People Share The Pettiest Reasons For Why They Are Childfree, Here Are The 40 Best Ones
The debate over having or not having kids has raged for a long time, but regardless of where one stands, there is a growing child-free movement. But one netizen was curious to hear about the less common arguments for people choosing to not have children, so they asked the internet “What is your pettiest reason for not wanting kids?”
From comical to sincere, people online share their thoughts. So get comfortable as you scroll through, be sure to upvote your favorite posts and, if you are so inclined, share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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I like money, silence and a tidy house.
I'm not particular about tidy, or I wasn't before the little plague vectors started touching everything with their unwashed sticky fingers.
I like to be alone.
Me too. After a long day at work, coming home to my apartment where no one else lives but me is such a beautiful thing, perfect for recharging those social batteries :)
I take pride in proving wrong every one that said I'd change my mind
This applies to me because I've known since my early teens that I didn't want kids. The "you'll change your mind" argument was made often, but I was never convinced because I knew with all my heart and soul it wasn't what I wanted. Hell, back in university/college (never sure which one's correct), a classmate said he'd make a bet that in 10 years, I'd be a mother. I took that bet with a s**t-eating grin because it's an easy win. Haven't seen him since, but I'm still winning!
I like delicate, pretty things. Children damage delicate, pretty things.
My cat would hate it if she had to share me
I thought this too. My cat was the center of my world and so spoiled. When I had my first kid, I was so worried that she'd be upset. But she adored my daughter. I have so many cute pics of them together.
Might be cruel but every time my sister complains about how rowdy her kids get, I think 'never going to be me'.
It would be cruel if you said it to her face. It's not cruel to have honest feelings. There are plenty of times I see my friend who had twins the first time and then proceeded to have two more that I am VERY relieved that I don't have that many.
I'm not done being a kid myself. Making up for lost time during my childhood now.
Can we change the question as to why people want to have kids? Apart from mini me's and immotality. Why not adopt the many unwanted children?
F**k the patriarchy is my pettiest reason, but I don’t really have a reason I’m just not interested - the fact that there’s a lot of advantages to that lifestyle is just a great bonus
That's ok, if you don't want kids, don't have them - no other reason needed
I enjoy my quiet peace and copious amounts of sleep. Kids would ruin both.
So that whenever anything bad happens in my life, I can say 'at least I don't have kids.' Every morning I wake up happy to not have kids.
Also kids' music sucks.
To prove my mom wrong from that time when I was 10 and she told me—after [foolishly?] telling her I didn’t want to have children when I grew up: “but…having children is the MOST IMPORTANT thing I woman can do with her life!”
I have done some seriously cool s**t with my life since then that did not in any way involve having a child.
The bloodline dies with me, and I am not giving my bio. mother the satisfaction of spreading her genetics through the gene pool. Also, maintaining my anti-social life and being able to keep up with my Art hobby <3
It hurts.
I don't want to ruin my body.
I HATE bodily fluids (snot/pee/vomit/s**t), I do not want any of that disgusting mess near me (that includes pet's fluids too).
@Malcom, trust me if you have a stoma you deal with 100 times more s**t than you do without one.
I'm self-centred. I don't like having to live my life around others needs. Making myself happy is my primary goal in life. I live for me. I view my purpose in this life as being able to cater to my every need. I want to be able pursue whatever I like, whenever I like, however I like with no restrictions. To be a parent means you need to be selfless for decades. That sounds like pure hell!
I'm not cold or evil, and people have always come to me for advice/support and find me dependable, but I know if I had to be a parent, I'd resent my kids so much, and no child deserves a parent like that.
EXACTLY! A child can feel if they're not wanted. I would know. I would never ever ever make any children of mine (if I have any) feel unwanted.
I want the option of leaving whenever I need to. I'm happy where I'm at, but I always want to be able to travel or just straight up move without worrying abt a child's schedule. I would van life, but a kid deserves space and I don't want to be one of those vanlife influencers who think a curtain is a wall.
It's something of an official "F U" to the religious upbringing I had telling me the ultimate purpose for uterus bearers like myself was becoming a STAH broodmare
sticky fingers, why are they so f*****g sticky!
Not having to answer “why?” even once per day to anyf*ckingone
Because I like my afternoon naps uninterrupted and free weekends.
Also, not giving my homophobic fundie religious Narc dad any grandkids to abuse with threats of damnation and fear of demons wanting to destroy them for being born "sinners" is high up on my list also.
You can have kids and not allow your parents near them. I hope this person cuts off contact with their father even without children. We deserve to be treated well regardless of whether we become parents.
I love my freedom. I want to go out one evening on the whim? I can just do it. I can travel during term time, sleep in, walk around the house in just my knickers and a t-shirt lol
I like not hearing screeching, banging, and thunderous stomping inside my own home. I like having a beautiful garden with lots of plants. It's nice when the plants don't get trampled or otherwise destroyed.
