How do YOU feel about having kids?

[warlordste]

i want some kids because its nice for someone to carry on your name and also when you grow old it nice knowing that you still have family around

 

[ranjeet]

I have kids but i am serching for their mother, she got misplaced yesterday LOL

 

[callumacrae]

Just a hypothetical - what if somebody's kids turned out to be complete losers? I'm talking drug addicts, career criminals, and the kind of people who throw puppies out of third story windows.

I'm not saying that would happen to anybody... it's just an interesting thought, because most people automatically assume that their kids will grow up to be good, successful people.

It depends how you bring them up. I would know. I am a kid, but I have seen other kids get shouted at and hit by their parents, and then go to school and take it out on someone else.

I read somewhere that children want power. If they have power at the own house, no matter how much, like saying "yes" to letting them on their computer for an hour a day, then they have all the power they want, but if they are not allowed anything at home, they go to another situation where they have all the power they want, eg: beating someone up or robbing a disabled person.

i want some kids because its nice for someone to carry on your name and also when you grow old it nice knowing that you still have family around

Yeah, I feel sorry when I see old people struggling around saying that they wished they had children, but some of them probably hated children once, so...


Yes, I think I will have children. But not yet...duh.

I think that will do for one day

 

[Dan]

I don't ever want kids. I want to be able to do things that I simply wouldn't be able to do with children like travelling the world
Also, if they turned out like me I definitely wouldn't want them!!!
Though I suppose when I get older I may change my mind...

 

[MadameSkylark]

I fail to see why children automatically means you can never have fun ever again. Bad mindset, kids are fun. Most people who see kids as a lack of fun really mean "I can't have irresponsible fun constantly and I will have to stick to some kind of schedule." Heck, if that's the case, having a job ruins your chances of having fun.

 

[mogojoel]

The problem with this generation is that they think life is ALL about them.
It is a good thing that you have decidedn\ not to breed, it ensures that selfish people with inability to love anything but themselves, properly, will be flushed from the gene pool.

 

[hourican]

Myself and her very good self have been together for twenty years. We're from a Catholic background and it's therefore preferable that we'd be married before having children. So we just didn't get married and therefore we only get asked wgy we're noot married and not why we don't have any kids.

We do however have 13 dogs and 9 cats. Which could be constrewed as a antidote for our procreational instincts.

 

[Mitch]

I don't know yet, because i am still a kid (16 years old)

 

[struni]

Still I am a bachelor. But definitely I will have kids someday. I simply love kids and espicially I want a daughter. The first reason for me is happiness. Lots of happiness they bring into our lives. How much tension we have in our professional life, when we return to our home, their cute smile and innocent words can make us happy and throws away our tensions. And many more reasons for me.

 

[numberguy]

Well I have 4 girls and 2 granddaughters and I don't know how I would make it without them.

Everyday I look at them and feel great that I decided on having them, now don't get me wrong they sure aren't angels but they make me laugh.
Infact, sometimes so hard I feel that I might bust.

It's nice to know, that when I kick the bucket, I have something left on this world to prove I was here.

 

[openspace]

As much as I would like to have children, the things that I went through growing up have made me into the kind of person who probably would be a bad parent. No matter what I want, I think that it would be a drain on this society if I were to have kids. They'd get screwed up somehow and then the rest of you would end up supporting them via tax money. Prison, mental health issues, addiction...I forsee all of those things in my hypothetical childrens' future.

 

[james2k8111]

Yea i would like some kids, its one of those things that dosent happen alot in your lifetime!

 

[thebabyhater]

I fail to see why children automatically means you can never have fun ever again.

It's partially the big hit to your income (each kid ~ -$200,000), and partially the fact that you're stuck driving either a minivan or an SUV. No Ferraris for most parents (minus the Mondial, but that barely counts).

However, my main reason for not wanting kids, and also the biggest hit to "having fun," is the romance factor. I want to be able to be alone with my wife at any time, and have the ability to do the naughtiest things possible without fear of having kids overhear. I want to constantly show her how much I love her.

It's interesting... I can't think of the theory's name off the top of my head, but there's a well-known psychological profile of intimate relationships that mentions romance coming to a halt at the birth of the first child. This theory states that it does not resume until all the children are out of the house, and by that time, the parents need to basically learn each other all over again. It completely ignores childfree couples. My point is, I don't ever want anything to come between myself and my love for my significant other.

