Best decision my (now ex) wife and I ever made. Not because we are divorced now. But because
a) I’m free to live my own life. and
b) Even back when kids was an option, she and I both kind of saw the world that was coming and decided that we didn’t want to subject our children or grandchildren to the world that was turning to shit.
Looking around today, I feel absolutely vindicated for taking that stance back in the early 2000’s when I was married.
Beats the alternative.
47W. Never wanted kids. I don’t miss it. I’m happy when I see my friends’ kids but I really don’t want one.
I have time for me and I couldn’t afford raising one but again, I’ve never ever felt the need to be a parent.
No one has ever pressured me into having children. People knew I wasn’t the the type even when I was a kid. They never questioned my choice not to get married either. So no peer pressure.
You’re correct. I didn’t mean that 40 was itself too old, only that there is a certain point at which they’ll be too old for biological kids. No one is ever too old to find a new relationship though.
Wanted kids, got married and careered at the right time to fund kids, then wife had a major mental breakdown after funking out of college, developed schizophrenia, and now has the mentality of a kid. Some days a toddler, some days a high schooler. I’ve been the only household income since marriage year 2, and I can’t afford to deal with a pregnancy from that mental state or be basically a single parent afterward.
I’m considering adoption of teens after I retire and the assumed passing of my wife as she has a small pile of other health issues at this point slowly eating away at her.
Giles?
Ah yeah the latter. Sorry, I don’t know what kind of answer I was expecting there. He’s a really well-rounded guy with a great career, nice house, but his partner has always been on the rocky side and then she developed a mental illness that has addled her brain to that of pure paranoia, or to that of a child. I don’t know how he copes to be honest, but he exhudes a calm confidence that seems to defy the situation he is in
Your positive energy supported her, and what goes around comes around.
Been trying for 6 years. Not desperately, but it would be nice. Thinking about getting chickens.
If you’re doing it for companionship, get male chicks so they don’t put them in the macerator.
Unfortunately, our local council doesn’t allow having roosters because of the crowing. Hens only.
I am approaching 40, and I still don’t want any, but i am deeply lonely and depressed as friendships are fading out of my life due to their children and my constant movement and disinterest.
i have no plan for the end of my life. since I won’t be able to do much at that time anyway, I’m not sure that it matters. I’m willing to suffer through it and possibly kill myself if it means that im able to live my best years with the most freedom.
I’m a similar age, and similar point in life. I like kids, but I really don’t want to have any of my own. I really enjoy being an uncle to many children, though- not related, just made it clear to my friends that I would love to keep my connection with them, and build a connection with their child.
People don’t want to impose their child on others, but if you have a genuine conversation with them about being ok with kids, you’ll get to see your friends more often, and if you’re into it, they’ll fucking live and appreciate the free babysitting.
I’m hoping that assisted suicide will be a thing, but I have come up with a contingency plan if it’s not. The worst thing I can imagine is being stuck in a nursing home and not knowing what’s going on or be unable to do things for myself.
Not sure where you are but some US states already have laws in place for “death with dignity.” And of course some European countries too.
agreed. confusion and dementia would be my worst hell. i would need to get things in order before i lose control, if it lookes like things would go that way. i have no intention of living like that on purpose.
I relate to this 100%
Mid-40s: it feels fine. It both complicates and un-complicates various things for later in life, but that’s life.
I do like kids, but never wanted my own (at least biologically; I never fully ruled out adoption). We have nieces and nephews we can spoil instead of our own, heh.
Being an uncle is great. You get all the fun of kids, and can give the bloody things back when they start screaming and shitting everywhere.
Every member of my lineage: “I will never do to my kids what my parents did to me” before doing exactly that.
Me: “I will never do to my kids what my parents did to me” fucking aced it
How old are you?
40
Sad and empty. I love kids. I had fertility treatments for years, but that did not work out. I will start IVF again in a couple of days. Hopefully it will work this time. It is one of my last chances.
I would like to adopt or have foster kids. However, I suffer from PTSD and in my country it is very difficult to adopt or foster if you have a background with mental illness. Even though my psychologist and the people in my environment all say that they think I would be able to do it and my partner does not have any mental illness, my chances are very low.
To be honest, looking any further than the next IVF makes me panic. I do not know how to live with not having kids and how to deal with that. I had a lot of bad stuff happen to me. Having children would be something I believe would have made me very happy. It feels like I failed at life. However, I just turned 40, so I know I need to give up at some point.
Don’t give up on it! But don’t stake your lives success on it.
Me and my wife are not going to have children (she’s about ten years older then you are, we had a miscarriage and left it at that) but we have it great together.
I know it’s too deaf ears atm and I really hope you’ll get your wish, but please don’t wager your personal happiness on it, that’s disrespectful of yourself.
Thank you for the kind message. It is good to hear that it is possible to have it great even after a miscarriage. I have had two miscarriages and two biochemical pregnancies. I did not really have time tomprocess this yet, as I had to continue treatment as my fertility is further declining due to my age. I think that might be part of the emotions as well.
It is difficult for me to not wager my personal happiness on it. I have a small nephew and when I take care of him, it just makes me very happy. It makes me feel like I would be as happy or even happier with my own child. Also, I was abused as a child and I feel that I did not have parents that really loved me. It feel unfair that I am not able to experience the mother/child bond from the perspectives of a child as well as that of a motger.
I also tried to take care of my younger siblings when I was a child. I was able to provide them with some of the emotional support my parents failed to provide, but because I was too young myself I always felt like I was not able to give them what they need. I am an adult now and I feel like I am capable now of providing children with a safe and warm environment. And I feel like I have all this love to give, but there is no child to give it to. I do not know where to put it.
