An increasing number of mothers are coming forward and stating that they wish they never had their children.
They describe motherhood as a life-altering mistake and middle-class prison.
I cannot imagine life without my boys, therefore I can only feel sorry for these women (and some men). Some of them also make me angry…
Reasons
Many do have legitimate reasons, such as complex emotional problems and lives. Many women do become pregnant by accident.
However, plenty of people also seem to regret having their children for purely selfish reasons.
- There’s the father who has to use anti-depressants, because he can’t face the fact that his one year old has needs which have to be satisfied before his own. He wants his life to go back to the way it was before he had a kid.
- There’s the mother who feels she would have written 3 books by now if she had not had her kids. Surely she should have considered before having kids that she would now have less time for such pursuits, at least while the kids are small? And then are those ladies who feel they would have been much further along in their careers, but the children are holding them back…
- You also get your outright narcissistic and abusive parents. One young lady was abused by her mother who also decided she did not want kids after having them.
- Some people are actually good parents, but seemingly unable to enjoy parenthood as they have unreasonable expectations of themselves.
Societal pressure
Apparently a life without kids is still regarded as inferior for women. Many of the women in the various newspaper articles and online chat groups, mentioned they were pressured by society to procreate. I’ve never experienced this bias (or maybe I’m just thick-skinned and unknowingly ignored it), even though I only got married and had my first child at the age of 34. Somehow it seems easy to blame societal/peer pressure for doing something you don’t want to do, when the regret hits you afterwards. But surely as a mature adult you can also make your own choices?
Don’t inflict yourself on innocent children if you don’t really want them. Having children may seem like the fashionable idea at the time and in tune with your crowd, but they can’t be returned to the shop if you grow tired of them.
I fully support people who don’t want children and consider this a normal and adult decision. But it’s unnecessary to act in a dysfunctional manner by having a child and then regretting it afterwards because you now have to make sacrifices in your career and personal life.