One last thing, while I'm at it. A few people have been claiming that being childfree is somehow "selfish" or "irresponsible." I would counter that, putting religion aside, there is absolutely no obligation anywhere for anybody to reproduce. Why is it so bad to be "selfish" if it truly makes you happy? To me, the meaning of life is the pursuit of happiness. I understand that to some people, children equal happiness, and I respect that. However, from the childfree perspective, happiness is defined as something totally different, and thus the notions of what is "selfish" or "irresponsible" are subjective.

There's no mandate saying that non-breeders are bad people, or somehow more immature. It has nothing to do with the survival of the human race - there will ALWAYS be people breeding. We aren't going to die out.

As far as responsibility, I see it as more responsible to realize that one doesn't want kids early on, instead of having kids and then realizing you hate them. You can't really put them back once they're out.

Anyway, more of my thoughts. Keep the opinions coming, guys. I really appreciate all the input.

Antonio

 

[Sohail]

Well it is building the future, I don't worry about a loss of money when I think of it though. Family is a very important thing to me. Though i never thought about this in detail.

 

[xPlozion]

Also, I read somewhere and I totaly agree with it. One person said on another site that being child free isn't selfish, but making children is, because you want them to be a mirror image of you and your significant other. They went on to say that if you want kids and not be selfish, then adopt kids instead.

Isn't having kids selfish and irresponsible, given the strain on the world's population?
Since a growing number of people are choosing NOT to bring children into the world, it kind of makes those who continue to do so look like they are recklessly adding to the burden of an overpopulated Earth, does it not?

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It is absolutely selfish. Anyone who responds to this claiming that one has a "right" to have children, that having kids is the "best feeling in the world," is only further proving this point. People choose to have kids because they WANT it. When you're ignorant enough to truly believe that what you WANT is somehow more important than a major issue -- say, extreme overpopulation and an increasing lack of all resources -- you have officially given up your status as a rational human being.

Save money and maintain good relationships with friends so you're not alone when you're older. Donate to cancer/AIDS/etc. research NOW instead of waiting for the next generation to do it. Most of all, if you're determined to be a parent, ADOPT A CHILD WHO ALREADY EXISTS AND DESPERATELY NEEDS A LOVING FAMILY. Insisting upon passing on your DNA is incredibly stupid and bigoted. Adopted children are every bit "your own" as ones who've inherited slightly more similar genes.

 

[scorch94]

This is something dumbest I've ever heard!!
What about my country, Serbia?
Serbs are dying as a nation. You only think of nations which are overpopulating e.g. China. French are dying too. Oh, please, I've heard many things, but having a child being selfish? Wow, I can't believe some people thing like that.
xPlosion, I wonder where you dig all these guys

 

[JKnife]

:/ I would REALLY hate to see kids I produce.. Cause aren't they supposed to be 3x worse as you?

so lets see.. they turn for the worse 3x faster then me.. i started smoking cigs at 13 so they would be 4 when they start. and they would be 5 when they start smoking other stuff and 6 when they start drinking.. (I am not counting up.. I am dividing my age by 3 when I started doing those things)

yeah.. no kids for me...

 

[xPlozion]

idk, i just don't have the passion and patience for them. I've got a nephew (2.5yrs old) that I see every day (he comes over until his parents pick him up), but I don't think that I'll be able to have the patience for him 24/7. That and I'm not much of a father figure, nor do I want to be :-/...

I have a passion (wreckless you could say) for speed, motorcycles and cars . I am currently in love w/ the Yamaha R1's and 08/09 Ninja 250's. As for cars, 04/06 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti is my dream car that I would love to have. With a tag around $30,000 USD, a child would make that dream impossible. I would also like to travel, which a child would make it difficult.

 

[azzeccal]

What a strange question!
I'll have 2-3 childrens when i got married and have enought money,cause the life is very costly...i can't be satisfated by my life if i haven't children.
I haven't done my work!

 

[IonCannon218]

:/ I would REALLY hate to see kids I produce.. Cause aren't they supposed to be 3x worse as you?

so lets see.. they turn for the worse 3x faster then me.. i started smoking cigs at 13 so they would be 4 when they start. and they would be 5 when they start smoking other stuff and 6 when they start drinking.. (I am not counting up.. I am dividing my age by 3 when I started doing those things)

yeah.. no kids for me...

That is not true.
It really depends on how you raise them, who they are, people who they hang out with and many more factors.

EDIT: One major factor is their choices.