Now that I have kids and am knee-deep in parenting, I forget that not everybody cares about my kids as much as I do.
Not everybody wants kids, and that is a perfectly valid decision.
For those of us who have forgotten how the other side lives, child free users of social media site Reddit, have some important insight to share. Here are the top 10 takeaways from the childfree community:
1. Adult time is for adults
Harsh but true. One childfree Redditor explains why most people don’t appreciate parents bringing their kids out at 10 p.m., “Went to a very obviously adult event at a bowling alley, crappy family comes in with sick kids, kids are obnoxious, mum tries to force feed her baby birds chicken soup… Ended up leaving and forfeiting the rest of our games we had paid for just because that family was so out of control.”
2. Childfree is a conscious choice
Some smart, self-aware adults know from a young age that they never want kids, “As a little girl, I never played with baby dolls or played ‘Mummy.’ I always played with stuffed animals instead. When I was about 10, I told my parents that I never wanted kids, just dogs and horses. They laughed and told me, ‘That will change!’ Eleven years later, and nothing has changed.”
3. Child-free people are still human
Childfree people have feelings and reproductive organs too. One Reddit thread reveals that infertility is still a struggle, even for the childfree, “I likely wouldn’t have been able to have children without medical intervention, and I’ve never wanted them anyway. Still, the discovery of my infertility was something I had to come to terms with. My initial reaction was elation, but there was a time when I went through a mourning phase of sorts. I felt miffed that my body formed in such a way that it denied me the choice.”
4. Fear of pregnancy is a real thing
Some women choose to never have kids because the thought of being pregnant is unbearable, “I have a horrible fear of getting pregnant. It’s getting so bad that I don’t even feel secure while having sex with my boyfriend.”
Top Comments
What about those of us who want children but are childless? We don't seem to get mentioned at all. Not everyone chooses to be childless.
This is about the child-free individuals, they are ones who do NOT want children unlike the child-less who usually want them but are unable to have one. Child free people simply have no desire to have children at all.
All ships rise in a high tide. Women need to focus energies on other things not shaming each other. Don't we have enough problems?