I’ve pretty much known since I was a teenager that having kids just wasn’t for me.
I love spending time with the little ones who belong to my friends and family members, but I don’t think I’d have the patience to deal with being a parent.
And that’s just me being honest!
And I don’t think I’m alone in this department…
People took to AskReddit to talk about why they never want to have children.
Take a look.
1. You know yourself.
“I don’t want to go through birth, I don’t like the baby stage, children and toddlers are fun and can be adorable but not 24/7.
I like money and the piece of mind that I won’t do anything to screw up their lives, everyone I have said I don’t want kids to will say I told you so
And finally I’m not responsible or mature enough.”
2. Doing your own thing.
“I love my life too much. I h**e mess and noise. I love travelling whenever i like. I love going for trips and meals out with my husband. I love being able to do what I want whenever I want.
I dont want to spend my days listening to crying, arguing, whining, doing the school run in the rain and shopping for food. The planet has plenty of humans and we have done a great job of wrecking the planet and treat animal so cruelly – I dont want to add to that problem.”
3. Just being honest.
“I can barely handle a full-time job and taking care of a cat. I do not have the time, money, patience, or desire to raise a kid.
I want to live my life, not be weighed down with a responsibility I don’t want and wouldn’t be beneficial for me. I like having the freedom to not have to deal with all that.”
4. The list.
“I have too much trauma and I’m scared of raising a human where I could accidentally Project my trauma on to them.
-It is a big responsibility and idk if I can handle that.
-I have a lot of genetic Illnesses that I don’t wish on anyone.
-I don’t want to go thru childbirth and all that Jazz
-Oh also because people told me I will change my mind and now I just don’t want to out of spite.”
5. Having a blast!
“I like having my time and money to myself.
Fancy sitting in bed late, drinking beer and ordering takeout? I can do that.
Going out with friends at the drop of a hat with no worries? That too.”
6. Don’t like ’em.
“Because I don’t like children.
I don’t want to raise one for 18 years.
I’d rather put that money into my dream car.”
7. Society is at fault.
“Our society is structured so that nearly everyone but the wealthy are living hand to mouth.
I feel no security in my life and find life stressful. I can’t imagine how bad that would be if I had to worry about another soul.”
8. Puttin’ it all out there.
“Kids are expensive
I rather spend money on travel than children
I want to retire early
I only like children in small doses
I rather do drugs at Burning Man than raise a child. I don’t want to be that guy who tries to do both.
There is no decent return policy on kids.
I really like my me-time.
Every time I see people with kids, I have an overwhelming feeling of dread.
I find people who have kids a little boring, to be honest. Not always, but I know that their rockstar days are now behind them.”
9. Do what you want.
“Just never felt like I’d want to have kids when I was younger, and now (42, female) I wake up every single day with immense gratitude that I never had or never will have kids and it makes me so happy!
My life is my own, I do what I want when I want, and it’s very fulfilling. I don’t have the delusion that having children would somehow guarantee love or that I won’t be alone on my d**thbed. Lots of people are alone on their d**thbed anyway (I work in end-of-life care).
Also, given the state of the Earth with regards to climate change, I feel it’s kinda s**tty to keep making more humans. We probably can’t turn this ship around.”
10. Been there, done that.
“I’m the oldest of 10, and I raised my baby sister from infancy to 6 years old, on top of being responsible for 6 siblings at the time (I’ve gained 3 since I escaped my situation).
Changing diapers and warming up bottles at 3 am as a pre teen pretty much k**led any desire I might have ever had.”
11. You only live once.
“I understand the immense responsibility & sacrifice they are and choose instead to work on myself and continue to nurture my own experiences and growth through the one life I have.”
12. Totally valid.
“Mental health – I have extreme anxiety and ADHD. I don’t want to have a kid and potentially put them through what I go through.
They’re expensive.
Pregnancy is terrifying to me. Never want to try it.
Spite. Got tired real quick always being told I’d be a great mother, even when I announced that I don’t like kids and never want any.”
13. Plain and simple.
“I don’t want kids.
There’s literally no other reason.”
14. Whoa.
“A friend told me once that I would probably be like the mom from Carrie and there’s no f**king way I would condemn a child to such a miserable life.
Also, giving birth? F**k that.”
15. At least you know.
“I would make a terrible dad.
A great uncle but a terrible dad.”
16. The truth.
“I’m stingy.
I don’t want something that takes up the majority of my life for the foreseeable future.”
17. Honest.
“I’m too mentally unstable to provide a quality life for any potential kids.
Just being honest.”
18. There you go.
“I’m not romantic and self-centered.
I would make a terrible partner and a lousy parent.”
19. Not for you.
“I love peace and quiet.
Whenever I visit family with children it’s fine for a few hours but then I’ve had enough of their energy and chaos, and I’m very glad to get home where it’s calm.
There not being any real way to escape feels like a nightmare.”
20. Freedom.
“I’m sleeping in on a beautiful Saturday morning, then I’m going to lift some weights, write some music on my computer, go eat at a Chinese buffet and then go hiking.
And I’m only able to do all these things because I dont have kids. I love the peace, quiet and the freedom.”
21. No desire.
“Money, peace, freedom to do what I want/travel where I want without complications associated with having a child.
Also, I don’t feel the inherent desire to have a child. I don’t care to ‘continue my lineage’ or to force someone to take care of me when I’m older.
Kids can be cute, but I prefer to be able to give them back.”
22. Not cheap.
“They’re expensive and I’m already in enough debt from college.
They’re a big commitment and seeing how my siblings lives have changed with kids, I look at that and don’t want it, I like my freedom, I don’t handle crying well, especially from kids/babies, they’re rowdy, loud, messy and cause damage. If I could fast forward them to age 10, I’d be more open to it.
I’m 28 and considering a vasectomy. When I find the right woman, maybe I’ll change my mind, but I tend to look for women who don’t have kids and would rather not have them.”
23. Wouldn’t be fair.
“Too mentally ill from childhood trauma and have various auto immune diseases.
Wouldn’t be fair to have a child when I’m not completely present for them.
I love kids, but not for me.”
24. Valid points.
“As the eldest sibling in my family, I’ve already lived out my maternal dreams.
Mental and chronic illness runs in my family and I can’t risk passing it along.
I don’t want to put my body through pregnancy.
It’s a lot of responsibility and I rather live for myself and all the other things I rather do in the world.”
25. You REALLY shouldn’t have a kid.
“Having a cat has made me even more unlikely to want kids. She’s so low effort but it’s still so much mental energy to sort out her meals and care every day.
The other big thing is that she’s a really anxious cat and even though I line up friends and family whom she likes to come and stay with her whenever I’m away, she still gets super anxious and has a lot of anxious behavior when I’m not here.
More than anything it’s made it clear that parenting can’t be outsourced – even with the biggest team of grandparents and aunts and uncles and babysitters in the world you might have a kid who just needs their mum there and I’m not sure I’ll ever want to have that level of responsibility for an entire human life.”
What are the reasons you don’t want to have kids?
Let us know in the comments.
We’d love to hear what you have to say!
