Is it acceptable to not want kids?

I am only 14 but my 8 year old sister has made me determined that I will not have children. I probably will end up having at least one though, seeing as I am still young...
 
I wouldn't enjoy the responsibility of having a kid, having to put up with constant noise and whining and questions and spending all my time and money looking after them. I wouldn't mind skipping to the part when my son is eighteen and just finished school and we're more like friends or at least I'm less of a "do what I say!" figure and more like a respected elder. As in I've got a name for a boy and a girl if I ever have kids, but I think I would have to be very sure I wanted to have them and could support them. The problem is people regret having kids but at the same time don't because they love them. I don't want to fall into that trap without plotting a way out first. If I have kids I don't want to have any regrets about what I could have done with my life before having them.
 
Why wouldn't it be acceptable? I've honestly never been able to see why anyone would want kids. I like kids, but I'd never want to have to be responsible for their lives.
I also don't see how it's practical. It seems like it would just make life all around more difficult for no really good reason.
 
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Well... yeah. It's their choice n' all. I don't see any controversy there.
 
I'm 16 and know I don't and I don't think I do in the future...but I'm not sure.

I think it's perfectly fine and a personal choice...unless married or course, then it's more a 50 50 decision, but that's another matter really.
 
If you don't want kids, you don't want kids. Simple as that. And if you're a boy that is expected to pass on the family name and your parents are mad that you don't want children, tell them to adopt a boy. And there ya go.

However, most young people that say they don't want children (for whatever reasons, like pain, not being good with children, etc) end up having them anyway, either due to a change of mind, a careless mistake, or by ~surprise~!
 
As of right now, I certainly don't want children. Everyone has the right to choose whether they want to or not.

I'm sure that will change once I "mature" to the point where the natural instinct kicks in to really want children (for women, usually in their twenties).
Now, though, I'm pretty sure I would be a crappy parent, I'm sure I'm not ready for it. Not confident I could do it yet.

I get a ton of crap for not being good with children. My boyfriend loves children and is very good with them and I'm envious of that trait. A lot of people think girls should naturally be amazing with kids, but its only the younger kids that I don't know how to deal with.

My boyfriend can't wait to be a dad. I tell him I could go my whole life without having kids, so there is an issue. lol. Easy for him to say, he doesn't have to give birth to em.
 
This may sound selfish, but I don't want kids and that's primarily due to the reason I think they'd limit my manueverability in the future. I want to travel and live around the world. Already have 4-6 countries in mind that I really want to live in/visit frequently, and am trying to learn the languages spoken in 4 of them as of now. Children would limit my dreams, imo. Still, I guess by mid-30s most people are in their 'it's now or never' to have children mode, and I guess then I will be too. But I've got another 2 decades to explore and live life before that. :D
 
Timbjerr said:
The most obvious reason would be because it goes against our built-in instincts to produce children so as to keep our species alive.

I'm not gonna try and guess your age or anything, but I'm told that it isn't uncommon for teenage girls to be unwilling to have children. It might be part of their upbringing or they may have *gasp* the common sense to not get pregnant. As they get older though and maternal instincts develop, the want to have children may emerge or become stronger than it was in the teenage years. :/

The same phenomenon happens in men too, although generally at an older age. :o
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Weird, I've never had these "built-in instincts to produce children" everyone is talking about, and I'm female. I have a friend who is the same way.:surprised:
 
I've always considered myself a bit of a selfish person. Until I have a life that I am totally content with, I'm not very concerned about bringing a kid around. Call it selfish...but hey, that's just me. I think it's perfectly acceptable.
 
As everyone else has been saying, it's a choice thing. Then again, in an age where the world is becoming overpopulated(mainly in China, India, and Africa....for now), maybe it'd be better to not have so many kids.
 
It depends on the people. Nobody should tell people they HAVE to have kids if that is not their wish. Yes the perfect family is said to be a mom and dad and a child (Maybe two) but that's not the only perfect family. A perfect family could be just a married couple without kids. Its not right for people to press their view about children on people.
 
Obviously I'm a guy and I'm only 14 so I won't know/understand certain maternal feelings etc but still; I don't think you should take any notice of that lady at work, IMO she sounds like she's WAAY too over possessive/over protective of her child to a degree where she takes offence as if you'd just insulted her or her family when in fact you'd only stated your opinion...
I'm sure we can all agree it's entirely up to the person to decide whether they want children or not; after all it is your body that you'd be impregnating so why should that be up to someone else? Statistics and population counts should really be an afterthought. Either you want kids or you don't, and that view could change as you grow older.
 
it's fine, acceptable, welcome even. someone who doesn't want to have children shouldn't have to.

though i hate how bratty some folks can get about it. you know, the "I'M A NON-BREEDER, I DO NOT WANT TO POLLUTE THE PLANET WITH FILTHY CHILDREN" types. firstly, hey, you were a child once, second, i'm not criticising your choice, why should you criticise my choice to have children in the future? (i know not everybody who doesn't want children is like this, im just saying)
 
Maybe it's only the fact that I'm just barely pushing 20, but the thought of kids is very unappealing to me. I want to get out there, do stuff, live my life. Raising kids might be for some people, but it just isn't the kind of excitement that I crave. The way I see it is - kids are for some people, and for some people they're not. I don't want to settle down... at least not anytime soon. And by the time I'm finished and do settle down, I'll probably be too old for children anyway. Who knows, things may change one day. This is just the way I see it now.
 
Sure, I think it's acceptable to not want kids. That's fine!

Personally though, I do want kids. I'm 21 now, and I want to have kids when I'm around 29/30. I'd like my life to be settled before I have kids. Have my own place, have a job that pays well. I'm still in University and I live with my parents, so obviously not yet!!! But yes, my boyfriend and I still want kids.

I think it's not really necessary to have kids anymore. It's costly and really...why? But I have some egotistical need to want to make kids. I want a little me. I think it's cool, haha.
 
I remember one time at work, a few months ago, I met a man who basically raved about his kids. He asked me, since I apparently look much older than I really am (22), "Do you have any kids?"

I snorted and said, "Yeah, that'll be the day after I get married."

In other words, I don't want kids, and I'm pretty sure it isn't just a young phase. Kids are a lot of work, really quite expensive, and time consuming. I've got too many interests to have kids.

I forget what comedian said it (maybe Dennis Miller, who I think it a bit of a douche, but this made me laugh), but one thing about having kids is that you can't quite break up with them like a girl/boyfriend. It's not like you can just say, "Listen... it really isn't working out; we don't have anything in common, except the DNA."

When you have kids, you're stuck with 'em.
 
Once you have kids, it's like a ball and chain. It's going to be a huge strain on your finances and you aren't going to have the freedom you once had. There are things that I want to do and places that I want to visit before I have to be saddled down with raising children, and I'm not letting anyone tell me I can't do so. It is my life, and my decision.
 
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