Do you want kids? This is a question that everyone’s been asked at least once.
We may not have many people asking us, because we are kids, but adults can get this question often. And when you’re an adult, the most expected answer to follow up with is yes. However, what makes people want or not want kids? There’s a plethora of reasons to not have kids just as much as to have them, from just a simple I don’t want to have any kids to people having medical conditions. Whatever your answer is, this article is going to tell you the best reasons why people choose to have kids or not have them.
Child Free
Kids can be very time consuming because you need to take care of them and all of their needs at the same time as your own. When you don’t have a kid or kids to take care of, you have a lot more free time for yourself. In “Choosing Not to Have Children: The Pros and Cons” by Walden University, they bring light to the idea of time for your career. From the same article they continue that with saying how 44% of adults without children under 50 said how their “career success was easier to achieve without the responsibilities of parenting”.
No matter what your job is, there will be times when things come up unexpectedly, and you will have to make improvisations. If you don’t have a kid, those improvisations are easier since you’re more likely to be able to have flexibility for traveling, working overtime, or relocating if needed. There’s more time to do whatever hobby you like to do or just more time to relax. You can have time to find out more about yourself and what you like more simply than if you had a kid or kids.
The 2nd best reason to not have kids is money. Almost everything costs money and kids are always changing or going through different phases as well as adults so it’s definitely expensive. Along with those personal changes are economic changes like inflation which definitely affects the prices the most. “The True Cost of Raising a Child” states that the average amount of money expected to spend raising a kid is from $202,248 to $430,928 from when they were born until 18 years old.
For a middle income family of four, it was expected to cost $233,610 for each child, but then after it was adjusted to the inflation rate of 2022, it became $310,605. The inflation rate went up 4% which can show how inflation plays the main factor in the money it takes to raise a kid yet it’s still expensive even with a lower inflation rate. Without a kid, all that money and more goes to yourself and whatever else you decide to spend it on. Traveling expenses cost a lot less, you don’t have to worry about paying for schooling unless it’s your own, and you for the most part can just spend the money on whatever you want to.
Along with data from websites and secondary sources, there’s firsthand data from a teacher at our very own school with his opinion on not having kids himself. I asked teachers who didn’t have kids and who did have kids 5 questions.
First, I interviewed Mr. Kevin Curtis. My first question was: If you don’t have kids, do you think you ever will have kids? He said that he doesn’t rule out the possibility of having kids. He said how he’s not against having a kid, but it just didn’t occur. Next, I asked when did you decide on whether or not to have kids? He answered with how he didn’t really decide to just not have kids but it was a matter of circumstances. When he was married, both him and his wife had decided to have a kid once they had figured out their problems, and he said how they just hadn’t ever solved them. He expressed how he didn’t want to bring a kid into that and neither did his wife at the time.
Then I asked what’s the best part of having or not having kids? The answer was time, like how I said in my first paragraph but he said how he enjoys doing what he wants with his time even though he still likes to be around kids and enjoys teaching. My fifth and final question was what’s the worst part of having kids or not having kids? He answered with how you don’t have anything to pass down and can feel an empty or missing out feeling. He said there’s a curiosity of what life could’ve been like if he would’ve had kids.
Having Children
The best reason to have kids is how it’s part of the human experience. In “Why Bother Having Kids?” by Jim Dalrymple II, he brings up how fundamental families are everywhere in the world when he says “As it turns out, having kids is the singular experience that many cultures value, and family relationships are one of the most important parts of civilization.” He expresses this idea through its correlation between all cultures. All cultures celebrate families or procreation and Jim furthers the idea through how if all these cultures share the same ideal even if they’re still vastly different from each other then there must be something correct about it.
With all these cultures expressing the same ideal then it must be a general part o-f life for people, obviously only if they want it. There’s plenty of different ways families operate but no matter what for most, they are connected and create some of the most meaningful connections you’ll have throughout life. The bond between a kid and their parent or parents is very unique and can’t be recreated casually because of how special it is. Having a kid is an experience that can’t be equated to any other. No matter if you’re young or old and having a kid, you can’t be fully prepared since this human experience is so incomparable.
The second best reason is happiness. Kids can make you happy. Kids can provide you with long term happiness not only with themselves but also their connections when they get older. When kids get older and create their own families, both the families of your kid and who they marry conjoin. You get in-laws and they become a social capital. Like with how Jim Dalrymple II mentions in his article “These social ties provide a safety net, when available for information and advice, if and when it is needed.” You gain more family that is able to help you when you need along with you helping them when they’re in need.
When you get older, your kids will take care of you and be most likely the whole of your social circle. Watching them grow up into their own person makes you happy because you can watch them be great individuals with their own personalities. Along with them growing older, in most cases, your kid will outlive you so once you get older and less capable of taking care of yourself, they’ll be right there to help. They can make you happy by providing for you when you can no longer provide for yourself.
There’s plenty of parents everywhere and that includes WHHHS. There’s many teachers who are parents and I’ve interviewed one to see what it’s like when you have a kid. The questions I asked were the same from the questions I interviewed Mr. Curtis with. Because I interviewed a teacher without kids, I had to interview a teacher with kids as well, Mr. Ryan Carroll.
Carroll just always knew he’d enjoy being a dad. He had stated “I had great parents, and it looked like a great part of life.” The fourth question I asked, what’s the best part of having a kid, he said how the “Best part is watching your children grow and experience life. You get to watch it all through their eyes. It’s like being a kid all over again.” My final question, What’s the worst part? He stated, “The worst part is seeing your worst traits in your children and having to experience all you went through because of those traits happen in your children.”
Whether or not you choose to have kids is ultimately up to you and your partner. No matter what though, you will enjoy your life, with or without kids.
