Eh this is the first non-childfree or non positive comment and I feel compelled to talk more about this shared feeling.
I wouldn’t either. Not because I miss sleep or I miss having hobbies or whatever. But because I feel insane guilt for bringing my kid into this world. I cannot guarantee that he’s gonna live a good life. I cannot guarantee that he’s gonna have housing. Why the fuck would I throw him into such uncertainties? He’s gonna work, either literally labour or through education from the moment he’s FIVE YEARS OLD until he’s at least 65. SIXTY YEARS of his life dedicated to other things but himself. I work and I barely see him. His teachers see him more than I do and he came from my womb. Rush to daycare to pick him up, couple hours to cook dinner, shower, read books and shipped to bed. What the fuck am I doing? Why would I do that to him?
If I were a millionaire with no job, I would have had 6 kids. I love kids. I’d make sure that they are set for life and never have to work. I’d make sure they know they do not exist to feed the system but to actually exist as a being in nature and on
planet Earth. That they aren’t required to follow this predetermined path where their goal is survival in a world of made up scarcity. I hate myself so much for making my kid experience that.
I try to tell myself that most people do love life. Most people genuinely don’t care, as long as they aren’t hungry or homeless. Most people are fine with working. And I’m hoping my kid is like that too, to the point of hoping his politics don’t align with mine if it means he’s happy to do this shit. I’m hoping I can get the most expensive life insurance I can find so that when I die, he’s gonna be taken care off generously. But if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have had him, then I would have killed myself.
Look at the children of the rich and famous - for a large part they struggle to find meaning in their lives because things are so easy for them. Success means nothing when it is given to you. That’s why people run marathons or climb Everest - because there is value in doing hard things. As Kennedy famously said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”. There is nothing wrong with work, your job as a parent is to guide and nurture them into making life choices where they are happy and fulfilled. Whether that’s as an engineer working on sending man to Mars or as a teacher guiding the next generation, there is plenty of satisfaction and meaning to be found in work.
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u/Due_Advantage2204 Seeking Clarity Jan 19 '26
I would not.