To be pissed off with anti-child threads on a parenting forum?

[ItShouldHaveBeenJessMass]

I love Mumsnet. I love the diversity on here. However, lately I have seen more and more threads appearing (possibly from trolls) about how awful kids are, how the OP is so glad they are child-free, how they dont want kids etc, etc.

It's a parenting forum. I'm not suggesting for a minute that anyone should be excluded from any internet site, but the judgement of parents by non-parents on here is becoming more prolific by the day. You don't want kids? Cool. I hadn't planned on becoming a mother either, but here I am! I honestly don't care who joins MN, and I'm love learning about different viewpoints/lifestyles, but the anti-child crap? Why join in the first place?

AIBU?

[mollie123]

YABU
I have not noticed any such increase
Mumsnet is very useful for lots of interesting topics other than the 'parenting' bit
If it was only about parenting and children it would be a tad boring.

[Creampastry]

Why do you let it wind you up so much? You come across as slightly jealous that others are child free but you're saddled with a kid.

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

YABU

[witsender]

It's like half the threads on here...don't click if you're not interested. Or if you find yourself in one, back out and leave the thread to it.

I can't imagine joining Mumsnet if I were actively anti having kids, the name and most of the content would put me off, but I can't see why it bothers you.

[TheNaze73]

YABU. Get a grip, it's a free Internet forum

[WingsofNylon]

Yabu. You say you love the diversity but essentially you are saying you love the diversity that pleases you only.
I haven't noticed any such threads. Maybe you seek them out?

[Costacoffeeplease]

Yabu - there's been one or two threads that I've seen, and posted on as I'm happily child-free, but I don't see them every day or even every week

[ShesAStar]

I find it weird too. Not sure why you'd join and then loudly proclaim your horror of parenthood at every opportunity? I think it's insensitive due to the fact some people are as Creampastry says parents when they don't actually want to be and are possibly struggling.

[AyeAmarok]

YABU. I haven't seen many of these threads and I'm on here way, way too much a lot.

There are so many topics boards, not that many relate to parenting or children.

If you don't like the thread, don't read it.

[WellErrr]

YABU. I haven't seen these threads, and even if I had they wouldn't bother me. Different strokes and all that.

[HorridHenrietta2]

Surprised by the number of YABU, I agree with you. They don't actually bother me too much but I do find it a bit odd.
Isn't it a bit like joining a slimming world forum to say "all diets are crap" ?
....... People probably do that too

[ilovesooty]

I'm child free. I don't proclaim my horror of parenthood at every opportunity and haven't seen others do so.

Plenty here to interest people whether they have children or not.

[pipsqueak25]

yanbu in having an opinion but yabu to say that people who say dc are awful are poss. trolls. kids can be awful, pita, tiring and let's be honest most parents are glad to have a break from them sometimes.
people who are child free [not always from choice] have an opinion on what they see and hear with kids and their own experiences with relations/friends kids, some of those people are probably glad they don't have children as a result. there is nothing odd about not liking kids either.

[ParForTheCourses]

Ignoring trolls and reporting blatent troll posts is the best bet. But also considering that your idea of anti child isn't everyone's is too. I've seen comments saying an op is anti child because they dare rant about shit parenting.

As wellerr says: different strokes.

[niceupthedance]

YABU

I'm a parent and probably vent about how awful kids are... happily child free people just make me feel a bit jealous of their freedom.

[petitpois55]

I'm a parent to a teen. I rarely look at the parenting topics. I like the food, travel and books section.
I find some parenting lacklustre ans some children irritating. So do lots of people, whether they are parents or not.
Don't click on threads if they annoy you. This is an Internet forum. Get a grip.

[Soubriquet]

Yabu!

This isn't a parenting site anymore. This is a huge diverse site that caters to everyone

And as a parent, I would be delighted to be invited to a child free wedding

[oneaddiction]

A lot of the time it isn't anti-parenting, it's anti-rude children, anti-entitled parents and anti-certain attitudes so I don't think it matters if you're a parent or not.

[SleepFreeZone]

I think those struggling with infertility probably quite like those threads. I know when I was stuck in a miscarriage groove it actually helped to hear others were pretty happy being child free or that other thought their kids were really hard work.

Facebook is just crammed full of everyone having a Hallmark Moment. Thank god for some realism on here.

[PaulDacreCuntyMcCuntFace]

but the judgement of parents by non-parents on here is becoming more prolific by the day

Please don't generalise.

I am a 'non-parent'. I'm not sitting here judging all 'parents' and it's pretty offensive to suggest that the 'non-parents' on MN are all being judgemental. Have you met and spoken with all of us?

You make the two groups sound very us-and-them. The best way to deal with the threads that you think are started by trolls is to ignore them.

It's also worth noting that whilst MN started life as a parenting website - and is still very child orientated (and rightly so) - it's moved beyond that as its primary purpose, with its member reach and influence. Look at the number of topics available - the subject matter of many are nothing to do with parenting or children.

[TheDowagerCuntess]

I can't say I've noticed it.

The only anti-child posts I've seen are from parents!

[wigglesrock]

I haven't noticed an increase at all. People join MN for lots of reasons - they google something MN pops up and before they know it they're sucked into tv/book/politics/news/chicken/dog/hobbies threads. Maybe they work with kids.

I agree with posters that people have different ideas of what constitutes anti kids. I've had posters tell me that I was anti kids because I love a local restaurant that is completely kid free, because I have no issue at all leaving my kids overnight and because I think weddings are wasted on kids - to name a few "hot button" threads.

Also I think the word troll is bandied about a lot to describe posters that are just dicks, could start a fight in an empty room.

[KeyserSophie]

The only ones I seen are by people with children saying they wish they didn't (love their children but hate parenting). I think it's very important that parents (especially women) can express and discuss these views as until recently people just didn't express it, which gives rise to irritating and frankly terrible advice to the undecided like "You'll never regret having children" and "How can anyone be anything other than happy about a baby?" (subtext: if you don't like children there's something wrong with you). That was one of MN's best ever threads in terms of constructive, interesting discussion.

[TheDowagerCuntess]

Just stumbled upon the 10-hour flight, legalized child abuse thread.

That poster is just a one-off twat, I don't think it's something to get wound up about.