I'm not childless, I'm child-free. -less implies you're missing something you want. I've never wanted children.

My child-free ways are not as bad as they used to be, I used to say 'I'm sorry to hear that,' at pregnancy announcements. ?

I work in child welfare and I don't want people who don't want children to have them. It is a personal choice either way.

Religious people feel it is very "sinful" for a couple to choose childlessness. Non religious people, you get a variety of reactions.

I've never had children and I don't give a flying rat's ass what society thinks about that.
I think it's really none of anyone's business why someone doesn't have children.
To be honest, it's pretty messed up that some people think it's okay for them to comment
on what other people do (not referring to you-it feels like you have a reason behind your
question), regarding whether they have children.
There are far too many people who have no business being parents.
No one has any room to criticize those who aren't parents, regardless of the reasons.

My oldest son and his wife decided back when they first met that they didn't want children. I never had a problem with their decision.

Having children is a huge responsibility. If you don't want the life-long commitment, you shouldn't have them.

Sometimes being childless is a choice. My best friend and her husband have been married 30 yrs and chose not to have children but are a mentor to my daughter and couldn't have more love to give. They chose to live a different life, and it's a beautiful one.

As a woman in my 20's and 30's, I was relentlessly pressured by people to have children. At work, at the gym, from family and friends. It was nonstop. But I was adamantly against having kids.

"You're so intelligent, we need your genes in the gene pool!" As if that's a good reason to have a child.

For five years, my husband and I couldn't agree about having kids. First one of us wanted kids; then we switched positions. We took parenting classes together.

"We have 12 years of YMCA program director experience between us," we said, skipping stones on the Icicle River. "Wouldn't this be fun to share with a child?"

During the 10 minutes we agreed, we conceived. Claire was born when I was 36 and Terry was 40.

I'm childless. Tho I've had a few 'instant' family situations in my time, & currently have 3 "step" grandkids, whom I love dearly, I was really never the father type, so just as well not to get in that situation.

As a woman who does not have or want children, I can tell you that I have certainly gotten some shit in my life because of it. Especially from family. Apparently I am going to be an old maid. People think you are selfish, but it seems selfish to me to bring a child into this screwed up world for the sake of motherhood or passing along what are likely highly inferior genes. So... Yeah.

For some reason, it is an expectation that everyone either wants children or should have children. Unfortunately, many people thought it was a good idea, but they were lousy parents!

I think many people get married and have kids because they feel that's the thing to do. And from my observations most people want kids because they want them for some purpose relating to them (save a relationship, force a relationship, I want to be a mommy-ie 'biological clock ticking', "I'm Catholic and must therefore reproduce more Catholics, etc) but nothing to do with the actual reality of providing for/nurturing a future adult.
I had 4 kids because I was young and dumb. I don't regret it. I love those window lickers!

Societal norms (man, I hate those things) do pressure folks to have kids.
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But have them or not, ain't none of my business.

I quite like being childless. There are lots of people who have children, and don't want them, or had a child to "fix" their marriage. I feel terribly for them.

I'm childless and I love it

I don’t have any children of my own. I remain close to my 2 step children, and their mom, after their dad died suddenly last year.
It has taken a while to shift my mindset from being unhappy I hadn’t had children to being thankful I don’t have children. At 45 I’m enjoying the freedom not having children has given my life now and planning my future plans.

I'm happily childless and am surprised when people express anger at my choice. I just don't get how it affects them to the point of anger.

should people being childless make me think anything about them?

I also think there is a strong argument for Zero, or Negative Population Growth, and some people purposely do not have children for the greater good of not contributing to the depletion of the Earth's resources. All the while, others (including religious zealots) are procreating like there's no tomorrow, which there may not be. Often these are the people who have no self-control over depleting resources. And the great irony is those with an intelligent plan for procreation (including not procreating) are probably the ones we DO want procreating... we will soon be outnumbered and outvoted by those who don't give a shit about the planet. This is a conundrum.

Some people don't want children, and that is their choice -- and mp one else's. It is not for others to judge.

I have no children and l feel great. I haven't seen anything that has made me regret my decision.

Not having biological children is doing the rest of us a favour as far as limited resources and pollution go. I consider it selfless these days. They should be rewarded.

It is not bad not to want children. It is sad if someone who wants children can't have any. Adoption sometimes works.

By the time I was 13-14, I felt pity for women stuck in houses raising kids...women who didn't have their own paychecks and who couldn't just pick up and go somewhere on vacation if they had the whim to do so....or families who never had enough and were always struggling.

I still feel pity for women who think their "greatest accomplishment" is that a man shot some sperm into them and they pooped out a crotchmoppet.

An accomplishment would be being CEO or winning a Nobel prize....or becoming president of a first world nation.
Ask people what Hillary Clinton's greatest accomplishment and I bet, hands down, no one says "Chelsea". Duh. That should be proof enough that children are NOT an accomplishment.

Children are NOT a "miracle". That is bullshit propaganda spread by a patriarchal society to keep women in the house and under the control of men. Otherwise, there are 350,000 miracles a day.....LOL. Definitely NOT miracles....just a basic act of biology that even a stray cat has mastered. The prisons are full of those "little miracles" as are drug rehab centers...and homeless shelters.

Furthermore, on an overpopulated and dying planet....getting knocked up is a selfish, selfish, selfish choice. If we can't take care of the ones that are here --- from children to senior citizens --- how dare you breed more people?

Want to really do a "miracle"? Get involved in solving the problems facing the world...and REALLY make a difference.

There is a reason that the world is still pretty much run by men....and it's because women keep buying into the bullshit that they have to be factories in order to be "complete" women.

Personally, I think it's commendable. I do, however, work with many people who still think a woman must have many children, especially sons and, of course, only in wedlock. I used to work with 2 women treated me with disdain because they have sons and I only have one daughter. In addition, one of them used to go on and on about the evils of single mothers until the day I said, "Oh, for Heaven's sake, K---, they're not serial killers!"

As for adopting children. Great, if thats what you want to do. Not so great if you adopt for the status of saying you "saved" the child from a horrible future. Sadly, a lot of children adopted (or should I say "bought" ) from foreign countries end up in the foster care system. Then, again, so do a lot people's biological children.