Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

[NDAlum]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

Having a dog is great. She sleeps with me and is there any time I want a companion.

When I want a break I stick her outside to sniff around.

When I open the door she gets really excited and happy.

It's nice

[JBH3]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

Kinda surprised there are nearly 200 posts in this thread.

Still thrilled at this wealth of time and freedom that I have to my selfish selfitty self self self.

Still thrilled at the wonderful weekend had w/ the family.

Went to Reston Zoo with another couple who has a young son... got up close and personal w/ animals such as Bison, Antelope, Ostrich, Zebras, and Oxen.

Watched w/ joy at how amazed my 2yr old son was to be feeding baby lambs and goats w/ a baby bottle...after all it was just a yr and a half ago that he was being fed w/ a bottle, and now he is feeding a young animal.

You are such a firestarter lol go on with your bad self!

I was thinking he was such a something else.....

[12]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

Having a dog is great. She sleeps with me and is there any time I want a companion.

When I want a break I stick her outside to sniff around.

When I open the door she gets really excited and happy.

It's nice

When I read this, I had the voice of Charlie Tweeder in my head... Especially that last sentence.

[Pokes]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

I'll be honest here at 25 I have a steady gf and we've been talking about marriage. I would much rather have kids in the next few years and get the hard part of it (baby, toddler, early childhood years) out of the way while I'm younger and able than to be struggling with it when I'm mid 30s to early 40s.

My mom was in her mid 40s when she had me and my dad was well over 50. When I hit that age I want all my kids to have left the house years ago, not having to still deal with them.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

I'll be honest here at 25 I have a steady gf and we've been talking about marriage. I would much rather have kids in the next few years and get the hard part of it (baby, toddler, early childhood years) out of the way while I'm younger and able than to be struggling with it when I'm mid 30s to early 40s.

My mom was in her mid 40s when she had me and my dad was well over 50. When I hit that age I want all my kids to have left the house years ago, not having to still deal with them.

That's true but some/most 20 something year olds don't have their finances in order to responsibly handle having kids then.

[FlyingFinn]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

From a practicality stand point...I do get annoyed at Tax time when the wife and I don't get a whole lot back because we don't have dependents/kids.

Shouldn't there be a tax credit for NOT using the public education system?

Yeah, I never understood why the group of people that use more of the resources gets rewarded for doing so.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

I'm 43 and I have a son from my previous marriage, and married in to four more kids for a total of five. My son lives with us. When I moved here to be with my wife, the kids were 9, 12, 14 and 15 (this was in 2003) and my son was 8, so I've experienced a lot of drama and teen angst since then LOL.

I love all the kids as my own, but I have a full respect for those who choose not to have kids.

Further, I congratulate them for being responsible enough to recognize they don't want kids at this time (or ever, in some cases). People who have kids to try to 'fix' their marriage or just think it would be fun are doing the kids and themselves a dis-service, in my opinion.

Kids are great, but they are not a requirement for a happy, fulfilling life, no matter what anyone says. Everyone has their own lifestyle and point of view. I have a sister and a female friend, both over forty, that have no kids and no desire to HAVE kids. Their lifestyles are very busy, social, on-the-go, and they love their freedom and spending time with their husbands. I think they are very wise to recognize it, and it works for them, no regrets on their part.

Me? Truthfully, I was happy with no kids, and generally didn't want to be a father. But my ex-wife was absolutely gung-ho to be a mom so we had one, then I said "we can't do any better than this kid" and got a vasectomy. Little did I know what the future would bring. Almost 11 years later, we divorced.

You can't really control who you fall in love with, and I fell for my current wife, four kids and all. Now, with HER, if we had gotten together back in the day I would have wanted to have two kids, max...THEN I would have gotten fixed LOL.

Kids are hard, hard, hard work, and if they are difficult they can drain years away from you at double-time, no joke. Once you have kids, your life is no longer your own, they always have to come first (especially when they are young). A kid is an 18 year commitment.

On the other hand, kids can be quite a source of amusement and entertainment, and "I love you, Daddy" always sounds great (except when it's in the "I want something" tone).

Personally, I'm not the parenting type. I get highly highly stressed over the kids, because I'm a worrier, and I love them all. My natural son is a mini-me, so he actually causes me no stress because he's laid back and doesn't look for trouble. The other four have tempers and other qualities which make them more difficult, which I won't go into. Every school year feels like two or three years to me. I feel every moment of every day, time does not go by quickly during the school year.

How about now? Well, the oldest is 22 and currently is a baker living in Kentucky. She wants to move back to Memphis though, just because she loves it here so is in town for job interviews. She might live with us for a month or two until she gets her own apartment.

The 21 year old son is a Marine, stationed in San Diego (Pendleton). He's done with his service in about a year and six months and will either re-up or go to school.

The 19 year old is living in Wisconsin working at a daycare and she loves it up there.

The youngest boys are still at home with us, one is going to be a HS junior this year, the other a HS sophomore. I am absolutely LIVING for the last HS graduation and then I can exhale. They are great kids though.

So, having kids is a personal decision. For any of you guys or gals here that get hard-timed by your in-laws for a grandkid (or another one), or hard-timed by your married-with-kids friends to have kids, do what YOU as a couple want to do. If that's no kids, then so be it and the anxious in-laws and married-with-kids friends and family will have to deal with your decision.

Apologies for my long post.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

^^^^ Excellent post.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

Lt. Dan, fantastic post, sir. No need to apologize for a long, great post.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

^^^^ Excellent post.

Lt. Dan, fantastic post, sir. No need to apologize for a long, great post.

Thank you kindly, gents. I tend to run on a bit, but I felt very strongly about this thread.

I understand completely how much pressure can be applied to young couples to have kids by family and friends...and how young couples can at times feel stigmatized because they choose not to have kids, or can't for biological reasons. Riles me up LOL

[JBH3]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

Thank you kindly, gents. I tend to run on a bit, but I felt very strongly about this thread.

I understand completely how much pressure can be applied to young couples to have kids by family and friends...and how young couples can at times feel stigmatized because they choose not to have kids, or can't for biological reasons. Riles me up LOL

I thought your post was well thought out, but the impression I got from the jump was that those "glad" to not have kids felt a need to throw it in my face that they enjoy this "burden-free life", as they would put it.

However, then when folks would say how much more they love their life w/ kids, and how much better it has made them...or how they couldn't imagine ther lives w/o their families, then folks like dislimb and a few others were callous and rude w/ their posts. Saying those are just 'cliche' or canned responses from parents in an otherwise state of denial.

Yea...I'm glad people made responsible decisions NOT to have kids, but to boast in a thread about it, then knockdown others feelings once a contingency of people start reacting pro-parenthood is just petty and pathetic.

[55]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

^ Excellent post!

Spoiler

I don't know how I ever lived before reading it!

[JBH3]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

^ Excellent post!

Sometimes...don't you wish there was no T.O.S?

[NDAlum]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

You guys should just get on meebo and cuss each other out til blue in the face and call it a day!

[Vince]

Re: Anybody else glad that they DON'T have kids?

I'm 23 and as of now, would prefer to adopt an 8-9 year old and not have to deal with the craziness of diapers and baby food at 4am.