Furbabies can be even more destructive yet we love them fiercely anyway. Material things and even the effort we put in to obtain them are not important in the grand scheme. I vehemently believe however, that anyone who doesn't want children for ANY REASON shouldn't have them.
I didn't want to gain weight. I've had body image issues since middle school. 4 years ago, I lost weight and kept it off and I've been much more confident since. I don't want to lose that.
Not having to worry about school districts or being close to schools when moving or relocating.
I hate children's tv shows. Loud, high pitched, etc etc. If something in my home is loud it better f*****g be deathcore.
It's not the cartoons that I find annoying. Some are mildly entertaining. It's sitting through all those kids' commercials.
Loud noises hurt my ears.
My 2 year old brother once cried from 2 to 7 am. I would be impressed if it wasn’t a school day and I wasn’t late because of this.
My mil wants me to
I was told that I "owed" my parents grandkids, that I would miss out on my "prime biological" reason for existence, and that I "owed" the family to keep the bloodline going. Nope. I have plenty of cousins who very enthusiastically took on my share for me.
The idea of growing something inside my belly sounds too much like Alien the movie and feels so animal world.
The idea of pregnancy and all the things that come with it freak me out. I know this may be a touchy statement but I'm glad I physically can't have kids. When the doc told me, I was actually relieved. I had planned on never having kids anyways, and always thought that if I change my mind I'll adopt.
They don't belong in breweries. They also smell worse than dogsh*t.
Babies are ugly.
I struggle managing my weight and I don’t want to gain it from getting pregnant.
I like to sleep
I like spending my money on myself.
And babies are annoying. I gonna be dead too, I don`t want a corpse near me. Why should I want a kid?
I want to spend my money on _my_ games and books, not on _child's_ toys and books.
They're stinky.
A friend's kid always farts a lot at the dining table when I come around for food. 🤢
I'm a maximalist. I'm sure as hell not trusting my trinkets around sticky, clumsy hands.
I would wager that some minimalists feel the same. Sticky handprints on pristine walls, food stains on shiney countertops, toys, shoes, and other stuff scattered everywhere! I have 2 now adult kids, and enjoyed most of the journey, but I totally get that not everyone wants to go that route. I am also covering up the troll's comment.
I absolutely loathe children songs. I actually cannot even describe you the primal anger I feel every time I hear something like baby shark.
Babies are cute on the other hand my reasons to not have kids are cultural indifferences, generational trauma, spankings, groundings and my autism. I don’t want my future offspring to suffer the same way I did.
I like to sleep in, work, watch movies, go on road trips and I’m actually behind on adulting at 31.
I wouldn’t call it petty but it’s also the same reason why I have never understood the urge to be in a relationship: I don’t want to go by someone else’s schedule. I have OCD and the idea of having to change things around makes me physically ill.
A petty reason? Hmmmm…. I simply think life would be so much more enjoyable if we had less of a population. Don’t want people to die, but I sure do hope that less people are born.
But then I love animals and my life is always astronomically better when I have an animal to take care of (which means changing schedules), so maybe the reason is just that I really do not get any positive results from people. Like I love my family, but why the hell would I want to continue it? I’m sure my dad’s batch of secret children that he’s hidden all around the country will continue my blood line just fine. I don’t feel the need for human interaction, and I sure as hell don’t need a kid that actively NEEDS my attention. Having friends is already too much of a burden on my life I can’t imagine having a kid jesus christ.
Love my half-brothers more than anything. I’m over 10 years older than then so it’s not like I grew up with them or anything. I seriously adore them, and when I’m with them I can understand the love that parents have for children, but I seriously can’t imagine ever wanting or having my own. Like why not just get a dog? They’re cuter, better behaved,and less expensive.
I understand you. I gave relationshits up 5 years ago and life is very peaceful. My body gets water, food and sleep. That`s enough.
I have an extensive collection of stuffed animals, and I don't want to share them with anyone
I have a gigantic pile of at least 200 something stuffed animals in my room and I’m never sharing them, I don’t let anyone touch them, especially not siblings, my stuffed animals are way too important to me
Note: this post originally had 58 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Most of these are not petty at all, but genuine valid reasons not to have children.
I'm f.cking scared of the future, of the wars, the climate change, my government knowingly ruined the healthcare and the education system in my country. I'm not strong enough to bear it, and I know I can not raise a kid to be strong enough to handle any kind of hell that the future will be.
Most of these are not petty at all, but genuine valid reasons not to have children.
I'm f.cking scared of the future, of the wars, the climate change, my government knowingly ruined the healthcare and the education system in my country. I'm not strong enough to bear it, and I know I can not raise a kid to be strong enough to handle any kind of hell that the future will be.
