Do you want to have kids?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A friend of mine shared this on FB a few days ago, and seems very relevant to post here:

http://www.therooster.com/blog/10-brutally-real-reasons-why-millennials-refuse-have-kids

Saw that article, too.  It's gold.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Very much so. A boy and a girl would be sweet.

[RINO Tom]

Having children was one of my best decisions. There are worlds I would not have experienced without them. Seeing them grown now only reinforces that original choice.

Too many people I trust and that have kids share this sentiment; of course I want children.

[Antonio the Sixth]

To be honest, I have no idea. I don't really like thinking about it, because there are other things I really need to sort out about myself before I can seriously start thinking about these questions.

[DC Al Fine]

Yes, (one on the way) hopefully 3-5ish.

[Green Line]

Yes.  It will get awfully lonely later in life without kids. 

[DavidB.]

Yes. 3-5, ideally, but every child would be a big blessing. Though I'm not sure if it will ever happen.

[SATW]

Not a fan of the idea of marriage, so likely not.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Not a fan of the idea of marriage

Patrician. ^

[muon2]

A friend of mine shared this on FB a few days ago, and seems very relevant to post here:

http://www.therooster.com/blog/10-brutally-real-reasons-why-millennials-refuse-have-kids

Saw that article, too.  It's gold.

Interestingly most of those reasons were ones we debated before deciding almost 30 years ago. They were pretty much as true then as today, just a different generation.

[morgieb]

Don't know. It's a path I'll cross at a later date, during a long-term relationship. I can't see myself making a great father though, at least right now.

[LLR]

Give it another 20 years, maybe then I'll decide.

[Green Line]

A friend of mine shared this on FB a few days ago, and seems very relevant to post here:

http://www.therooster.com/blog/10-brutally-real-reasons-why-millennials-refuse-have-kids

Why do millennials think their problems are so unique?  It's a common theme.  Literally everything in that article could apply to any point in time ever.  Listicles and their "authors" have to be one of the worst things to happen to the internet.  

[NeverAgain]

At least 1. Maybe 2. I mean this isn't like a huge goal of mine as (MUH OVERPOPULATION), but I love kids so yeah.

[Boston Bread]

Yes. My parents would be disappointed in me if I didn't.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Yes. My parents would be disappointed in me if I didn't.

That is a really bad reason to have kids.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

I'd like to have them, yeah--somewhere between two and five of them, I'd say--but I don't know if it's in the cards for me, because I don't know if marriage is in the cards for me.

Active dislike for children is one of those animuses that should be critically examined a lot more than it is.

[Goldwater]

Active dislike for children is one of those animuses that should be critically examined a lot more than it is.

Even though I don't have any desire to have children, I agree with this sentiment. I don't actively dislike children in general, and I've found it odd how widespread child hatred is on the internet.

[Sumner 1868]

Yes.

and I've found it odd how widespread child hatred is on the internet.

Not odd at all. Nihilists and narcissists hate the idea of a future.

[SATW]

A friend of mine shared this on FB a few days ago, and seems very relevant to post here:

http://www.therooster.com/blog/10-brutally-real-reasons-why-millennials-refuse-have-kids

Why do millennials think their problems are so unique?  It's a common theme.  Literally everything in that article could apply to any point in time ever.  Listicles and their "authors" have to be one of the worst things to happen to the internet.  

Yea, that article was complete garbage.

People need to be honest: They just don't want kids, don't want the responsibility that comes with etc... and that's perfectly fine. No point in looking for BS excuses, though.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm personally an antinatalist (not a nihilist in any sense though), so that's kind of what stops me from liking kids from the get-go.  Other than that, it's kind of like what one of the interviewees stated in the article: I think kids are at their best when they're quiet, humble, and intelligent.  You don't get that combination much at all, unfortunately.  Sometimes I exaggerate my own feelings here.  I really don't like kids, but I do tolerate them.

I also really don't care what other people do with their lives, but the ways people try coercing someone into liking or having kids is a far more prevalent issue from my perspective, as is shaming people who don't want any.

[Mr. Smith]

Very much so.

But adoption would be my preference, the idea of parenting/romantic partners makes me skittish.

Romance aside for a moment, I'd much rather discipline my children as I see fit than end up being labeled "The Bad Guy" or "The Easy One, Mommy's The Real Management".

 

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

People shouldn't need to be 'coerced' into having, at the very least, a neutral or mixed opinion of the young of their own kind. Practically everything bad that people say about kids is also, to varying extents, true of the elderly, and it's not socially acceptable or cute or chic to hate them.

Also, disliking children--children specifically--because one is 'an antinatalist' just strikes me as facially absurd. Everybody has, at some point or another, been born, and none of us had a choice in the matter.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

People shouldn't need to be 'coerced' into having, at the very least, a neutral or mixed opinion of the young of their own kind.

Disliking children--children specifically--because one is 'an antinatalist' just strikes me as facially absurd. Everybody has, at some point or another, been born, and none of us had a choice in the matter.

Practically everything bad that people say about kids is also, to varying extents, true of the elderly, and it's not socially acceptable or cute or chic to hate them.

For the elderly, I suppose the major difference here is that older people are simply maturer - and of course not to mention the fact that the elderly usually face great deals of physical pain in day-to-day life.  But I'm not in favor of neglecting or mistreating either group, certainly.

And I'll take back what I said about my antinatalist stance.  It's not particularly relevant to this at all and I shouldn't have brought it up.  And as far as we know, no, being born wasn't a choice for any of us.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Second, I don't feel the urgency to pass on my genes

That is a major (though not the major) reason for me.  I was discussing that with a friend and he named it "voluntary eugenics," which I thought fitting.

I don't consider my genes "inferior", I just find the whole "zomgz let's spread our DNA into another generation" laughable.