If you do not have children is it more likely that you will regret it?

Question

Do you anyone who decided not to have children and then regreted their childfree/less decision later in life? Also what are the odds that you will regret not having children ever?

Answer 1

There probably are, but there are also possibly people who regret having children. If they turn out really bad.

Answer 2

Of course not! I never want children. Kids are a huge expense and responsibility. They're annoying. If more people stopped having children, the world would be a better place.

Answer 3

guess it depends-if you're a woman you may well regret it which is why quite often you see women having their first baby later on in life-like over 35. Once you reach 30 that is it really, the risks are doubled for every complication that you could experience during pregnancy but women still go through it because they want a baby :O).

I have a son (i'm 24) and i have to say having a baby is an amazing feeling! Just to feel the baby growing, him/her responding to all your emotions even though they are still in the womb and then just the exitment of meeting your baby after carrying him/her for 9 months (hopefully). It's just all amazing really so i guess one day a woman could regret not having a baby of their own and by that time it could just be too late. :O/

Answer 4

I don’t know anyone that regrets being child free.  I know quite a few child free people.

I know a lot more people that regret having children.

It is better to error on the side of caution.  If you regret not having them, then it is no big deal.  But if you regret having them, then the children will suffer.

I think "move on" has the right answer.  My vote is for him.

Answer 5

Absolutely not, some people know intuitively whats right for them and have very filling and happy lives without children ( and richer).

Answer 6

I don't know anyone that regretted not having children in life including myself. Some people are meant to be parents and some aren't. My friends and I have furbabies. Two of us married men with children from a previous marriage.  

Answer 7

It is less likely that a person will regret the decision if they wait and make it very deliberately.  Most people who really don't want kids, and have a like-minded spouse (or supportive family) never regret that decision.  By really don't want kids, I mean people who actually get sterilization surgery.  My husband and I are child-free, and so far no regrets, just affirmations that we made the right choice for us.  I had my tubes tied about a year ago.  I am involved in support groups (ie "No kidding", childless by choice) and 99 % of the people there do not regret their decision.  

Answer 8

I do not have children and never wanted any. Too late now. I can stand other peoples children for a maximum of two hours. I have never regretted my decision and never will. It turned out to be a good decision too as I`m now disabled and have been for some time, I would never have been able to look after children anyway.

Answer 9

Not at all...we've been married for 19 years and have never wanted children. We have  fast cars and luxury holidays, which we would never have been able to afford had we wanted kids. Some friends ask us.."Who will look after you in your old age?" That is not a reason to have children and anyhow, there is no guarantee that your children WOULD look after you after all .

Answer 10

My wife and I choose not to have children. It was a decision we did not make in haste. It may have been something to regret but we have many friends and family with kids. It turns out, it is much more rewarding being the cool aunt and uncle.

Answer 11

I never had children although I would have liked to have children if I was married, but I have remained single. Perhaps, I could have had children on my own and be a single parent, but I was afraid of having this responsibility with no one to share all the problems and decision making with. So looking back on it now, I think I made the right decision and I consider myself to be the mother of my cat and all the street cats that I feed. OK, furry friends are not the same as human ones, but that is the way my life turned out and I have decided to be happy and accept it.

As to whether or not, you will regret it, I think you must decide by yourself what is best for you. Perhaps, you can change your mind before it is too late and the other option, of course, is to adopt. I do think children are a blessing, but only if you really want them and are prepared to do your best for them. If you have any doubts, you should not have children because it is the most serious undertaking of your life and it must be done with love and happiness and seriousness (responsibility and accountability).

As far as having regrets about your decision in the future, who can tell? Who knows the future and what kind of person you will be in the future? You can only make decisions based on what you know now in the present about yourself.

Answer 12

odds for me are 1 in 1,000,000,000

I have better odds of winning the lotto :-)

or getting struck by lightning

or killed in an airplane crash

or becoming religious lol (which I assure you as long as I have all my brain cells...this will never happen!)

I am 22 and I have a child-free vasectomy scheduled for 9/15/08...maybe a few days of pain, but I know I won't regret it !!

Answer 13

I always wanted children but that wasn't granted to me.  It still makes me sad.  But if you are the kind of person who doesn't want children, you probably won't regret it later.  And it's definitely not a good idea to have children just because you think you should!