Parenthood

I don't mind young kids for the most part, granted I've never had to look after or be around one for long. I'd probably change my mind real quick.

But the main reason I wouldn't have any is that I'd be afraid they'd turn out like me.

Don't have kids, don't want kids, and I've known that since I was 11-12.

I wholeheartedly agree on why people have children. It's never for the kid's sake, and many people jump into it without knowing if they're ready. So the kids are born with two strikes already--if the parents are #######5/selfish in their approach, that's three. You see way too much of that nowadays.

The concept of having to raise someone from scratch, and deal with all their $#%^ while they grow up, everyday, sounds like hell. There's no way I'd be up for it. If I end up getting a girl pregnant by mistake (which isn't likely), then I'll fight tooth and nail to either get the child aborted or have them given to a couple who WANTS kids.

I'll be damned if I get stuck in a relationship because I put my dick in the wrong waist at the wrong time. That goes for both the kid and the woman.

No, I don't have kids. No, I don't want kids.

The question was always a bit up in the air for me, until recently. I tried to adopt a dog and couldn't handle it following me around and staring at me. Luckily, I took it back to the rescue organization, so the needy devil dog went home with someone else.

Now I go to the grocery store and see how loud and obnoxious kids are, and I'm glad I'm not going to have any.

I don't see any positives in having/raising kids either. I agree with what has already been said, that most reasons people give for having kids are pretty selfish.

Having children 'is bad for your mental health', researchers say (Link)

The above article mentions survey results showing that parents are more prone to depression than those who remain childless. Is this evidence for what we all know intuitively (and intellectually/rationally)?

The article gives no clues on how the researchers dealt with the problem of causality, though. I think it is also quite plausible to assume that people who decide to have children often do so because they already have reasons to be depressed. Seems to me that many people want children to fill an emotional void or to patch up a marriage that's been going down the drain.

lia wrote:And man oh man did it piss me off when people would listen to my logical, rational answer to the question of when I was going to have kids and then give me a plump, condescending little smile and say, "Someday you'll meet someone and fall head over heels in love with him, and want to have three or four babies to prove your love." Please excuse me while I ram my head into the nearest wall.

Yeah I had the same thing, save the condescending smile.
I thnk that having children without love is missing the point. Since as a schizoid I'm unable to expirience or exhibit such an emotional link then the problem of kids is pretty much nonexistant for me.

I don't have children, I probably wont either. I certainly don't want children at this time in my life, and I don't see a point in my future where I would want children.

That being said, I'm not ruling out the possibility.

Even though it feels like the world and society is going to $#%^ and a child would probably end up as screwed up as me and that all life is ultimately useless (or so it seems right now), I have a fascination with genetics and bloodlines. I have some desire to spawn offspring for the sole purpose of perpetuating my genetic information. I could teach them and mold them (or at least try) to be a competent free-thinking individual. All around me I see the type of people that I detest breeding like rabbits. There should be at least something to offset that. If I were to willfully choose to not reproduce, that is basically saying that my genetics are unfit for survival and therefore I'm willingly taking my genes out of the collective gene pool. That would be letting the inferior genes win the way I see it (because someone's genes always seem superior from that person's point of view). While it's true my genetics probably aren't the best, there are some advantages to them. Often times I only see women as attractive if I think they have some set of genetic traits that I would find beneficial and desirable for my offspring when mixed with mine. A good compliment to balance or intensify some aspect like intelligence, strength or even sociability (gasp!) or something like that. Along the lines of selective breeding, not just choosing someone who "gets" me and I can tolerate and/or possibly "love".

So I haven't ruled it out, but I'm not actively seeking out a mate with the desire to breed. I don't really enjoy the idea of parenthood and raising children and I certainly don't want to have children for the emotional effect or to sustain me when I get old or for whatever reason people have children.

Children seem to be annoying hassles.

I'd never be able to care for a child. They're disgusting.

Bill Hicks: Your Children Aren't Special (link to youtube-video)

I just love Bill Hick's attitude..

I have an appointment for a vasectomy next week, so it'll be final. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised that the doctor didn't bitch about my age.

Steppenwolf wrote:I have an appointment for a vasectomy next week, so it'll be final. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised that the doctor didn't bitch about my age.

Congrats on the forthcoming vasectomy. I'd have had tubal ligation surgery on my eighteenth birthday if I could have. As it was, I had to wait until I was thirty-two. Absolutely no regrets over having it done.