Everyone has their own approach to life, and for some, choosing not to have children is a valid lifestyle choice. The concept of living a child-free life started gaining more attention around a decade ago. Despite this, people often face criticism, being told they’re making a mistake.
- I asked for this coming Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 2 months ago for a camping trip. My partner asked for time off. I found a house sitter to watch my dog. Yesterday, my supervisor asked me if I would be willing to work Monday so that a coworker could have that day off because she couldn’t find childcare during the break at school. I refused and am not “in trouble” but I could tell my supervisor (who has kids) judged me. My coworker is now being passive-aggressive in our Teams chat. I hate being treated like the bad guy just because I won’t sacrifice my own plans for someone who has kids. My time is important too! © Atomic_Ash182 / Reddit
- My mother is a single mother of 3 kids. I watched her struggle with us my whole life. I missed so much during high school and lost so many friends because I had to take care of my little sister. After I moved out about 6 years ago, she apologized for forcing my sister on me, and I forgave her. Recently I went to my gyno and asked to be sterilized; he gave me the green light and I’ve been scheduled for the end of next month. I told my mom about it and everything just came crashing down. I asked if all her support over the years was a lie. She wouldn’t look at me as she said, “Well, I’ve just been hoping you would slip up... everybody does.” I was hurt so I asked for some time to process. She went literally insane and started crying about how she’d never have grandchildren. So I reminded her about her two other children and apparently, it’s not the same because I’m the firstborn. © lilmerm** / Reddit
- Once my boss said he and his wife were going on vacation (a childfree couple), and his boss said, “You need a vacation? I have 5 kids.” My boss responded with, “Hm, life decisions.” I laughed. © Careless_Ad3968 / Reddit
- My co-worker and I were interviewing this person for a position, and she asked me if I had kids during the interview. She had brought up, unprompted, that she is a single mom and has one son who is a teenager and everything she does is for him. My co-worker responded that he was also a single parent and just said something short about how great his kids are. I said nothing. We moved along. She spoke at some point about how her ex had been controlling and manipulative. Then she asked me if I had kids. I said no. She asked how old I was. I told her. She told me that when I find the right person, I’ll want kids. I told her I was married. In a job interview. © Hotel_Lazy / Reddit
- I’m a 31-year-old single woman. A few months ago, I bought a house. When my co-worker (a few years older than me, 2 kids working on a 3rd, usually just a sweet, chill person) learned about my house she got super offended, and she had this weird knee-jerk reaction of “Why didn’t you just buy a condo until you have kids? Why would you need a house?” When I reminded her that I didn’t want kids, so there was no point in waiting, she said that I was stealing this house “from a family who could enjoy it, kids who could play in the backyard.” © theditzydoc / Reddit
- My husband was chatting on the phone with a relative earlier, and she brought up the question of if we were planning on having children soon. My husband explained to her that we didn’t want children, and of course, this caused her to start in on all the reasons why we should have children. This went on for a few minutes, and I was just rolling my eyes because, at the end of the day, I knew it didn’t matter what she said. But then she went on to tell my husband that he shouldn’t go through with our wedding and religious ceremony until I changed my mind. Then she said that when she saw me, she was going to interrogate me and try to change my mind. © taco-belle- / Reddit
- My husband is a collector of Lego sets and action figures and has a few toys and figures decorating his area at work. A customer saw his collection and said, “How can you afford all those?” He responded with a smile, “I have no children and disposable income!” The guy scoffed, rolled his eyes, and said, “Must be nice.” My husband just replied, “Yeah, it is nice!” My husband laughed about it, but it made me mad. Don’t get an attitude with someone because you’re jealous that they made different choices. It’s not his fault that you decided to have kids, and now you’re broke because of it. © SoCrazyItMustBeTrue / Reddit
- My boyfriend is 28, I’m 27. We’ve been in a relationship for 5 years. He asked me last night if we could try for a kid. I was like, “Hahaha wait, what?” because we’ve always agreed to never have kids. Not to mention, I have health complications that would immediately put me in a high-risk pregnancy. Then he made a comment that having kids is less scary to him than getting married, and I kind of just decided right then and there it wasn’t going to work out. © AelaMarie / Reddit
- My husband and I just converted a bedroom in our house into a his-and-hers gaming space. The first question everyone has asked us is, “But what if you have kids? Won’t you want that room for them?” But when we say we’re not having any, out comes the snarky “Must be nice.” © SweetGlasgowSmile / Reddit
- So about a week ago, I went to my doctor and asked him for a recommendation to go to a gynecologist. I told him I wanted to have an operation because I didn’t want to have children. He just said, “You just wanna be selfish!” and laughed. © LadyJupitor / Reddit
- My co-worker always says, “Must be nice” when I mention that I’m going to do something relaxing after work or on the weekend. Yes, it is! I chose not to have kids, so I can relax in my free time the way I want to. It’s not our fault that parents choose to have kids. If they wanted to relax, then should’ve thought about their decision a little harder. © kenzbaek / Reddit
- My husband is 24 and I’m 25. We got married about 6 months ago. We’ve known each other for almost 6 years. We talked about kids very early on and are 100% child-free. We have 4 pets that we love dearly and are both focusing on our careers. With that being said, we are getting tons of people asking us when we’re starting a family and arguing when we tell them we have a family already and don’t need/want kids. © hannahrichelle / Reddit
- I don’t know how many times my cousin asked us to look after her children while she went on a planned weekend away with her husband. We always said no. So on Friday, they just dropped the kids off at the driveway and sent me a message saying that they’d be back on Sunday night to pick them up. I had the great pleasure of checking our porch cam, calling her back, and going, “Yeah, just checked the cams, they’re still sitting out the front. Dude, we’re in another town and won’t be back until Sunday afternoon, you better go back.” The conversation that followed involved the ridiculous requests that we could head back early and be home that afternoon, organize for someone else to look after them, or maybe find a flight.
Absurd. Poor kids had been there more than an hour and a half by the time their neglectful parents got back to them. I might not want kids but, you just don’t do that. © AxeDentist / Reddit - A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were out of town to see my grandparents. All was going great until she asked if we would ever have kids. I told her no and gave her several gentle reasons why. First, I have a heart condition and other major medical issues. My body wouldn’t handle pregnancy well. Second, I just don’t want kids. So on, so forth. She told me that: “Having kids is my job, and it will rectify my medical issues.” © Unknown user / Reddit
While some people decide not to have children, others fully embrace the journey of parenthood. Read the astonishing story of a woman who not only gave birth to octuplets but also raised a total of 14 children as a single mother.