Deciding whether or not to have children is one of life’s biggest decisions. And rightly so, because such a seemingly small addition to the family changes a lot. Suddenly, your identity switches to that of a parent, your responsibilities multiply, and you find out the hard way that babies don’t have kneecaps.
Not wanting such a life for themselves, some people decide not to have children at all. And that’s fine, too. Others are just curious about what their day-to-day looks like without little ones running around all the time.
One of them was redditor NetworkOver7742, who was so intrigued that they even started an online discussion about it. And child-free couples had a lot to say, with almost 4K of them sharing their experiences. Below, you’ll find the most popular ones that will give you an insightful look into what it’s really like to not have children.
While you're at it make sure to check out a conversation with author and astrocartographer Helena Woods who chose to be kid-free and shares her experience online.
Image credits: NetworkOver7742
#21
My salary isn't bad, but I may as well be rich, considering I have no kids, no debt, no expensive weddings. Unlimited free time to do whatever I want, whenever. I struggle to imagine why anyone would want children so badly.
39points
#22
Yeah, I regret it a lot. But it wasn't my choice so, I just have to figure out how to live with that.
37points
#23
Maybe 10% regret, 90% not. These big life decisions generally aren't all-or-nothing.
I have a lot of anxiety, and kids pick up 9n that. I wouldn't want to burden a child with coping with my anxiety, on top of just learning how to be a human, which is hard enough already.
36points
#24
Absolutely no regrets. My life is my own.
35points
#25
It hurts like hell that I can’t have children. But I’m beginning to accept it’s for the best. Both of us have depression. I have anxiety, ADHD. I fight every day to do basics for myself. My partner does too. We should not bring a child into this world like this. So we work together to help each other and just be the best Aunt and Uncle we can. I grieve for my unborn children but I know it’s for the best.
34points
#26
We are in our 50s now. Not a single regret.
32points
#27
I've always known that I've never wanted kids, and I'm so happy with that decision. I've never been the maternal type, and the amount of time, work, and money they require just seems like torture. I love being able to travel the world at a moment's notice, and I love having time for my interests, hobbies, sleep, etc. When I talk to my friends that have kids they all seem so tired and depressed and they struggle with their loss of self.
32points
#28
I just turned 40, but my wife is under 40 so we get partial credit I guess. For my 40th she redid one of the rooms in the new place we just moved to into my own private nerdy game room getaway. She went all out! It’s absolutely insane, and she is still waiting for a few more things to be available/delivered! So for us, at least, it’s going pretty f*****g great right now!
32points
#29
You won't get many replies as they're too busy rolling around in their piles of money, with the time to enjoy such an activity.
28points
#30
Life has filled us! Although we don't have children, we value freedom and pay attention to our relationships. No regrets, just different priorities and a lot of joy.
27points
