Your initial thought when I say “babies” is most likely a positive thought. Many people love to be quick and associate infants and babies with “family”. There is nothing wrong with that obviously, but I honestly think that many people can agree with me when I say that babies are overrated.
Don’t get me wrong: babies can be cute and exciting. However, I don’t think people take into consideration the sacrifice, time and effort it takes to simply keep an infant alive. Not to mention the risks of childbirth. Is it really worth it? Sacrificing your life for a lifetime subscription of motherhood? Perhaps take a moment to really think if the pros outweigh the cons.
People believe babies complete a family and that they can bring a couple together. But if you need a child to help maintain your relationship, then you probably shouldn’t be together in the first place. Soon-to-be parents often wish to have healthy babies, however a healthy baby is never guaranteed. Sometimes a marriage, a child and mental or physical illnesses can be too much for one person. “Marriage may be trying on its own, but throw any of those into it and it’s not too surprising that a good portion of those families often end up divorced,” said Vicki Larson in an article on HuffPost.
Babies and children can be so much to handle. In case anyone forgot, let me bring back the distant memory of that one time when you went to Target. Whether you were there to buy one pack of gum or to spend your entire savings, you can still picture that one small child who was yelling at the top of their lungs, because they didn’t get the candy bar they wanted. Even if that child was your own, I’m sure at that specific moment you wished they weren’t.
We women get shamed into motherhood. Most women who wish to not bear children are often called “selfish.” We are also often told that we will regret not having children, but men are never told the same. There are mothers out there who regret having children which could have been avoided had they not been gaslighted. In her article on the ScaryMommy website, author S. Davis shares, “It was a slow realization, taking years to accept and even more time to consider. But I regret that I had children.”
So many women nowadays share about the life they had without kids. “I have never given life to another person. But I’m amazed and grateful, daily, at how much life has come my way even so,” said Stephanie Zacharek on Time.com.
It is about time we stop judging women who don’t want kids because their lives aren’t any less fulfilling and they aren’t selfish. Melanie Notkin has stated in the New York Post that “when childless aunts and uncles are a welcome and valued part of the family, parents are happier.”
Infants, babies and toddlers can bring happiness to many people, even though they always make someone tear their hair out. At this point there may be some of you wondering, “Who can possibly hate children?” Well, you should take 5 minutes of your day to search the hashtag “nobabies2020” on TikTok.
Everyone knows that babies are a handful, so I just want to say I have so much respect for single parents, elementary school teachers, pediatricians, nannies, babysitters, and daycare employees. Just remember, they aren’t any better than childless parents and adults.
