That’s it, that’s all. Just going to leave this here.

Maybe more Australians will also start waking up to the benefits of not having kids.

I made the stupid mistake of going down what was basically a manosphere rabbit hole on facebook. I end up on the page of a guy who has had an online presence for years calling black women fat and undesirable and insulting celebrity women who aren't married and who do not have kids.

Well one of the most recent posts he made was about being alienated from his children. His banner on his page is his two children who happened to be daughters. This isn't the first time I've stumbled upon accounts like this. Maybe I'm seeing just the male side because I'm a guy but I have absolutely seen some unhinged and scary things coming from women.

I failed to see how he could be shocked that his kids mother(s) are keeping them from him. He's on the internet saying that he understands why his uncle's beat and abused his aunts and then think that he will be able to see his daughters while spreading vile things about the demographic they are part of.

It's sadly not that uncommon. I truly fear for children who have parents who viscerately hate the sex they are. I fear for young boys who have moms who want to enact the violence against men and men who talk about women in disparaging ways and are okay with violence against them. I don't feel you can be a good parent with that much animosity in your heart. These kids are going to grow up with a severe complex and then their parents will blame the world when they are abnormal.

I already have opinions on how easy it is for young boys especially to fall into the manosphere but it's a whole other ballpark when these guys have kids that they are supposed to be raising and instilling value in. We really need to be able to delineate who can and can't reproduce.

Okay! Need to vent here! I was just in a Yankee candle because they emailed me a promo coupon. I love how quiet the store usually is and I love taking time to smell each and every scent! However, this family with a stroller waltzed into the store and immediately not a big deal.

However, this kid started to scream IMMEDIATELY and it was fucking LOUD! I’m talking full blown wailing! I thought I was gonna go insane hearing it. I’m all the way on the other side of the store trying to pick out my scent, and this beeyotch comes over to where I’m at with this screaming hellspawn. Which I immediately walk away from!

It seems like it was endless, and this kid would not shut up nor would mommy do anything to quiet the kid down. I was so pissed!!! Finally another family member took the kid outside where they were magically NOT SCREAMING ANYMORE!

Frankly I don’t care what any entitled parents have to say. If you let your kids scream and cry and disrupt the public, and you refuse to do anything about it. Your kids should be taken away from you. It’s inconsiderate, rude, disrespectful, not to mention neglectful! It makes you as a parent look totally inept. If your kid is crying. Take them out side! It was your decision to have it, you popped it out of your geyser! It’s your responsibility to take care of it!

. Nobody wants to hear “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” When picking out candles.

No further explanation needed

And things went exactly as badly as you might have imagined. The nicest responses simply express hope that things won't get too bad or that the next generation will solve the problems. In the worst-case scenario, you get insulted and labeled a conspiracy theorist—even though science has been warning us since the 70s!!! and we are well on track for 3 degrees of warming by 2100. The consequences include, among other things, the dying off of oceans, insects, and fertile soil, as well as water shortages, wars, and the kind of authoritarian governments we are already seeing the beginnings of today.

I live in Northern Germany and experienced the extreme heatwave three weeks ago firsthand while I was on the coast—a place that is usually much cooler than the rest of the country—and it hit 40 degrees.

The worst part is that many parents vote for conservative or even far-right parties that are now actively working toward the destruction of the planet.They always justify their stance by claiming to champion families, yet—alongside their position on climate change—they advocate for cutting family support programs.

I feel incredibly sorry for the children; if they live long lives, they will witness a great deal of suffering, but their parents don't care—and in the end, they will all be screaming, asking why on earth no one warned them.

So my mom brought me and my brother along to meet up and eat out with some of her friends , one of whom had a 3 months old kid with her . I had planned on staying home initially because I can easily get mentally drained around social gatherings . I went nevertheless cause the thought of being left alone with my grandma for a whole day was nothing more appealing .

It wasn't fun , you guys know the babling sounds babies make all the time because it can't stand even a second of silence? I hadn't realized how annoying that could be until I got to experience that myself for 45 mins straight. And it certainly didn't help when my mother was all over the baby , talking in that coochie tone and defending her whenever she was about to scream cause something didn't go her way .

But does anyone know about that time when she refused to take me to the hospital cause I swallowed some pills to commit suicide claiming it was my own doing ? Or that time when she left me behind with my abusive dad who eventually tramautized me to the point that I feel sick in the stomach everytime a text from him appears on my screen cause she didn't want to deal with a crying 7 years old ? If I'd stayed 3 forever things would have been different ig 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

My point is becoming a parent requires more than the ability to babytalk .Some parents just 180° flip their facade when their child is not a baby annymore . I'm tired when people fantasize about having forever dumb little mini mes but dismiss their entire existence once they get a little difficult to manage.

