Why is this thread so depressing to read? Good lord, what a spiral to go down from page 1... I have so many friends with kids, I don't have kids.
My friends with kids, all their kids are different ages, meaning most of them aren't even in the same stages of life, it isn't this exclusive club you aren't a part of like many like to make it out to be here, most of them have to go find new friends with people who have kids similarly aged, usually it's the kids themselves that bring the parents together.
Me and my friends don't even hang out like that much anyways, most of us either own a business, have different hobbies or there is some interpersonal tension from whatever flavour of the week conflict is going on between them.
Also, this over arcing sentiment that not having kids by the end of your 30s is like not normal or bad is just as ridiculous, if somebody is judging you based on whether you have kids or not, that person has such a limited scope of life it's ridiculous
Dude. You’re like 40. Most people have kids by then. You are the outlier. Not them.
This post stands out in particular, I just recently had an exchange with this guy who's belief is that if you aren't married when you have kids, it's like bad for the kid or something, so not only is not having kids bad apparently but also not being married is bad as well as if the divorce rate isn't at 50%, as if being a breadwinner with kids isn't a massive liability financially that you'll likely never fully recover from.
I really question what reality y'all are living in when I see content like this, WHO CARES WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING? THE ONLY REASON THEY CARE IS BECAUSE THEY ARE PROJECTING THEIR OWN UNHAPPINESS ONTO YOU.
I literally don't know anybody who didn't want to have kids and is unhappy about it, having kids is a massive undertaking, being a father is a particular skill set, being a husband is also a completely different skill set from being a father, looking at these 2 things casually is the height of ignorance. If you don't want to do it, don't, it's ignorant AF to look at it as some responsibility, it's not responsible, it's irresponsible to push this narrative forward blindly.
What do you do when you don't have kids? What you've always done, you move forward.
In closing, most of these people with kids can't even spend time with them, they need to prioritize work because it's expensive to raise children, expensive for child care as well, most men are either sacrificing for their woman to stay at home with the kids or shelling out heavy for child care, this fantasy of spending nights and weekends with your kids being the best life you can live is utterly ridiculous, it's not, it's a cope at best because they had no other goals to hold themselves to.