Kids and your opinion of them

[Qizx]

I have no paternal instinct whatsoever. When a baby cries, its just shrill and hurts my ears, but no "To the rescue!" instinct kicks in. I just glare at the parents until they're so uncomfortable they finally shut the thing up.

Having said that, the flip side is I don't really view kids as kids. I see them as little adults worthy of due consideration and complete honestly. Which is another reason I'd be a terrible parent.
"Daddy, look its a doggie!"
"No, its a shitpile of dry pasta and too much glue. Not only is it not a dog, its not even a close representation of a dog.

"Daddy, is Santa real?"
"How old are you again?"
"4"
"No, he's fake. So is the Easter Bunny, tooth fairy and there's no way to prove God either, so guess who gets to sleep in Sunday!"

"Look Daddy, its Snow White!"
"No, its a part-time Hooters waitress 'working her way through medschool'. And the dude in the Mickey Mouse costume is hammered on vodka shooters."

I feel this is a common mistake. Being honest doesn't mean being a dick.

OT: Hell no. Children and I don't get along, and by that I mean I don't get along with them, they love me. I just can't stand them, they're obnoxious, loud, and cost A LOT of money. I enjoy driving my fancy cars and going on vacations way too much to give it up for a child. Not to mention I travel for work so I would be a terrible father figure.

SNIP

What grade do you teach? My Girlfriend is about to start teaching Highschool next year, and I hope she has a better experience than you do!

 

[meowchef]

I like mine. I hate yours.

That pretty much sums it up. I didn't intend to have them, but I did the deed, and they happened, and I love them.

 

[Saulkar]

Kids... disturb me. I do not like being around any that I am not related to. Even then, I am not a happy camper. I cannot explain it but that does not mean that I would not do my Goddamned best to protect/save one if the need arises.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

(Is a guy)

Totally not interested in kids. For 3 main reasons.

1) I don't think I can handle the responsibility. I'm leery about having pets, even. Having a dependent little thing that absolutely requires my care worries me.

2) I have ADD and aspergers. My younger brother has it even worse than me. I don't think I wanna risk spreading these faulty genes further down the line. I mean, I can still live a perfectly great life, but if the condition ends up worse down the line, that's not good.

3) I'm just a bit selfish. I want to have my free time and my hobbies and stuff, and I want to be free to travel or go to local events without worrying about having to hire sitters and stuff.

That and I think the world is already getting too overpopulated and I really don't care about "spreading the family name".

I think I'd make a badass uncle, but full time dad? Nah.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I don't want them and I never will but I like them which I think is better than saying I hate kids but want them like I've heard a few people say.
People think I'm weird that I hire myself out as a Disney princess for kids parties but don't want kids or even get broody
I like spending time around them and love seeing them happy but I don't want my own. A few hours is enough time to spend with them, I'm not very good at handling them when they start getting stressed so handing them back to their parents is always good!

 

[renegade7]

As someone who has in the past contemplated the possibility of never having children, I've encountered people who have... issues understanding that stance.

Same. I'm not even female and my parents absolutely wigged the fuck out when they found out I had a vasectomy in college. It really depresses me how women who aren't interested in children are treated, and especially how many of them just give in to the pressure.

So Escapist, what is your opinion of children? Would you like some of your own one day? Can't stand being in the same room as them?

I have no interest in ever having children. It's not that I hate them, it's just that it's not the kind of life I can see myself being happy with.

If you don't ever want kids why is that? Is it the society we live in, lack of finances or do you just not see it happening?

A big part of it is philosophical. I'm both a transhumanist and an environmentlist, and given the severe risk of overpopulation, I do not believe that it is possible to reconcile concern for the environment and a belief that people have the right to live for as long as they want with any interest whatsoever in reproducing. The overpopulation concern is in fact so severe [http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2009/jul/family-planning-major-environmental-emphasis]
that I don't consider it possible to reconcile any concern for the environment at all with a desire to have children (tl;dr for the article: each child a person has increases their carbon footprint by a factor of at least six, most likely much higher if that person does not live an optimally sustainable lifestyle).

Plus, they cause stress, loss of money, and loss of sleep. It's been shown that parents are fatter, mentally slower, and more prone to death than non-parents when all other things are held equal. No thanks.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

I'm an uncle and the most extensive periods of time I've been with them is over a two-day period. I enjoy their company, but I'm glad that there is an immediate and defined end in sight and I can go home.

I also want a career, a life and the ability to go on holidays whenever to get away from it all. To throw away any sense of freedom for years and only regaining some of that after about 2 decades (or more in today's economy) later when you're in your 50s or later makes no sense to me.

I've seen arguments that makes me a selfish person and it's my duty to have children (same person also called homosexuals selfish and they should suck it up and breed for the sake of their parents). How would it be responsible or moral for me to have kids when I don't want them I will never know.

EDIT

I may as well add that I have experienced parental abandonment. Not by them leaving, but by them committing suicide. Putting aside the fact that it inevitably raises questions about my ability to remain rational under stress, I have personally been at the receiving end of someone deciding their kids weren't worth it to stay.

Being a parent is not a small choice and really shouldn't be seen as the "default" path and deviating from it is a bad thing. That's how so many people end up in bad situations. It's not just you that's affected by it. You will have people in your life that you will be responsible for on an emotional level who have a much less capacity to understand and control what is going on. If you fail them, you will fuck them up for life.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I'm an uncle and the most extensive periods of time I've been with them is over a two-day period. I enjoy their company, but I'm glad that there is an immediate and defined end in sight and I can go home.

I also want a career, a life and the ability to go on holidays whenever to get away from it all. To throw away any sense of freedom for years and only regaining some of that after about 2 decades (or more in today's economy) later when you're in your 50s or later makes no sense to me.

I've seen arguments that makes me a selfish person and it's my duty to have children (same person also called homosexuals selfish and they should suck it up and breed for the sake of their parents). How would it be responsible or moral for me to have kids when I don't want them I will never know.

Those people are terrible. It is more selfish to HAVE kids of your own, and to claim homosexuality is somehow selfish? Fucking hell. We need to calm our reproduction down, not force it. These people are insane. And not in any endearing form. The irony in their intentions would be humourous if it weren't so damaging. If they're creationists, then it's best to just leave them in their own worlds.

 

[McElroy]

It is more selfish to HAVE kids of your own.

It's a different kind of selfish, but I wouldn't say one is "more" than the other.

 

[happyninja42]

I've seen arguments that makes me a selfish person and it's my duty to have children (same person also called homosexuals selfish and they should suck it up and breed for the sake of their parents). How would it be responsible or moral for me to have kids when I don't want them I will never know.

In my personal experience, these people are also the same ones that like to accuse athiests of just wanting to be able to sin, for choosing their lifestyle.

 

[RaikuFA]

I wouldn't mind having a child of my own. I had a job watching children and the kids liked me. I'm still in touch with my inner child so it'll be easy to connect with them. I have my cousins daughter that I get stuff for. Trying to get any kids movie I own on dvd to send to her for Xmas.

Now getting someone to go out with me, that's the difficult part.

 

[SupahEwok]

I may as well add that I have experienced parental abandonment. Not by them leaving, but by them committing suicide. Putting aside the fact that it inevitably raises questions about my ability to remain rational under stress, I have personally been at the receiving end of someone deciding their kids weren't worth it to stay.

I don't mean to pry, and I don't know if it's my place to comment, but... as someone who's considered suicide, I feel I should say this: it's almost next to never deciding that the people in your life aren't worth living for. It's thinking that they'll be better off without you. It's not a rational chain of thought, but depression isn't exactly a rational mindset.