Older (55+) childfree-by-choice women of Reddit, do you regret deciding not to have children and why?

2 comments

1. I never had a minute of regret. I knew I didn’t want to have children when I was 15, but it took me until I reached the age of 25 to realize that “you can’t make me” like it’s something unavoidable.

   It took me until I was 32 to find a doctor who would tie my tubes. And I had to badger him for 3 years.

   I think, raising children is a huge responsibility that shouldn’t be taken so lightly. IMO if you’re not “hell yes!” enthusiastic about having kids, you shouldn’t.

   I just never had the desire and I thought I would do my potential child a disservice by being a mother who wasn’t into being a parent.

   When people would tell me: you’re going to regret, not having kids! My answer was always: I’d rather regret not having kids than regret having one.

2. In 6th grade, I told an adult that I didn’t want to have any kids. She said I’d change my mind. I thought, no, pretty sure I won’t.

   I’m the youngest of 7 kids and I thought there were too many kids. I didn’t see the point of having kids. Family also has a profoundly physically and intellectually disabled child. So, no regrets for me.