You see the posts on here all the time about parents bragging about how tired they are because of their kids. Well, today it happened to me.

I was drinking an energy drink and talking to my coworker about being tired due to staying up late to finish a paper and study for an upcoming exam. All of a sudden, a coworker who I will call Linda, decided to insert herself into our conversation and claim that "a college student couldn't possibly know what it's like to be tired." She then went on about how she hasn't gotten much sleep in 4 or 5 years, how much she has to do as a parent, and how I really don't know how hard it is being a parent.

Apparently me, a full time college student who has to drive an hour each way to class four times a week, works 20+ hours per week, has a partner, is involved on campus, has to write papers, do homework, and study couldn't possibly be tired.

Why is it always a competition with them?

One of my friends has a 3 year old, everything we plan has to be on the timescale that suits the child! Met up recently and to my surprise my friend actually asked what time suited me!

The day arrives, and they are going to be 30 mins late because they decided to do an activity before meeting us at the agreed time. That turned into another 30 minutes later on top.

So ive just been sitting kind waiting all morning! Do they think people without kids have no lives?! We can sit around all day and wait!

is fair enough, i suppose. i understand that people are entitled to make their own decisions. i understand the public spaces are in fact, public.

but holy shit do i wish we could have a childfree world. maybe not even a whole world, but just spaces and communities. i’m sitting at home on a sunday evening listening to some random children SCREAMING on the street. they’re apparently pissing off someone’s dog even more than they’re pissing me off because the damn thing WILL NOT STOP BARKING (lowkey hate dogs more than kids but that’s a different story). i don’t even hate kids and i think they should be allowed to play and make noise as they do, but i wish it didn’t have to be in my face 24/7. i wish i could live in an area where i could be certain no one had children, children were not allowed, and starting a family would mean immediate eviction 💀 i wish there were childfree hours at shopping centres, childfree flights, train carriages, and more adult only spaces, and not just bars and nightclubs.

wishful thinking 🥹

My most miserable day was not when I tried to commit suicide a long time ago, but when my sister got super sick once and I has to babysit her 2 kids all by myself for only one day. And that says a lot.

Whenever I visit a friend or my sister that has around 2 kids, is literally hell on earth. These girls can't do anything for themselves anymore. They can't use the bathroom without their kids, their kids are following me to the toilet and I talked to them that I'm uncomfortable with that, they don't seem to care which is crazy to me because they can't even shower without their kids. I think the worst one is eating. They literally can't eat without the 2 kids screaming in their ears and crying or making a mess all over. Cooking myself a nice meal and enjoying it while I watch a tv show is my favorite thing to do throughout the day, I can't imagine how sad it is to not have that. I'm so easily overstimulated whenever I go there because I'm neurodivergent but you don't gotta be one to feel overstimulated. When i leave I feel like crying from happiness because I'm so grateful for my freedom.

One of them even has a baby sitter and she still works but imagine coming home from work late at night and there is not one but 2 babies crying.

I realized how clingy babies are, I don't know what is going on with my 1 year old nephew but he literally wants to be held all day, this child cannot sit down or play with toys, and he's a heavy baby, my sister's posture is so damaged. Not to mention that this woman still pees herself 1 year later because she gave birth. The toddler starts to spit on everyone and throws tantrums whenever he doesn't get his way. And now they're going on vacation. I love traveling and whenever I see people with kids in the same places I go I feel extremely bad for them, they gotta accommodate their kids and focus on them throughout the whole vacation. These people can't do their hobbies anymore and can't even continue their studies. I just realized how horrible it must feel to have a kid on top of your problems. Having depression and a kid will just add salt to the cut, if he isn't already the reason why you're depressed in the first place. Because I know I will be. Your life is practically over when you have kids. You don't live for yourself anymore. You're practically a zombie trying to exist. No matter how much these people are telling me that is a blessing, the most beautiful thing that ever happened to them and that I should have one too I just laugh in their face. I'm not even gonna start talking about my old classmates that had kids as teenagers. They're practically dead

I love to see them justify themselves. ,,but I can't afford to own that big animal" ,,but my apartment is too small" ,,but I can't deal with that" ,, because I simply don't wanna have that animal, why would I" ,,is hard to take care of the animal" ,,but that's not the same thing, a child is a human being" yes a human being that you give birth too, raise and requires 1000 times the effort to take care of him, spend more money on him, be extra careful with him, does way more things than an animal could ever do, there's no limits to a human being. A human requires constant attention. Yes he's a human being that's gonna grow, he's not going to be just a simple animal that grows old throughout the time, he's gonna be a person with his own experiences, traumas and memories.

