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Originally Posted by LittleMissMouse
Oh yes.
At the moment I don't regret it because I'm far too selfish to have children. My life is all about me and I think I've only just realised when you're a parent how much of your life becomes devoted to making packed lunches, making sure PE kit is clean, taking children to football/swimming/brownies/music lessons and waiting outside in the car because it's only an hour so it's not worth going home. And that's before I even get started on how expensive they are.
Deep down though I know that when I'm in my old folks home and surrounded be doting grandparents who are going on about how their grandkids are playing the lead in the school nativity or just scored the winning goal in the local under 10s football tournament I know I will be jealous that I don't have that and will look back and miss all the moments parents have of being proud of their kids.
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This really nails it for me. I have never seen the appeal of kids. It isn't just the noise, bad smells, sleepless nights and money. Even the trivial stuff doesn't appeal - taking them to school, taking them to football or dancing, going to christmas plays, etc. Some people enjoy all that. Plus you love them so much and yet the world is so cruel that their suffering must be unbearable. I know it upset my parents to see me an isolated, neurotic mess, never going out or having fun. And I would be the same with my own kids. Imagine if they were bullied, or mentally ill, or born with a disability, or got into drugs, or were abused by their partner...the list goes on and on. I remember a documentary about the opioid epidemic in the States. There was a really sweet girl, about 22, who had ended up prostituting herself to pay for heroin. Her dad was also a lovely man, and the pain was killing him. I know that's an extreme example, but such stuff happens all the time.
But, as LittleMissMouse writes, when you are old, and you have no child or grandchild, that's when you pay the price. My mum's cousin is in her 80s and going down hill. The way her son and daughter are caring for her is beautiful to see. Her son has moved her into his house, and her final days will be spent surrounded by love. I don't want to imagine my final days
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