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

[EweSheep]

Quote:
LOVE that quote "granddogs"!

 

[TigerLilly]

Personally, I admire those that choose NOT to have children. Not everyone is cut out for it for one reason or another. To me, it doesn't matter what the reason is, if it is a conscious decision. I only wish people that SHOULDN'T have children would've been as smart before they started having them instead of after they have ended up in the department of children & families system or the criminal system. The neglect/abuse of a child is probably the single-most subject that gets me fired up.
As for those who can't have children, for whatever reason, but would love to have them, my heart goes out to them.

 

[LovinMyPeeps]

Chickenzoo, I'm almost 40.. my maternal urge got derailed somewhere at birth. I see a baby and while other people ooooh and awwww, I run. Not to say I dont like kids, I do, especially ones that can tell me WHY they're crying. Do I get treated differently? Absolutely. Sometimes its apparent. Like people that give me a funny look when I say I am neither married nor have kids... immediately I am gay, or a spinster, or there's something wrong with me. I let them think it. I really dont care besides, I also dont think those are insults. I have slowly been "weeded out" by my friends with kids. My mother has finally stopped nagging me about grandbabies. Maybe because she realizes that my biological clock is just about up... thank goodness. I have chickens, quail, ducks, cats and I gratefully cuddle any other animal that crosses my path. I am a good friend. I try to be a good daughter and if that's not enough for some people, so be it. PS... I loved playing with trigger too!

ETA: I LOVE the people that ask me when I'm due because I'm chubby. I usually ball up my fist and tell them "anytime now..."

 

[featherz]

I'm 43. Never wanted kids. My hubby said he was fine either way and now he's always talking about how glad he is that we didn't have kids. I love kids (I'm a pediatric nurse) but I just didn't want any of my own. I got a little grief when I was younger but now no one even cares. I still have no regrets!

 

[True Grit]

I like kids but never wanted them. I was single until 52 and my parents had plenty of grandchildren so I never felt any pressure. Where I do miss out is at cocktail parties when I'm talking to the wives of my husband's colleagues, some of whom got married right out of college and stayed home with the kids. I just never know what to talk about - dogs? Doubtful. Hey, maybe chickens?

 

[spook]

EweSheep I can relate to your daughters "pain" in facing everyone with why you love kids and don't have any. I have PCOS and had everything out at 38.
Also, health reasons was one of the big things. Lost my dad at 52 from a heart/brain wiring issue. Mom with heart/diabetes etc issues, my brother had 3 kids and the joke I've always had with families that have 3 or more kids is that one always looks like the "milkman's". Its one of those genetic crap shoots! Of course I don't say that out loud to anyone, but for those that have different looking kids, my cousins girl has kids from 4 different fathers and the girls all look the same! That is life.
So for those that made the choice, kuddos to us, we have the rights in life to do as we please, and for those of us that have had "no choice" there is always adoption (of another chicken that is...

)

 

[Moabite]

I don't really understand all the pressure to have children. I knew from the time I was 10 that there was no way I was gonna bring a child in to this world. I could give a dozen good reasons too, like the cost, the responsibility, the extra pressure on natural resources, the apparent crime in discipling them, I could go on and on. The way I saw it, Children where the #1 STD!!! Then one day when I was 32, my boss got a letter from the Dept. of Family Services demanding all of my private information and a huge chunk of my income. Now, to make a long story short, my son is six and I read to him every night. He does the dishes once a day, gathers the eggs, cleans the chicken run and fills their feeder every week. Now I'm married, (not his bio-mother) and he has a little sister who is about to start walking. She was born at home with the help of a very skilled midwife and doula. Parenting is not easy, but it is surprisingly fulfilling. If you don't want to have children, then I can respect that. But you know, if it wasn't for accidents, a lot of us wouldn't be here.

 

[denim deb]

Glad to see so many other women on here who didn't like dolls. From the time I was little, I wanted 2 children, and that was it. I wanted them close in age (which didn't happen) and I wanted to be done w/having them by the time I was 30. (I was 1.5 months shy of my 30th birthday when I got pregnant w/my daughter.) That way, I figured I'd still be fairly young by the time they were grown, and I could still do the things that I wanted to do w/out constantly worrying about kids.

Right now, there are 2 babies in church. I think I may have held them 1x, but that's it. And, while I like children well enough, I do not like them enough to want to spend my days surrounded by them. I never liked to watch infants when I was young, but I didn't mind watching children. I'd read to them, play games w/them, etc, which I enjoyed, but I would be bored to tears watching a baby.

My kids are now almost 25 and 19. And, I'm hoping it will be awhile b4 I have grandchildren. I'm not ready for them.

Oh, and something I've heard of people doing who don't want kids, when asked, they'll burst into tears. (or pretend to) This gets the person who asked all embarrassed, and word quickly gets around NOT to ask.

 

[tnchickenut]

I choose not to HAVE kids.... the world is over-populated already. To me it has nothing to do with not liking kids or whatever... it is simply a morals decision. My brother is the same way. Sometimes I feel bad for my parents... mostly my father, because my brother is the last with his last name.... but still. There is a over-population problem, lack of food worldwide, and it will only get worse. Sorry if that erks anyone to face facts, but it's true. Just because in America we feel like we have plenty, doesn't mean there isn't a problem globally.... and how long before the subdivisions to house all these people take up all the land? Anyone who studies these things and understands these things would agree... bringing kids in the world is irrisponcible and selfish.

Sorry, but it's how I feel.

 

[PurpleChicken]

I find it a little ironic that a lot of couples that decide not to have kids would make such good parents. Maybe it's because they actually think about it.