Anyone here childfree?

[gardengirl13]

Originally Posted by isurus79

@Ron- Interesting. I guess I never thought about people with large families being negatively judged just as much as those with no family (ie. no children). I guess the jerks in this world will criticize everyone who isn't like themselves!

Bingo we have a winner! People seem to want to judge everyone who doesn't fit into their little mold. I never understand this!!??

And yes there are selfish reasons for both having and not having kids. My favorite for having is to have someone take care of you when you're old. I have been in enough homes for the elderly to know the saddest are those whose kids never visit. Even when they live close by they just never have the time to stop in to say hello even! It's horrible! It's also bad to expect your children to take care of you. Yes they, by rights, should visit and call and etc..... But to have them just for this purpose puts a whole lot of unfair strain on them. I've been asked this question a lot. "who will take care of you when you're old?" Even if I had a kid I would NEVER presume that to be their responsibility.

[bballr4567]

Originally Posted by gardengirl13

Bingo we have a winner! People seem to want to judge everyone who doesn't fit into their little mold. I never understand this!!??

And yes there are selfish reasons for both having and not having kids. My favorite for having is to have someone take care of you when you're old. I have been in enough homes for the elderly to know the saddest are those whose kids never visit. Even when they live close by they just never have the time to stop in to say hello even! It's horrible! It's also bad to expect your children to take care of you. Yes they, by rights, should visit and call and etc..... But to have them just for this purpose puts a whole lot of unfair strain on them. I've been asked this question a lot. "who will take care of you when you're old?" Even if I had a kid I would NEVER presume that to be their responsibility.

My mother has quite a lot of mental issues and I flat out told her a few years ago that I was not going to be the one to take care of her when she gets old. She seemed hurt for a few weeks but she completely understood that her mental issues were her own work and that she would have to live with it. It was very hard to tell her that but Im very grateful that she understands that we have our own lives to worry about.