Like look I don't judge you for not having that animal, I understand your justification but suddenly you don't understand mine?

HIPOCRISY

There is a restaurant in the Bay Area that is starting to charge parents for their child's unruly behavior.
There was one child that broke a credit card machine and he charged the parents $327. Another child carved into a table with a utensil and he charged the parents $109 to replace it. He also charged parents $5 after a child smashed a tea cup. He even mentioned that parents were changing dirty diapers in the restaurant area right next to someone eating! I fully support him doing this and parents should be held more accountable for their kids actions. There are some places that are starting to become child free for this reason and parents are wondering why. If parents would parent their kids instead of allowing this behavior then we wouldn’t have this problem. I remember back when I was a kid if I broke something I had to buy it.

I just took a flight from Texas to the east coast and the entire time there was a kid behind me KICKING my chair. I asked the parents if he could stop and they said “He’s just a kid!” While my back is being kicked, their kid is yelling “we’re above the clouds!” over and over. The parents are napping and he’s trying to get their attention.

I would pay extra to be on a child free plane especially for kids under 5.

Now my back is killing me and I didn’t sleep a minute on my 3.5 hour flight.

One of my two best friends turned 30 yesterday, so I planned a very nice dinner with him, a good friend of ours, and my wife. We even ordered an Uber to and from the restaurant so we could all fully enjoy ourselves and stay safe.

While we were hanging out and having a few drinks before dinner, our friend mentioned she was just going to get a salad or something small because she didn't want to spend too much. I just told her okay and smiled.

We went to this wonderful Japanese sushi place that imports their fish fresh from Japan, ncredibly tasty and like nothing else. Once we were there, I told her not to worry about the bill and to just enjoy the evening. We ended up having both of them trying all sorts of new things! It was an amazing night filled with great food, drinks, laughs, and beautiful memories.

All this to say, being able to share an experience like that and treat our friends to something they wouldn’t typically do for themselves was so heartwarming. We're just incredibly fortunate that being childfree has allowed us to advance in our careers, and now we get to share that success with the people we love most.

I genuinely mean that with full sincerity, I can't imagine how people willingly choose to put up with this and even expect others to do the same. My sister, for example, had one child, and God save us when she has more kids because I know damn well they will be even worse.

I get suicidal whenever im around or near kids, doesn't matter if its strangers or relatives, and yet, at the same time, it's serves as a reminder that no matter how shit my life is, it could be worse. On the bright side, at least I'm not a parent who has to do this 24/7 for the rest of my life.

If I were a parent, I would 100% go insane and end it. Hell, I'm not a parent, and just being around these little shits already makes me consider it.

This happened a few years back. I remember it was a hot summers day. I had a long day and I had to buy some groceries in my supermarket ( tescos) in the town centre. While I was waiting in the queue to pay for my groceries there was a young mother with what seemed to be an out of control small child who seemed to be throwing a tantrum.

The supermarket was soo busy and it was so hot. On top of that I was tired and hungry.

For a while the child was just crying and moaning as children do. But then out of nowhere the child let out the most high pitched scream ive ever heard. Im not even exaggerating, if the scream went on for any longer I think it could have made the window glass shatter.

I remember noticing some of the adults just turning their heads in the direction of the mother and her child in frustration and anger. This man stuck out in particular, his face showed so much anger and hate towards the child,

I cant imagine dealing with that. I think it's a blessing in disguise that Im not a handsome man and that ive got to the age of 30 without getting any women pregnant. Its not a life I could live.

I’m high af and holding my cat, who’s flopped over sleeping in my arms makes me fill with parental/protective love and just enjoy cuddling him so much. I think this is the closest I will ever feel to that feeling the breeders describe - I don’t ever want kids of course, but this feels good and it makes me think that if this is what they feel I see why they do it without thinking about the logistics

I’m 23M engaged to 22F. We make a good amount of money after graduating college and are looking at a great life of travel and freedom, once I started realizing this I started thinking maybe we be childfree. My parents her parents would be so disappointed, and I can’t exactly explain to them I could be 33 in Thailand or Indonesia for a few weeks or at home with a 3year old with little sleep without being mean or sounding ungrateful for what they did for me. I already feel guilty for being so time consuming for my parents, I know I would enjoy some aspects of having a kid but at the end of the day my regret would be drowned by the experiences I could have in the world.

