Hi folks, I thought I'd create some content and share some experience and learning around any concerns I had about being childfree in my first 10 years after my tubal. I hope this can help those that are at this stage now.
I will say that 35 years after my tubal, I realized in retrospect, somewhere during that time, that I knew in my teens I didn't want kids. I did go through a period, soon after my tubal at 24, of about 10 years where a lot of my friends tried to pressure me into either spending a ton of time with their kids or even adopt, where I wondered if I really wanted kids cuz I liked babies under 6 months of age. It wasn't until I got close to someone and her newborn, where I spent plenty of time with her kid over the next 3 years and she was TOTALLY accepting of my decision and NEVER pushed an agenda. I finally realized I truly lost interest in the kid after about 6 months of age and knew I wasn't interested, not because I was pushing back against acquaintances who were pushing their own agenda in opposition to mine, but because I JUST LOST INTEREST. It took a good, secure in their parenthood, friend to let me understand there was zero interest on my part.
As it turns out what I like about babies was the oxytocin hit from carrying them around, which I learned I could get from cats and small dogs, of which I have 2 now, and they stay small forever instead of just 6 months!
A childless person saying "I can get the same hit from cats and small dogs" is like a cis man saying "I can get the same experience as childbirth by performing a large bowel movement".
But most men never want to experience childbirth, and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. Just like there's nothing wrong with not wanting kids. But pets absolutely cannot replicate actual children, just like a bowel movement can never replicate the experience of childbirth.
They don't want to "replicate actual children". That much should have been pretty obvious. They want the good parts of affection without the lifelong implications.
The original poster was talking about their own experience, not anyone else's.
Okay and my great uncle Fred took a dump that he insists was as difficult to pass as a human child. Since he's talking about his experiences, not anyone else's, he must be right, right? By your logic my uncle Fred genuinely knows what childbirth feels like, correct?
Or does the fact that he has never experienced childbirth exclude him from making such comparisons?
OP is saying that in their experience, holding a baby gives them the same hit of oxytocin as holding a cat or dog. OP has experienced holding both babies and cats and dogs. OP is talking about experiences that they have had. Your uncles was talking about taking a shit, an experience that he had, and giving birth, an experience that he has not had. That is the difference. OP is allowed to talk about their experiences. They're not talking about other people's experiences with children or claiming that their individual experiences are universal.
Holding someone else's child is completely different from holding your own child that you created and gave life to. OP has never held their own child, and therefore cannot possibly say that pet ownership gives them the same satisfaction.
Op is talking about holding their pet, an experience they have had, and holding their child, an experience they have not had. Therefore they absolutely cannot try to compare the two.
All OP can say is that having pets gives them the same enjoyment as holding someone else's baby, which is most likely absolutely true. But that's not what was said. They tried to equate pet ownership to bringing and nurturing a life into this world and I'm sorry but that's fucking ridiculous, period.
If someone feels the same about children and animals, and then decides to not become a parent as a result, that is a responsible choice. Not all parents like their children. Some parents develop a special bond but not all. Better for a person to have a few pets than create a human being they may end up losing interest in after a few months.
I agree with every word of that, except the first line. My point is that OP cannot possibly know if owning pets will provide them the same satisfaction as having children because they've never had children.
No one here is actually disputing what I actually said, because what I actually said is correct. I made a statement, and everyone threw their strawman arguments at me.
And you can't possibly know how amazing it is to be without children then. Also you sound like someone who thinks forcing a lesbian to be with a man would correct her because she doesn't know what she's missing.
Agreed. OP can just say, "Having kids isn't for me." And that's cool, we accept that. It sounds a bit like trying to justify the choice to themselves or at the very least help other be ok with the decision to not have kids. The pet analogy is over simplified. One thing I will say is that having kids of your own vs being around someone else's is very different. Being there through the grow and maturity into a functional human is the reward and frankyly it goes super fast. It felt like.yeaterday I was holding my kids as newborns and now they are in high school. The journey is the experience .To each their own on their choices.
Excuse me sir or ma'am, you are in the childfree community about being childfree. If you would like to participate in parenting conversations or discuss how great kids are, I'm sure there are places dedicated to that, but this is not it.
Friend, this is a forum website designed for discussion and interaction. If you want an echo chamber, I'm sure there are places dedicated to that, but this is not it.
Start your own private instance, only allow specific people in, close that shit up tight if you want.
This is not that place.
Exactly, a child becomes an intelligent, mature adult. A person. A real person walking around, feeling things, talking to people, sharing knowledge and ideas and experiences. No part of pet ownership can emulate that.
Haha, especially the mature and intelligent is at least worth a discussion...
Mature and intelligent in the scientific sense. As in "intelligent life".