Children: You did or did not have them poll?

[Notmuchlonger]

When people ask me if I have any kids, I tell them "none that I know of". Since I'm a woman, most look at me kind of funny. A few get it.

Hey thats my line!

 

[Achiever51]

Wanted to have two children, but was blessed with only one.

She's now nearly 26 and is my proudest achievement, without a doubt. Not to say that every day was wonderful -- wouldn't want to repeat those teen years! -- but overall, she really made us a family.

 

[Khan]

Don't like them.

Didn't want them.

Didn't have any.

I very much do not like noise and very much do like sleep.

 

[bbbamI]

Hey thats my line!

Yeah, but it's funnier coming from a woman.

 

[shoe]

We wanted kids and had three. Daughter 30 and sons 26 and 23. I would give a year of my life to hold each of them as babies again for one hour. I would not want to think of life without them in it.

 

[ziggy29]

I thought I wanted a couple of 'em when I was young. But the older I got and the more I wanted early retirement, a low-maintenance lifestyle and had a lower and lower tolerance for noise, the more I realized it was a bad idea. So we never had one, and I had a vasectomy performed in 1999 to make sure.

I like well-behaved children in controlled doses. But not under my roof on a permanent basis.

 

[jIMOh]

Need a vote that I wanted two kids and both are on the way now.

 

[cardude]

2 boys, 8 and 10. I didn't want kids at first since I thought it would cost too much, but I'm REALLY glad my wife talked me into it.

It's a challenge every day, and a huge responsibility since they look up to me (which is scary), but I love help raising my two boys and really enjoy hanging out with them.

 

[Gumby]

When the young wife and I got married, we assumed we would have kids, but as we went along in life, it always seemed that the time was just not propitious to do so. ("shouldn't we wait until I'm out of the Navy", then grad school for each of us sequentially, then the stresses of new careers, etc. etc.). Then one day we woke up and discovered that were old, didn't have any children and were quite happy that way.

 

[SecondCor521]

Didn't really think about it much. Ended up with 3 here and 2 in heaven.

I have the patience and energy now to deal with any 2 of the 3 at any given point in time. All 3 at once is a bit overwhelming but I'm adjusting.

2Cor521

 

[hankster]

We had two daughters, now ages 27 and 22. They've given us three grandkids with a fourth one on the way. We can't imagine life without them and are happy to have them all living nearby. We get to see them almost every week. We are glad we had them when we were younger. We crave peace and quiet more now so occasional visits work best for us. Can't imagine having little ones in the house 24/7 at this age.

 

[Ronstar]

We didn't want kids from day 1, and we stuck to our plan. I'm glad we didnt have any, because I wouldn't want any of the crap our friends/relatives go through with theirs.

 

[Medit8]

Always liked children, but never found the right woman to marry (not that this is a requirement). Then at 40, girlfriend then, wife now, got pregnant with daughter number 1 and we had daughter number 2, seven months ago. Greatest thing that ever happened to me. 16 months to FIRE. Can't wait to be able to spend more time with them.

 

[d]

3 (1m, 2f) plus 2 stepsons

 

[Dreamer]

Always wanted to have children and we have 2, son 29 yrs and a daughter 19 yrs. I am so glad that we had our children. I have been waiting a long time to be a grandma and will be one in 07/08! I can't wait. Hopefully, we will find out Monday whether it will be a granddaughter or a grandson.

 

[simple girl]

No children here. We waffled back and forth for a while in our 30's, but eventually decided it wasn't right for us.

 

[mb]

We have one child, 19 months old. If it were up to me we'd have one more. If it were up to the wife we'd have two or four or five more. I guess we'll have to see who wins out in that one. God, I hope it's me.

Don't bet on it

 

[imnxpat]

No kids, didn't want any. Was afraid I'd get one like me.

I didn't have kids for the same reason, albeit my wife would have made a great mom.

 

[Nords]

Was afraid I'd get one like me.

That's what happened to us. Even worse, we got the female version of me.

Daughters are God's little vengeance on teenage boys who grow up to become fathers...

 

[redmcclain]

As a child-free individual I am surprised by the number of other individuals who responded as I did. It seems in my "real" life that there are few other individuals who have made a similar decision. Fortunately, I'm finally reaching the age where people no longer try to convince me that I'll change my mind.

Although I can't recall a time when I ever wanted to be a parent my specific reasons for not wanting to procreate have changed over the years. Finances were never really the primary motivating factor but I must admit that when I listen to friends bemoan the cost of day care/braces/college/etc. I'm rather glad that my extra money is going towards retirement.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Yeah, red, we may outnumber them in this crowd, but certainly not at the Wal-Mart!
Older you get, the less people hassle you about it. Even had a friend with three tell me this past weekend that she admired me for "not just having kids to do what everyone else was doing"!

 

[Meadbh]

As a child-free individual I am surprised by the number of other individuals who responded as I did. It seems in my "real" life that there are few other individuals who have made a similar decision. Fortunately, I'm finally reaching the age where people no longer try to convince me that I'll change my mind.

Although I can't recall a time when I ever wanted to be a parent my specific reasons for not wanting to procreate have changed over the years. Finances were never really the primary motivating factor but I must admit that when I listen to friends bemoan the cost of day care/braces/college/etc. I'm rather glad that my extra money is going towards retirement.

The high percentage of responders who don't have children is a pleasant surprise. I grew up in a society where not having children was viewed as "selfish" so this is refreshing. My motives are not financial. I like kids in small doses but am always glad when they leave.

One of my work colleagues has several children from two failed marriages, one of which involved bankruptcy. She believes she can never retire.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

The high percentage of responders who don't have children is a pleasant surprise. I grew up in a society where not having children was viewed as "selfish" so this is refreshing. My motives are not financial. I like kids in small doses but am always glad when they leave.

One of my work colleagues has several children from two failed marriages, one of which involved bankruptcy. She believes she can never retire.

The main reason why I didn't want children was because I am selfish. I have enough to go around for my spouse and myself. Im one of those people who will admit. " Hey I would probably make a sucky parent" My nieces and nephews,god children are all awesome though

 

[youbet]

Older you get, the less people hassle you about it.

In our case, it seems like the older we get, and the farther we get from the time consuming responsibilities and enormous expenses of raising the family, the more our child-free friends are inviting us back into their lives. We're no longer the couple who arrives at the dinner party with an infant and a diaper bag, who can't join the old gang on a cruise because those dollars are going into a college fund, who is inappropriately preoccupied by child caused worries at social events, who can't go out and party on a weekday night because we'll be up at dawn with the kids, etc!

We'll never catch up financially with our child-free friends, but as empty nesters it's nice to have the time to get invited back into the social relationships and activities again.

 

[whitestick]

Actually, I think that having a child contributed greatly to my FIRE. Saved a little while she was young but not that much, since she cost a lot, what with paid coaches, stylish clothes, and all the things that a daughter requires ( I believe that boys are much cheaper to raise). Anyway, once she left the nest, we suddenly found a lot of paycheck left at the end of the month, and put that in the retirement fund. Smart investing, and lifetime of living within the paycheck at that time, produced a rapidly growing nest egg, that allowed for FIRE. Wonder if having grandkids will have a similar multiplier effect?