Childfree

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Ya know, you really can still be a part of their lives. Take them a meal when the baby is born. Offer to sit for the kid so she can take a nap. Schedule a movie and let the dad watch the baby. Life doesn't stop when you have a child. It changes, but friends that leave and never come around? Don't need ya!!! As with any case of change in life.

 

[aggie9296]

Never wanted kids. Didn't have them. I just don't like them. I understand not really enjoying those people who GUSH about everything their kids do. So, maybe "uninteresting" is not the right word. Not having anything in common is probably more correct.

I'm guessing the OP was wondering if there were others who thought the same way. And there are.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Yes there are. GUSH is annoying no matter what the subject is.

Dang it my rabbit is eating dog food.

See ya later!

 

[cassie]

Just a couple observations. Not everyone is cut out to be a good parent. Unfortunately that doesn't stop a lot of people who really shouldn't be parents from having kids. Shortly after we were married when people would ask us when we were starting a family and we would say we didn't want to have children, the reactions were interesting. I found that the people who had children and were happy with them didn't care if we had any kids or not. The people who had kids and were obviously not happy with the joys of parenthood were very hostile about our decision. I chalked it up to a combination of jealousy and misery loves company. By the way, it wasn't because we didn't like kids, we just didn't want any. I like kids as long as someone has taken the time and trouble to civilize them. Brats I can't stand.

 

[Candiss]

I think everyone has their life to live and live it however you choose. BUT as I read this thread, I noticed a lot of judgment about us people with children, most of which is absurd. Of course, yes at times kids are brats but they are also amazing, wonderful, terrific little humans that make me the happiest I have ever been and I have never loved anything or anyone to the degree that I love my kids. OK, enough of the mooshy gooshy (sp??) stuff... Just so you know, I am still interesting (just as I was pre motherhood), ask anyone that knows me.

I have friends that do not have kids and you don’t have too lose a friendship, just be understanding that priorities change, we grow. That is life...

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Quote:
When I was a teen, I realized I was not mommy material. I am now 50 years old and have never once regreted my decision.

I would rather take care of the adults already stuck here on earth than to create my own little kingdom of mini-me's.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
When I was a teen, I realized I was not mommy material. I am now 50 years old and have never once regreted my decision.

I would rather take care of the adults already stuck here on earth than to create my own little kingdom of mini-me's.

57 here, also with no regrets.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I'm only 22 and unmarried, though not single, and I am undecided about having children. I know that if I did have children it would only be 1 or 2, and that I would be an overbearing mother. I also feel a little uncomfortable around most people's kids. I guess if I have a child, then "yay, that's great," but I'm certainly never going to try. I don't really think I'm meant to, anyway, since I have PCOS, and it would cost me a lot of money to purposely have a kid.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Me, I'm child-free. I don't have any attachment to kids, but if I look at a kitten I'll start crying. Guess that's why I have a butload of animals.

 

[sheaviance1]

I have three children of my own, two step children, and two step-grandchildren. Live is busy, full of love, but not always peachy. I have several people in my life who are childless, some by choice, some by design. I find that I have to tread very lightly when in conversation with a couple of them. My cousin, who wants a child more than anything in this world, is married to a man who does not want another child. He has a child from his first marriage that he has absolutely nothing to do with. I only speak to her about my children if she specifically asks about them. You can hear in her voice and see in her expression that it hurts her to hear about them. My next door neighbor has no children because she could never get pregnant. She is now in her sixties, yet still longs to have a child of her own. I have to tread lightly with her as well. I do know several people who have always said they don't want any children of their own. I don't tread lightly with them at all. As a matter of fact, my family is usually the first thing they ask me about. Whether they do that to get the inevitable conversation about my family out of the way first so we can move on to other topics, or if it is their acknowledgment of what is most important to my world, I don't know. I know that we have many other interests in common. I love living vicariously through them and their travels, and they enjoy hearing about the exploits of our family and some of the craziness that makes up my life. I think the one thing that makes the most difference is that they truly love me, and I truly love them, so there is never an awkward moment between us.

I don't judge people who don't want to have children of their own, but I know plenty of people who do. These are the same people who would make a good candidate to be a Stepford wife. I think that we all live in constant judgment by others. I get it a lot because I don't drive a brand-new car, build a new house, or go shopping all the time. My house does not remain so spotless that you could eat off of any surface, and it is not decorated like the cover of a magazine. When you step in my home, you see evidence of the life we live throughout our home.

I have to say though, I can see in some people what was said about some parents being uninteresting. You can only hear so much about the color of a baby's poop without going a little nuts, even if you do have kids of your own. Some people go overboard, but that is true about some people of any "group" be it parents, pet owners, snorkelers, etc.