Poll: No children: a turn-off?

[Zorak the Mantis]

I like the idea of adopting in the future, but no WAY am I having my own children. I've been subjected to the 'lovely' sight of birth before. There is nothing magical about pushing a watermelon out of my vagina. 'Sides, so many unwanted kids in the world

Anyway, it would be a bit awkward if the man I wanted to be with wanted kids of our own, but hopefully they would be the kind of person that can accept the fact that I personally would rather adopt.

But it would be YOUR watermelon. No adopted child can ever replace that. And i can`t imagine a couple capable of making kids who would adopt instead.

I know plenty of couples who can reproduce yet they choose to adopt purely because of the fact that there are so many children who are unwanted.

As for me, I don't care. I'm definitely not interested in having children ANY time soon. If and when I get to that point in my life I think adoption would definitely be something I would consider. I would much rather bring hope to a child who is already alive than one who has yet to be conceived.

 

[Nimcha]

No problem, don't want kids and I don't think I ever will. And since it can't happen the 'natural' way for me anyway, the alternatives are too much of a hassle to consider.

 

[ConstantErasing]

If I am just in the relationship for fun, no. However if there is at all a chance of it turning into a serious relationship then yes it would be a turn off. I want to have children. I am a redhead, we are dying out, I want to spread the gene as well as I can. Not to mention although the though of raising a kid is not very appealing, at the same time I am rather curious and it would be a great opportunity to experiment a little with the human mind and see if I can't create a person that I actually like and respect.

 

[Ham_authority95]

Hiya escapists.

I'm supposed to be studying for a chemistry mock exam today, so as per the laws of nature and studying I've ended up only being able to think of matters not even tangentially related to that.
Today's thoughts are as follows:

Would the fact that a prospective partner does not want to have children, ever, affect your desire to initiate a relationship with them?
Say someone with your preferred set of genitalia has asked you out. The first few dates have gone swimmingly, and you are reasonably attracted to them. You are both interested in pursuing something more long-term. We're not talking marriage plans here though; just a regular boyfriend-girlfriend thing. There's commitment involved, but you don't consider them to be "the one", in other words.
However, the prospective partner just revealed that their plans for the future contain exactly zero offspring. Are you still interested in pursuing a somewhat proper relationship with this person?

Spoiler: Some clarifications:

The purpose of this poll here is to see how someone's stance on children will affect another person's choice of partner for a relationship that's not expected to make it to the point of marriage/civil union/relationship state where having children would be natural/whatever equivalent you feel like, jeez.

Basically: Whether the partner wants children or not is in reality largly irrelevant to the relationship, but I suspect their choice not to procreate might still turn many off the relationship; particularly women.
Because I'm a sexist pig, I guess.

Make note that I am not referring to a casual relationship. It is important that even though neither party honestly believes it'll last 'till marriage there is still commitment involved.

[sub]Yes, I am aware that the results will be rather skewed because of the escapist community.
Fucks given: Zero.
I'll compensate or something.
And I just realized my original poll options don't make sense in their formulation. Drat.[/sub]

I'd probably be like "Okay, cool." and carry on with my day knowing the person in question wouldn't forget their birth control.

I'm 16. Why would I care about the person wanting to have kids or not? Kids don't seem fun, but I shouldn't even think about having them until I'm at least 30.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

Well, I never want to have a child or children so it'd be sort of perfect for me. So the answer is obviously, no.

 

[pirateninj4]

HA! Kek, the men are pretty tightly slotted into that No I Wouldn't Give A Shiny Red Fuck...

I must say though, a decent poll post. Well done on ease of use

 

[efAston]

Yes it would. I've already been oopsed.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

That's actually part of what brought me and my GF worked out. Neither of us want kids (with the possible exception of adoption in many decades) and it has only brought us closer together. I dislike children and so does she.

 

[Vault101]

I do worry that I may never want children...when your a woman..and older thats a bit strange

though I accept the fact that theres every change my mind will change

 

[PhiMed]

While I respect the choices of someone else, I would view someone who has chosen to never have children as someone with whom I could never have a meaningful relationship.

If you have decided, on a personal level, that your genes are not worth passing on, then that's up to you. I've already decided that mine are, most definitely, worth preserving. Enjoy your evolutionary obsolescence. My progeny shall create a new era.

Also, your vagina is gross to me now.

 

[Phlakes]

I definitely want at least one, and I've seen that most of the people who say they don't end up changing their mind (growing out of it, in most cases).

But when I'm older and ready to marry, it would definitely be a factor.

 

[Stg]

Speaking from personal experience, this would not deter me from my decision of pursuing a relationship. I don't want kids now (being only 24) but I might later. That being said, I did date someone for two years who absolutely did not want kids at the time. With me being intelligent, I knew women change their minds and feelings towards certain topics on a regular basis, so I knew her perspective of bearing children would change as well. Just as I knew would happen, almost two years later she stops taking her birth control, starts bugging me with baby questions, and persists that I hop on board with the idea of starting a family. The relationship fizzled off and we ended up going our separate ways - last I heard she has three kids with two different fathers and is living in complete misery.

Now an important message to the boys and men of The Escapist (though this is primarily directed towards the inexperienced boys and ignorant men here). If you believe a female under the age of 30 is going to keep her current perspectives, then you are a fool. Brace yourself and just expect that she is going to change because it will happen. There is nothing wrong with this, but it amazes me how my friends can be caught off guard when this event unfolds and their girlfriend/wife suddenly changes.

 

[Micalas]

Eh... that's kinda creepy... do you mean "I will make the kid anyway"-accident or "If the really condom break I'm gonna keep the child"-accident ?

I was going along the lines of whoops it seems I appear to have forgotten to take those birth control pills all last week. It was also meant as a joke.

Any woman who pulls that shit deserves to be set on fire. As long as men don't have equal rights when it comes to children I will pray that all who do it die horribly.

 

[Betancore]

The poll is a little unclear. I mean, yes, it would affect my desire to be in relationship with them, in that I'd like them a little more - so I think by your poll, I should've voted 'no.' But in response to the question itself, it'd be 'yes.' Anyway, moving on.

I'm 17 years old, and have so far never wanted to have children. I do have some vague plans for a career, and having children doesn't really fit into those vague plans. Furthermore, I firmly believe that I'd be a terrible mother. At this age, having kids isn't really the first thing I discuss with a boyfriend, but I've actually talked about it with my current boyfriend, who does want to have kids at some stage. The thing that I found interesting was that he's also talked about moving out together and being together through university.

So I think he's either resigned to breaking up with me after uni and going to find a woman who wants to bear his offspring, or he's expecting me to change my mind. I don't know. I still need to get over the whole 'I'd be a terrible mother' thing, after all.

 

[shrimpcel]

I do know what to pick! Oranges!

 

[CODE-D]

You could always be devious....poking certain holes in certain protective wear, I mean theyre only 99% effective right.


But I dont really care, fuck children. I had to raise my baby bros and Im done.
If she wants them fine but Ill make sure she knows the responsibilities, the time you give and no real payoffs other than a creature that loves you.

 

[ImperialSunlight]

The only way I could have kids with my partner is adopt, since I'm gay and I don't really like kids all that much. So no, it wouldn't bother me at all. In fact, it would probably make me like him more.