and livestock and gardening though. That's my "nurturing."

Big support and agreement for everyone else here though!

 

[jerseygirl1]

My DH and I met later in life, and it was just not really an option for us. Had we been younger, maybe, but probably not. All of our friends have kids, and we love them dearly, but are quite content to have our furry family together. I find it quite rude though,not to get invited to their kids' functions, when others do just because they have kids. So be it. We're happy.

 

[agnes_day]

Quote:
yeah, because whos business is it anyways? but at the other end of the spectrum, i have people ask me all the time if my kids "have the same dad" which is also rude..i make it a personal rule never to ask about personal business, ever because you never know what is going on in that persons life and your nosy question could ruin their day.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
yeah, because whos business is it anyways? but at the other end of the spectrum, i have people ask me all the time if my kids "have the same dad" which is also rude..i make it a personal rule never to ask about personal business, ever because you never know what is going on in that persons life and your nosy question could ruin their day.

I came from a family of 11 kids - And my mom gets the same "from the same dad; how many dads were there" stuff. . .

 

[Orchid]

I adore my two kids, but I am not a "kid person" at all. I never planned on having kids, but DS #1 was a surprise, and when he was about 3 I thought he deserved a sibling (I have a brother and a sister and can't imagine not having at least on sibling) so we also have DS #2. They are great kids and now that they're here I wouldn't trade them for anything, but I wouldn't have felt I was missing out on anything if we hadn't had children, either.

If kids came at around age 3 and a person could avoid that whole baby thing, I might have had a few more.

Childbirth is nothing to be afraid of, it only lasts a couple of days at most...but the puking, sleepless nights, and poopy diapers with babies last for months and months and months...

 

[cassie]

My husband and I decided early on that we did not want children. Some people gave us a lot of grief about it but most didn't care one way or the other. I did notice something though. The people that were the worst and unhappiest parents were the ones that gave us the most static about our decision to remain childless. The ones that seemed happy with their children and themselves didn't care whether we had kids or not. BTW, I was married 45 years and never once have I regretted my decision.