That’s okay. Creating a family isn’t for everyone. In fact, parenthood can be quite overwhelming because it often feels like you become responsible for another human being overnight. To make matters worse, babies don’t come with an instruction manual. Perhaps you have decided not to have children in order to focus on your career. Or maybe you’re trying to help save the environment. In any case, it’s important to understand that the decision to start a family is solely up to you. Other than breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there is the necessity to put together snacks in between. You can only imagine how exhausting cooking can be after a long day of looking after the kids. In reality, people are vastly different; motherhood isn’t for everyone. If you’re searching for meaning in your life, don’t automatically think that having a baby will fix things. More times than not, children make things even more complicated. Luckily, there are a few other not so permanent options. Instead of having a baby, you can play BabyMaker. All you have to do is upload a picture of you and your partner to see what your baby would look like. Or you could look at your and your partner’s baby pictures. Traveling with kids requires a great deal of patience and a good bit of luck. Before you even book a trip, you have to make sure that the hotel is child-friendly and that the trip falls on a school break. Being a parent may seem like a fun, joyous time but it can be very stressful and difficult. It takes a lot of hard work and patience to raise a well-rounded human being. The next thing you know it, you are nine months pregnant and about to give birth to your first child. If you and your partner aren’t ready for children yet, don’t let anyone pressure you into having them. Infants require complete care for nourishment, cleaning, and mobility. Fortunately, kids over the age of 10 can start doing most things for themselves. It isn’t until they are in their early teenage years when kids can start truly fending for themselves and by that time, they are almost ready to go off to college. Raising a child is straining enough as it is. So, the addition of having to socialize with other parents on top of that is just outright crazy. As tempting as it might be to bring children into the world simply to add meaning to your life, children are not a means to friendship. “Children need to have a parent figure that is focused on giving them the tools they will need as an adult rather than someone who’s seeking a playmate or talk therapist,” says Walker. An estimated 85% of women only start having sex because they are concerned about their partner’s sexual needs, rather than their own, according to The Journal of Sexual Medicine. A steady income also usually comes with a decent health care plan for you and your family. People who don’t have insurance can end up in debt trying to pay off exorbitant hospital bills. There are many factors that go into kids causing stress for parents. It could be that parents don’t have enough time to spend together or by themselves. Children can also cause extreme financial strain, which can lead to physical and even mental health issues. The terrible twos are called terrible for a reason. Most toddlers scream and shout for no good reason at all. “My two-year-old screams for cookies all the time! I try to draw her away and find something to put her mind elsewhere. Every time I go into the kitchen she follows me and screams her head off until I pick her up,” says Erin F, mother of a two-year-old girl. This means you’ll be up at random hours of the night. After they turn one, it doesn’t get much better. You’ll then have to deal with sick nights, bad dreams, and cleaning up after they wet the bed. Then, when they are toddlers, it’s cleaning up toys and food that they have thrown on the floor. When they are finally teenagers, you’ll have to deal with their dirty room, smelly laundry, and the boys forgetting to put the toilet seat down. Hopefully, your children won’t have to experience all the things you hated, but it’s definitely likely. You’ll soon realize why your parents enjoyed a glass of wine every night at dinner. If paying double student loans doesn’t sound appealing to you, then you should probably reconsider having kids. By the time some people pay off the entirety of their student debt, their child is almost ready to apply for college. Or maybe you’ll get lucky and your kid will be offered a scholarship. Even after birth, women still experience their bodies altering. For example, women who give birth are more likely to suffer from saggy breasts, enlarged gums, stretch marks, and tooth loss. While some things can be prevented, others are just part of motherhood. They say you learn who your true friends are once you find out you are pregnant. That’s because a lot of people can’t be bothered to change their lives to accommodate your parenthood. Most of the time, new parents don’t want to hang out anyways. They are too exhausted from staying up all night with their baby. After childbirth, you can kiss most of your favorite hobbies goodbye. The majority of your time will need to go toward taking care of your newborn baby. Parenthood tends to have a negative effect on marriages due to the conflicts that arise from reorganizing roles in the relationship. Researchers have also found that the more children there are in the family, the unhappier the marriage is, according to Parenthood meta-analytic review. Aside from the backbreaking pain, giving birth can actually quite dangerous and even life-threatening. An estimated 830 women die every day because of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, according to The World Health Organization. Once they do land a job, most people spend almost their entire adulthood trying to climb the corporate ladder. Throwing children into the mix only makes moving up in your career harder because children require a lot of your time and attention. That may not seem like a lot because it doesn’t even include college, afterschool activities, birthday parties, Christmas presents, and everything in between. On top of that, one parent usually has quit their job in order to properly care for the child. More and more people are deciding not to have children to help reduce their carbon footprint. Even Prince Harry and Megan Markle announced that they were limiting their household to two children due to concerns about climate change.
