Some people dream of being parents, while others have sworn off ever having kids. Both are personal choices, and both are fine. Or at least, that's how it should be. But as we have come to learn, there will always be certain folk who feel they're entitled to others' reproductive choices.
Like the parents of an engaged couple who refuse to accept that their adult kids want to remain child-free. Both the husband and the wife's parents are demanding they have children, going as far as threatening to cut their inheritances should they not agree. The drama is unfolding just weeks before the couple's wedding, and it's cast a dark cloud over the plans.
This couple has been together for over a decade and has decided against having kids
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
But their parents are having none of it... They've threatened to cut their inheritances if they don't produce grandchildren
Image credits: Alena Darmel / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
He later revealed that they had decided to do some cutting off of their own
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Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)
An increasing number of people are choosing to be child-free, but research shows that many still face stigma
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage... That's pretty much how the world operated back, back in the day. But to say things have changed is an understatement. Relationships and families come in all shapes and sizes, and many people are throwing outdated expectations to the wind as they remain child-free by choice.
There are lots of reasons why someone might decide they don't ever want kids... Money, career, travel, health, age, etc. But a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2023 revealed that for many, it's simply a case of "I just didn't want children."
A separate study, carried out by Jennifer Watling Neal, a professor in the social/personality psychology program at Michigan State University, found that 1 in 5 adults are child-free.
"That means that they didn’t have kids and they also expressed that they didn’t want to have children in the future. And that was quite a large number," Neal explained during a podcast. "We weren’t necessarily expecting to find such a large number of child-free folks in Michigan."
The expert says that while the research is only focused on adults in Michigan, that state's population is similar to the general U.S. population in terms of age, race, education, income and politics. "So we believe that our findings might apply more broadly," Neal adds. "And if that pattern that we’re finding holds up nationally, it would mean about 50 to 60 million Americans are child-free."
While not starting a family is becoming increasingly popular, Neal found that there's still some stigma attached to that decision in some quarters. "We in the U.S. live in a society where the norm is very much still having children and having children is very valued. So people who do not have children and who also don’t want to have children are really sort of going against that norm," she explained.
According to Neal, women (unsurprisingly) bear the brunt of the stigma. The expert says that common stereotypes that are mentioned often for child-free people, especially women, are that they’re "selfish, self-centered, that they might be focused on their career, that they have no responsibilities, that they have lots of money, that they hate children, and that they might regret their decision later."
Neal and her team found that men, people without a college degree, and people who have or want children often hold more negative views of child-free people, so they’re more likely to endorse some of these stereotypes.
According to the expert, the child-free trend is not unique to the United States.
"We’re seeing similar trends in other countries where we’re seeing potential increases in a decent sized population," says Neal. "The prevalence rates vary quite a bit, but we’re seeing upticks."
"Go get a vasectomy": People flocked to the comments, with many shocked at the parents' entitlement
In a shocking update, the guy revealed that "someone" had tried to cancel his wedding
Image credits: Vitor Monthay / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
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Image credits: Aakash Malik / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: HelpfullyUnarmed
Many people urged the man to make use of password protection... on everything
