Are you one of those people who’s constantly asked, “so, when are you going to have kids?” It can be an annoying question and make us wonder why there is such pressure to be a parent. After all, not having kids can be pretty fulfilling. You don’t burn through your monthly cash, plus, as a bonus, you get a nice 8-hour sleep a night.
If this is you or you know someone who is on the fence about having kids, you’re in luck. A recent Reddit thread followed Redditor, Ekudar asking what reasons childless Redditors had for not having kids. These are the top-voted responses.
#1. “Raised my siblings” – 24K Votes
Kelpflowerfish gave the top-voted response, “Raised my siblings. I’m done.” In reply, Livelaughween said, “Ugh. Teaching them to read, acting as a lifeguard any time we were around water, trying to patch their wounds or reassure them school isn’t so scary….
I don’t recall my parents being anywhere nearby in 95% of my childhood memories. I love kids but the stress of raising kids as a kid has deterred me from ever even considering that sort of responsibility again.”
#2. “Kids” – 22K Votes
Talk57’s simple contribution was “Kids.” Chickenmilk_ agreed saying, “I have kids and I can’t stand other kids. I also accept people can’t stand mine.”
Dahhhkness also added, “I swear, some of the Facebook pictures of my friends who have kids, it’s like you can see the children slowly sucking the life force from their parents over time.”
#3. “I am quite fond of sleep” – 21K Votes
Largelylegit contributed, “I am quite fond of sleep, flexibility and money.” KaiJonez added, “And spontaneity,”
Dahhhkness continued, “And lower stress, and no legal responsibility for another person’s entire well-being for 18 years.” Bumjiggy agreed, “Yea I’m not responsible enough to manage diabetes, let alone a whole-ass person.”
#4. “My wife is bipolar…” – 20K Votes
Aramor42 said that “My wife is bipolar and I have recurring depression. We figured adding kids to the mix wouldn’t be fair to anyone”
They later added an edit – “I’m keeping the hyphen since I firmly believe my wife has the ability to be on both the North and the South Pole. Not at the same time obviously.”
The comment resonated with Crimewavedd who said, “Even medicated and in therapy, I can get mean when I’m in a mood. My mom is the same way.
Some people shouldn’t be parents and I think it’s great that folks are realizing this instead of popping ‘em out and winging it as most of our parents did.”
#5. “I had a child born with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy” – 16K Votes
ExAxeman said that they “had a child born with Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy.
I felt incredibly guilty for bringing such a lovely child into this world with so much difficulty he faced. After he passed away, I never wanted to bring another child into this cruel world.”
A1rabbithole replied, “My brother’s got Duchennes and autism simultaneously. The autism is a blessing in disguise, as I dont think he spends much time depressed about his muscle condition. It’s still tough.”
#6. “Just never felt that maternal urge” – 15K Votes
LucyVialli ‘s response summed up a lot of others’ feelings on the subject. “Just never felt that maternal urge. And it’s cruel/wrong to have them unless you actually want them.”
Lilpieces13 said, “Tbh this is validating cause everyone I know has baby fever and all that and I just don’t get it.”
#7. “My parents” – 15K Votes
IsThataButtPlug reason for not having kids was, “My parents. They weren’t good examples to learn from.”
In reply, ACaffeinatedWandress said, “I tell people that I spent my childhood raising two kids I called mom and dad.
And then I never got to be young because I spent my 20s working off the fact that I didn’t have a childhood. Why would I want kids?”
#8. “Gestures around wildly” – 14K Votes
Armageddon was the theme behind Reboot82’s contribution, “Gestures around wildly.” F11tn88ss agreed, “lmao i can visualize this vividly.”
Counterboud also said, “…they’d grow up and have to work a job they probably hated to try to make ends meet, with even worse climate disaster on the horizon…I just can’t do it to another living being frankly. It would feel selfish.”
#9. “I’m too lazy to be a parent.” – 12K Votes
_Elisheba_ felt, “To be honest, I’m too lazy to be a parent. Plus I’m terrified of the idea of pregnancy and labor.”
#10. “Seeing them in the wild” – 8K Votes
The last of the top ten responses was from, TabbsTheBat who said, “Seeing them in the wild.”
Dahhhkness added, In high school, we had to do mandatory volunteer work our last quarter in senior year in order to graduate.
I did mine at a Head Start in my city, I was helping in the preschool one day when a kid named Shane rubbed peanut butter on my black suede Pumas, spat in my face, and ran away. Thankfully one of the teachers saw it happen.”
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The post 10 Reasons Why Having Kids Isn’t for You (And That’s Ok) first appeared on List Lovers.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Suzanne Tucker.