People Who Prefer Pets Over Kids Are Creating Funny Memes That Explain Their Choice

The woods - much better.

At 5 foot one inch it Still is a great hiding place for me!

Ps. Suki is a she, not an it, and gets far better than just one walk *EVERY* day, we go everywhere together :)

Aaahhh yes the "you will have to take it for walks and potty train it and they are just so much responsibility" well my Chug Ash goes EVERYWHERE with me too! He was potty trained within 6 months (with the occasional accident) and I dare some people to put up their children's behavior against my dogs because my dog listens to me EVERY TIME not just sometimes.

Aunt Messy

Aunt Messy

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I'm 55. I haven't changed my mind. I'm having a LOT more fun now that my contemporaries that are killing themselves getting their kids through college.

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Well, my wife thought that she would never have kids until she was 38... Not out of choice, but because it's just that she never really considered it. Now she is a very happy mother of a fantastic girl! So yeah, you never know what's gonna happen in the future. Don't convince yourself that your present choices will never change is what I'm saying...

Nia I didn’t say it was selfish on its own. People just tend to do it for selfish reasons. I said that doing it to reproduce your genes is tacky. Give a gift because you want to bless someone with it. Not for SELFISH reasons.

I agree that for many, it's a "gift"... but there are also many lives that experience nothing but grief, violence, sadness and then they die. I've seen that torment. I've seen someone struggle to do better with the life and then they got hit by a car before they were about to graduate. Was life a gift for them? It's tough for me to rationalize that it's a gift. It's more like "luck" to me at times. It all depends on the location you were born in, your parents, their financial stability, and just random luck with events in your life. Some people get REALLY lucky and others get REALLY unlucky. When I think about having a child I always think about their risk of being unlucky in life. That always deters me from ever bringing anyone into this world.

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Why is having a child selfish? You said yourself that you are glad to be here. Why is it wrong and “tacky” to give that gift to someone else?

@Broken Bay - That's not a bad suggestion, but I do agree it's a much harder process. At the moment I'm pretty happy being childless, so I'll stay that way. But thanks for the comment!

@Nia Loves Art - Not sure if this was directed to me or Broken Bay, but I never said I hated my life. Mental illness runs in my family but I'm stable and my life is pretty good.

Also if you hate your life so much that you wish you were never born there is a good chance that you aren’t in a healthy state of mind to raise a child.

I agree with you that it's an emotional decision. I should expand on what I mean when I say selfish. It starts as a selfish decision, but then becomes a a selfless relationship - as you must sacrifice a lot to keep the child happy and dedicate a lot of your time for them. Ask any parent, "Why did you have a child?" Their answer will always start with "I had one because..." It was their choice to have one. No matter what the reason, *they* wanted one (ie selfish decision). The child does not have the chance to make that choice. They will now be exposed to many struggles in life. There's a risk they will be exposed to disease, bullying, accidents, bad ppl, etc. There's even a risk they will become a "bad person" due to outside influence. Perhaps this is me looking at the cup half empty, but the decision would weigh too much on me. If there were some way I could guarantee without a doubt a happy life, I'd have a different opinion. But I can't, therefor I won't expose a child to that.

Hi Nia! I definitely wish those parents were the majority. I feel as though many people would disregard any warnings of genetic defects. I've read countless stories of parents with MULTIPLE children with the same illness and they knew this illness ran in their family. It’s infuriating for me to read things like this. Some people just want to have children regardless of what the child has to go through. As for your other point, I do agree there is also joy in the world. But regardless of the “good” I’ve experienced - I often wonder if I would choose to go through the struggles I've been through if I had been given the option in the womb. If a prompt would display while in the womb and let me choose "NEW LIFE” or "QUIT”, I often wonder what I would choose if I had knowledge of what went on in this world.

I upvoted you Nia, because you are right about this point. Even though you missed my point above. I added a comment under mine above regarding the “tacky / selfish” thing we were taking about.

Well you’re right unless the “reason not to have children” is just because you don’t want to. Sure, if you have the means and can reasonably provide a good life for a new human, then there’s nothing wrong with it. But it shouldn’t be an expectation. Some people don’t want to devote their life to a child even though they are healthy and have resources. To some people it just isn’t what they want - maybe they think it’s boring and annoying and it ages you fast. We only have one life. People should try to be happy. If that means having kids, then have three! If that means having nothing but cars and jewels, then go for that. Life is too short to waste on things you don’t want.

You said "Some people just want to be parents" but in my humble opinion, it has everything to do with a "wish of fulfillment" as you put it. Granted, the reason will be different for everyone - but there is always a reason behind it (when it's planned, of course). Some people are just taught that is what is expected and it results in feeling you've fulfilled your purpose in succeeding to have a "family". People find happiness in that and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes it's hormones and your motherly instinct is in overdrive. Having a child would "fulfill" that wish or desire to mother a child. Sometimes it's loneliness. Sometimes it's a wish to keep a marriage together. So many reasons, but there is always a selfish reason behind wishing for a child. Once you have a child, it may become more of a selfless relationship as you sacrifice a lot to keep the child happy - but you've just introduced the child into a world where there will be hardships and struggles to get through.

Aunt Messy

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We are perfectly healthy, we have plenty of money, I don't work....and neither of us ever wanted kids. People who don't want kids don't make good parents, you know. So tell us why you're so interested in forcing other people to have kids?

@Vicky Zar - That's a very good question. My point is not to judge the reason. It’s irrelevant because regardless of the reason, it is always a selfish one because it was *your* choice to have the child. The decision was made for me to come into this world. I never had the choice, therefor it was my parent's decision to have me (for whatever personal reason that was) and expose me to this life on earth. Regardless of what struggles and risks I'd be exposed to, they made the choice to have me to fulfill a specific wish they had (to raise a family, to mother a child, etc). People don't seem to want to accept this concept because it's hard to accept responsibility that their decision to bring a child into the world is the reason their child will have to struggle with hardships. You can accept this concept and still decide to have a child because it will bring you happiness, nothing wrong with that - it's what we're programmed to do to continue the species. But I choose not to.

Orenji: what IS a good reason to have a child then?

Meowton: I never said that you HAVE to have children if you have the means. I just said that if you have them, there is no reason not to have any. It was answer to the post above. I totally respect people who do not want children. Its their decision, not mine.

Though I do agree it's good to teach your children to be positive, keep in mind you're still exposing a child to the struggles. Even being positive is a constant struggle. It takes a lot more will to be positive than it does to see the reality of the world. You almost have to deceive yourself at times and learn to constantly disregard the bad. It is a struggle all on it's own to constantly be mindful of the negativity going around. You have to be in a very zen-like state to keep this attitude at all times. The fact that it's a struggle to stay positive amidst all the struggles deters me from bringing someone into this world. I appreciate you bringing a positive perspective and it's a good perspective to have for those who are already here on this Earth... I mean, what other choice do we have but to try and make the best of what we're given?

I upvoted your comment because it's an interesting perspective and I've also thought about that. I welcome anyone to challenge my opinion, so I hope I can explain my reasoning further here. I agree with you that my own decision is also selfish in it's own way - but it is a decision that will only affect me. But if I bring a child into the world, it will not only affect me - it will affect the new life I've brought into this world. I'd rather not be responsible for that. I've read people argue that having children helps "continue the species". But my opinion of the species is not very high to begin with. So yes, in that sense my decision is very selfish and I'm ok with that. If you look at the violence across the world and the damage we've done to the Earth, we're like a virus. I do realize there are exceptions and very loving people on this planet, but they are not the majority and they are usually the victims of the ones who are bad. I suppose that's another topic on it's own haha :)