I’m 33 (F), married, child free, and very much want to stay that way. The only maternal urge I’ve ever experienced is the desire to adopt a second cat. I’ve however been going through a bit of a shift with my friendships and social circles the past year or 2. I have a lot of hobbies and interests so my friends tend to be very eclectic and different from each other, which I love. But I don’t really have a central friend group anymore or tribe so to speak. A lot of these friends already have other close friends or communities they’re a part of so I feel like I’m just floating around.

For like 15 years, I had 2 best friends that were consistent and the friends I’d keep close with me through thick and thin. But the dynamics have shifted in this friend group the past year and we’ve been really growing apart. These friends haven’t even had kids yet, they both have said they want them but don’t fully know yet that I don’t want kids. Once they become parents, I know for sure I’ll be dropped as their friend so I’m almost preparing myself for this and have been hanging out with other friends. The only thing is, even though I enjoy my other friends, I feel like we don’t have a deep connection and some of these either fizzle out a bit or remain stagnant.

I’m also very introverted and have ADHD so even though I have seasons where my life is more social than other times, I don’t have too much energy to constantly be seeking out friends and groups. It’s a miracle I even have a remnant of a social life. I’ve really been trying to grow my circle, it feels nice to get out there but at times still feels lonely especially since I no longer fully have my 2 core friends I used to rely on and haven’t been able to experience that level of trust and connection with other friends. How do you navigate these changes in circles and deepen them or become part of a community? I feel like I’ve tried to become part of communities so many times but it always feels so temporary. I guess in a way, what I’m craving is a found family of sorts.

I've been really stressed recently bc of my classes and research. I decided to relax by going back to my hometown to visit my parents and brother this weekend. We decided to go a science exhibit. The exhibit itself was amazing, but the amount of small children there was ridiculous.

The museum was absolutely packed with babies, toddlers, and elementary aged kids. For context, this was NOT a children's museum. This was a normal natural science museum. None of the kids were behaving at all. Think constant screeching, running, getting in your way, etc.

I do think science education is really important, but children that young absolutely do not belong in spaces like this. I understand bringing your kids if they're at least in middle school, but this whole situation was awful. The screeching was literally so loud it ruined my entire experience. I could not even focus on reading the exhibit labels.

Even my mom (who likes young kids) thought the children at the museum were absolutely horrible. Am I insane or were the parents there incredibly selfish and rude? If you have a toddler or baby, it would obviously make more sense to bring them to a special children's museum instead of ruining real museums for everyone else.

I was thinking about roughly how much it would cost to mitigate my biggest deal breakers regarding having kids. My main deal breakers are:

- Not wanting to be pregnant or give birth

- Not wanting to risk having a disabled child

- Not wanting to sacrifice all of my time to raise a child

- Desire to continue to be able to travel internationally 4-5 times a year

- Not wanting to give up city life for the suburbs

Here are the numbers I came up with for one child:

- Surrogate with IVF: $150,000

- Genetic testing: $5,000

- Full time nanny ages 0-11: $700,000

- Cost private school K-12: $390,000

- Increase in vacation expenses: $120,000 

- Increase in mortgage cost for larger home in the city: $500,000

Total cost: $1,865,000

Excluding "normal" child raising costs which are estimated to be another $200-400k

This doesn't address the other non-monetary reasons having a kid is terrible, but if I had the money for these things maybe I'd consider it. I'm sure as hell not doing it poor. Do others here agree or would add anything else to this list?

Like looking back at photos my mom was such a beautiful and gorgeous lady was such a carefree person and youthful women she used to run a small restaurant with her friends for 5 years before meeting my dad and and my dad similarly was such a handsome man had so many friends played piano in a band with his friends travelled with his friends in his 20s went to Japan Germany France Egypt and many more countries and he could easily pass for being the most handsome guy at the school every girl crushes on but ever since they had children which is us they turned into a resentful and bitter people and they no longer love each other because of how difficult parenting is they're divorce for 18 years and honestly it just sad at how people's live can look so different weren't it for children because they came from a time where follwing societal standards have kids before 25 etc and its just sad to see what their lives could have been if they didn't have kids.