I don’t know. Having a child will not fix all of this and a child does not exist to fix this or to make me happy. However, it could have been an area of my life that could have been beautiful and where I might have been able to give something and be valuable. And instead, this also does not work out and is another thing that goes on the pile of things that have failed in my life.
I agree that staking my life’s success on it is not a good idea. But I am not sure what else I have left. I am trying to become a writer and I am writing down all my experiences from my youth and with my sister who passed away and my fertility treatments, and so on. Maybe it can help some people who experience the same things. I think that might be fulfilling maybe and a way to create something positive out of the things that feel negative now.
Wow that’s a lot, thanks for sharing. I can only pretend to understand the hunkering you must feel.
The ‘pikte of things that have failed’ mentality is the destructive part, together with the idea that having a baby would complete you (even though you acknowledge that as a false thought).
I can’t do much to help you, but wish you success. Try and be slightly more selfish for yourself outside of this idea, make yourself the child you want to show the world. Literally. We go to zoos and dunno patches and castles as those are usually places you go to with kids, but we feel like treating ourselves to it.
Do this even though you’re still in limbo as to what your womb dictates about your fate.
Veel sterkte, succes met het opschrijven en verwerken. Heb jezelf lief en zoek de anderen op die dat ook doen!
(Ik had je getagd als mede Nederlander vanuit een eerdere conversatie)
Dank je wel voor het lieve bericht! Ik ga soms naar de kinderboerderij, dat is volgens mij een beetje hetzelfde. Meestal probeer ik mijn neefje ofzo mee te nemen, maar soms ga ik ook gewoon. Dat is eigenlijk een beetje hetzelfde. :-)
Yup zorg goed voor jezelf, ik zal voor je duimen!
Dank je wel! :-)
Something that only occurred to me just now is that when I was in my 20s and early 30s and still assumed I’d have children (despite that looming self imposed pressure feeling exactly like dread), the parent-child relationship I had imagined in my head was set in the past.
I grew up in the 90s and early 00s. I’m an elder millennial. I think my gen was very lucky in that we got to see and enjoy the rapid emergence of technology before today’s capitalistic enshittification but our interpersonal dynamics and everything we did didn’t rely on it either. So the ‘come home when it gets dark’ or ‘I’ll meet you at 4 at the cinema’ mentality was still strong. No social media or inability to switch off the connection to other people.
We also didn’t have the existential crises that come with thinking about climate change, the death of truth and the rise of misinformation, and the next pandemic.
So when I was picturing raising a child it was in a dated context that for the most part doesn’t exist anymore. Yes there’s exceptions to everything - I’m speaking in a very general sense - but I cannot imagine myself growing up in today’s world. I had a hard enough time back then, with similar struggles most kids have. How the fuck would I help my own child navigate it???
No thanks.
This is one of the arguments I have around the decision to not have children of my own. The world is pretty fucked, do I really want to create someone who will not only have to endure the shit to come, but also will undoubtedly add to that shit?
The counter argument, of course, is to raise the child in such a way that they make the world a better place. Ultimately, though, the problem is too many humans- why add to that?
I’ve gone from worrying what would have happened in my children’s lifetime to worrying what will happen within my lifetime so I’m good.
That sounds like a trick question.
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I’m 38, wife is 40, absolutely heartbreaking. We’ve been trying for 5 years, went to the NHS for IVF, but because of the pandemic we “aged out” of multiple rounds. The one go we had didn’t result in pregnancy, and if we can’t conceive with as many rounds as we can afford private were planning to adopt. Which is pretty difficult in the UK actually.
Off topic but you should check out a show called “Trying”. It’s quite touching
We watched a bit, it was good, but hit to close to home for the Mrs.
My wife and I are 30 and we’re just doing out first round of IVF now. It’s bloody expensive in Australia we can’t really afford many rounds so it’s going to be interesting. Spending house savings on having a child was never something I thought we would be doing
Yeah, over in the UK(depending on what country) if you’re under 40 you get 2-4(?) rounds on the NHS. But due to the pandemic, and us moving to Scotland from London, my wife turned 40 before we were able to be seen. Our one round had two embryos, one botched implant because the clinic was adamant that they implant unfrozen, despite the hormones from up/down regulation for egg retrieval causing such massive inflammation for my wife that it took an hour and a half to implant(should be less than 10 minutes.) The second embryo failed before it could be implanted. So now we’re going for private in Athens. Even with last minute flights, last minute accommodation and transport costs while we’re there, it’ll be £3000-£4000 cheaper than going private here in Scotland.
And even then we’re looking at remortgaging our house to afford it. We’re by no means poor. What was it my wife called us…DINKs? Dual Income, No Kids. And we own the house we live in outright thanks to her parents buying at the right time, and her inheriting early enough to avoid any excess taxes. But we have basically no disposable income. In one hand, out the other.Anyway, I hope for all the best with you two. It’s an absolute motherfucker. If you’ll pardon my french…
Good luck to you. Try the adoption/foster-child road, bur don’t give up. My wife’s cousin tried for more than 5 years, went through several ivfs and some kind of procedure, but was considered barren at the end. But for whatever reason it then suddenly worked and they have 3 children now (they only wanted 2, but I guess they prayed too hard or something).
We’re going to try a few rounds of Private, then try for a surrogate, and then adopt/foster. We’d ideally like one of ours, but we know there’s loads of kids that need a stable home.
Prayed too hard
Maybe it’s time for me to find religion…
