I guess THIS is the main reason not to have kids

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/02583dff-9db3-3d45-94df-5610eff3d5ca/the-cost-of-child-care-is.html?bcmt=1&guccounter=1

The high cost...gee if only it was "affordable" The comments are full of people demanding endless mooternity leave

A few mention overpopulation, but they were shut down due to people saying the illegals and the "browns" will overtake us

I read this in the NYT yesterday. This also is interesting: The Times asked people who didn’t want children or weren’t sure if they would have them about their motivations. The most popular reason was wanting more leisure time (36%).

This is the No. 1 reason DH and I didn't have kids. More time for ourselves. Less bullshit in life. Money also was a consideration, but in the end, we just didn't want the responsibility. It's the same reason why we won't get a dog!

I agree with quiltergirl. Leusure time was the biggest reason I didn't want kids. I wanted my time for myself, not some mini me who would suck years and resources from my life. Spouse was a fencesitter, but came to my side fast when seeing how shitty kids can be.

No kids means retirement is already fully funded, with extra $$$$$ every year into the fund.

No kids means we are planning our vacations for autumn and spring already.

One commenter on yahoo said that the choice was either new cars, vacations, nice clothes, jewelry, new phones, cable TV, eating out, OR a baby, because of time and financial sacrifice, implying that CF people are selfish. If you put it that way, many of us will choose well being and quality of life over a baby every time. The ironic part is that many CF people aren't rich and high flying at all, but these yahoos think that all of us must be rolling in dough, awash in disposable imcome.

Just a bunch of yahoos commenting on yahoo

I know plenty of people who have no leisure time whatsoever and they don't have kids. Either someone has to give up their career or a stranger raises the kids in many instances. And the second spouse/partner may still have to work all the time to afford kids.

Leisure time was one of many motivators for me. Having leisure time and living nicely at the same time is somewhat difficult to achieve so good for all the folks in this age group/article for saying no to kids. The last thing most people want to come home to after working a 10+ hour day is a PIA: for example, a brat who throws a fit over something during dinner, whines because he isn't being played with and puts up a huge fight to take a bath and go to bed. And the rest of this night the kid may be on good behavior but who wants this hassle after working all day? Neither of the working spouses do!

Or coming home to a harried spouse who thinks the moment her husband (because face it, mostly it is women who stay home) arrives home that she can hand over the brat to him. And he just wants to unwind and relax for the first time during the day. But if he does, she will turn into bitchella and instead of dealing with a brat he will have to deal with her. And she is sick to death of the kid and needs a break.

Even older kids don't want to come home after school and put up with younger kids and their tantrums and whining.

I've talked with parents who haven't saved a dime for retirement despite having two good salaries. One was in a situation where both him and his wife worked and no retirement. And he turned 65 that year.

The comments seem to have lots of people on the opposite extremes of the political spectrum posting: one wants total free daycare provided (by Santa Claus? the Tooth Fairy?) and the other thinks it is all the fault of illegals who, according to the posters, are bleeding the gov't dry so there is nothing left to ration to the good taxpayers (no mention whatsoever of the realities of corporate welfare).

decades ago, before I was certifiably CF, someone wrote a snotty article about the lives of the CF, and it was featured in some women''s mag. It was a big rant about how we were all wealthy , since we didn't have to care for kids, we all lived in super neat homes , and we all took luxurious vacations all the time and flaunted all this to the sainted parents. Oh, and , of course , we were all selfish and self absorbed. Even then I was mortally offended! SOME of us don't WANT to work hard at pressured careers just so we can send the blood suckers to college and buy the latest kid fashions so they won't be warped by bullying in school! SOME of us are smart enough to know we wouldn't , or don't want to be ,"good parents"--ie: totally focused to the keeyuds 24/7.SOME of us (me!) don't want to CLEAN the house all the time, just so bratleigh won't eat the damn dust bunnies--and the dogs don't care! Shithead breeders are SO SMUG!

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reeniebessagain
decades ago, before I was certifiably CF, someone wrote a snotty article about the lives of the CF, and it was featured in some women''s mag. It was a big rant about how we were all wealthy , since we didn't have to care for kids, we all lived in super neat homes , and we all took luxurious vacations all the time and flaunted all this to the sainted parents. Oh, and , of course , we were all selfish and self absorbed. Even then I was mortally offended!

The snotty article author sounds seriously jealous of the CF people she was ranting about. I would say more but my jet awaits to take me to Belize.

My main reason for not having kids is that I can't stand them. Money isn't really a factor. If someone offered me $50 million, I still wouldn't want one.

I would argue that money isn't a factor for most people, either, since they still seem to keep having babies, despite how much they cost.

Same here, yurble. I don't want kids because I don't like them. There are other reasons, but that's the main one. Why the hell should I have something I don't like, want or even need to have?

For the average person, I don't think cost is as big of a factor as some people think because it's no big secret that you could very easily quit your job, crap out a kid and live off the taxpayers. In other words, being too poor to breed has never stopped people from breeding and it never will. In fact, it's usually the people who are least equipped financially and mentally to be parents that are having the most kids. Throw in the Quiverfull "God will decide our family size" people and they more than make up for those of us who aren't reproducing.

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freya
The snotty article author sounds seriously jealous of the CF people she was ranting about. I would say more but my jet awaits to take me to Belize.

Have a great trip! *Sips morning Bloody Mary while sitting on the deck of my mansion overlooking the Napa Valley*

That was one of my reasons, but there were many others...too many reasons to count. Freedom is just the icing on the cake. I've never heard a single logical reason why someone would want them, yet when I hear people's reasons for NOT having them, they are sound.

My husband and I aren't swimming in money, but we'd be a helluva lot worse off if we had to pay for brats. As it is, we have enough to run a nice home, pay the bills, and look after our needs. When we want to do something nice, we have a few dollars for that, too.