Not really an AIBU, posting for traffic. I’m single and childless, in my 40s, and occasionally get asked this at work events etc by people I don’t know. I find it really weird phrasing tbh because in my mind of course I have a family, parents and cousins and etc, but that isn’t what they’re asking. So I’ve sometimes responded by saying both those things (well yes I have a family but not in the way you mean), but it always feels sort of awkward. Curious whether anyone can suggest a better response that doesn’t make me feel like I’m on the back foot somehow? Should I just go with ‘no’? But I feel that leads to awkward silences and them looking sorry for me, which quite frankly I could do without. I get that it’s probably a question people ask unthinkingly hoping it will create some small talk and maybe some things in common as you chat about your partner and kids etc, which obviously is the situation most people are in. But I sort of wish people would think more in advance about the fact that it’s not everyone’s situation, and if your response to ‘no’ is going to be to make a sadface or look embarrassed then maybe don’t ask the question.
Have you heard any good responses? Or given any (as I know there are plenty of people on this board who aren’t married with children, or aren’t married with children yet)?
I do remember someone on a thread a while back who said their response to being asked if they have children is to say ‘fuck no’ and then laugh, which, while memorable, is maybe a little more combative than I want to go…