Why do so many posters hate mothers/children

Yes. If the argument is that child free people simply 'don't understand', well, some parents don't seem to understand that not every child is the same as theirs. Some of the SEN comments, honestly!

The truth is, this is the internet. It brings out the worst in some people. It suits some people to be 'tribal' about it. To put the blame on one specific group because they aren't in your 'tribe'. I'm not saying people without children can't be vile about parents, but it's not like this would be all rainbows and unicorns without people who don't have children. There's no such thing as a 'safe space' on the internet, because judgy people exist in all walks of life. Having children might give people more supposed 'right' to be judgy pricks about other people's children, but having children doesn't give them any more 'right' if they've never worked Christmas day in their lives to be judgy pricks about people who just want their colleagues to take their turn once in a while.
But we don't, not should we, live in an echo chamber.

Yep. On the whole parents are much nastier to each other on here than childfree/childless posters are to parents.

And, surprisingly, some of those intolerant posts come from parents.
@Bellsandthistle if a lot of the threads on this site are anything to go by, you'll still get plenty of people who have opinions you don't like about mothers and children even if you could just have a site for mothers. Some of the nastiest I have seen have been the 'perfect parents' telling some poor stressed out and overwhelmed woman what a terrible mother she is and how immaculate their house is with their perfectly behaved two year old.

I've noticed people being intolerant of children on here.
On a thread the other day a child was called scuzzy and another poster accused the parents of 'not being able to control thier child' because the child had wet themselves in a supermarket. (?)
On threads about dogs there's also a lot of people who make a point of 'I'd rather ban children from a pub than dogs' etc..

What's your point @Goldenbear ? I have 3 adult and one teen child. Raised and paid for by me and dh and who have all turned out well - they are honest, responsible, decent people. They haven't grown up to think the world owes them a living - they are all out there, working hard and making their way in the world. I think dh and I have done a decent job.

That doesn't mean I should feel responsible for a strangers child on a plane (if that's what you were getting at), beyond making sure they weren't in any danger (although, in truth I probably would look after them and if it wasn't massively inconvenient, would swap seats so their parent could do so).

DH and I organised our lives so that we were responsible for our dc. We didn't expect strangers to rearrange their lives to accommodate them - so no moaning if they weren't invited to a friend's wedding, or any of that crap which is constantly posted about on MN.

This explains A LOT.

Yes, mumsnet is clear that it is for both men and women, parents and non-parents. Basically, everyone.
I do wish there was a way of having a site that was for mothers only. Or at least for parents only. It would be near impossible to police, but there would be value in having such a thing.

and you have 4 kids - you are a Mother to 4 kids?

Except Mumsnet is quite happy to have child free users on the site. That you don’t like it is, well, entirely a you problem.

I really hate my own farts, so perhaps it follows that I am childfree 😄

what is happening on that thread? If you don't have kids, don't come here and comment

I read something once that said, 'children are like farts, everyone else's are repulsive but you can tolerate your own'.

As a mother of three I totally agree with that.

But the posts we have seen on that subject are about people doing just that. Posters who have had years of being leant on by people who really shouldn't be doing a job which requires Christmas working because they obviously can't do it.
I really don't understand why those people are seen as 'haters' because once in a blue moon they'd like their scheduled Christmas off without being told to think of someone else's children.
If YOU want Christmas with your kids, and I agree, it is important, get one of the many jobs that don't require Christmas working. Most parents who have children but work in these roles accept it and get on with it. It's a tiny few who think company policy shouldn't apply to them.
I love children. I work with children. I'd always move seats on a plane, I don't care why the kid isn't sitting with the parents, it's right that they should be. But most posts on this subject aren't about the people who politely ask, they are about the people who demand somebody move, they never ask men to move and are generally obnoxious about it.
There's a certain type of person, and they are more common than they used to be, who thinks that parenthood equates to 'rules don't apply'. And plenty of parents on here have things to say about those people.
On the thread the OP referred to, as many parents as non-parents thought SMP shouldn't be extended/increased/paid for by the tax payer.
The parents got slated too, to be fair.
This is pretty much AIBU in a nutshell. I have yet to see a thread where everyone agrees, even some of the ones about people suffering domestic abuse, etc get nasty comments.
There were one or two negative comments from child-free individuals on that thread. Hardly enough to warrant an entire thread on the hordes of anti-child lurkers.

If you don't want child free people on this site, petition the admin. In the meantime, accept they are allowed to be here, call out the individuals who are arseholes, but I do object to those on this thread who claim increases in negative comments are down entirely to the presence of non-parents.
The majority on threads specific to parenting are parents. They aren't always fucking nice.

Lol, as if I haven’t been horizontal this entire time.

@InterIgnis nobody has said you should have to. Stand down.

This. Not being willing to work every Christmas, or give up your plane seat, isn’t ’hatred’ of children or mothers any more than it’s hatred of anyone that may want you to do either of those things, regardless of reason.

It's not hatred - it's just a belief that children are largely the responsibility of the parents to pay for and look after and that parents aren't a special group whose wishes have to be accommodated as a priority.

I think children are (largely) lovely, they are bright, funny, interesting and it's a joy to watch them discover the world. Society should of course ensure they are safe, have good housing, healthcare and education. But providing for children is something which should largely rest with the parents, not employers or the state.
There are people who have chosen not to have them and those people shouldn't be pressured into paying more tax or working more, so that parents can work less, or giving up Christmas days off or a holiday in August because parents want that time.
People shouldn't be viewed as 'less' because they don't have children or their time viewed as not so valuable.

That’s your prerogative. I didn’t believe there could be people with such aggressive hatred for mothers and children, but here we are.

I've read yours. I just don't believe you.

@ABirdsEyeView reading posts before replying is usually recommended, if you are able.

I wouldn't actually mind sitting next to someone's small child tbh - kids are usually nice and far less annoying than a lot of adults. And if they aren't, well I have headphones and can take a 'not my circus, not my monkeys' approach

If it is the case that some posters hate mothers, I do believe that @Bellsandthistle might be a beautiful illustration as to why.

There are people who go through life assuming they are the major character in everyone else's lives, as well their own and parenthood amplifies this. These will be the people who have child free weddings but kick off if you don't later invite their children, the one's who expect people to give up the plane seats they've paid for so they can sit with their children, despite not having bothered to book and who are completely oblivious to how all that 'rearranging' doesn't just happen by magic and involves people giving things up for their convenience!

That’s what noise cancelling headphones are for, surely? Bold assumption that they’re actually going to get disturbed by said small child 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have never said anyone owed it to parents to move. I have always booked seats together but have been told by the airlines I fly with that it is automatic, regardless. I would never ask someone to move and have refused to move when asked by other cheeky entitled ppl in the past.
After reading some of the posts by yourself and others on here however, I would get a small thrill out of seeing you stuck next to someone else’s small child.

@fitzwilliamdarcy I don’t know but you should probably make better airline choices 😌