To think it's unacceptable to say you don't like children?

That’s lovely. Perhaps they could teach the local high school students here how to dispose of litter because every school day they leave a long trail of litter from the local supermarkets back to the local school, including in people’s gardens, in spite of passing multiple bins.

There are plenty of non-parents here. The Talk board is actually primarily a women's forum.

This is becoming an view held by too many people.

It is unacceptable to say something that might upset people??

dear god - we have entered a Bonilla era we’re no one is allowed to have any opinions, were we can’t debate, can’t respect differences of opinion. Everyone has to tiptoe around each other. There can be no intelligent discussions, because we all lower ourselves to the lowest common denominator because we are terrified of upsetting people.

what’s wrong with people being upset? Why is it so confronting to hear an opinion that doesn’t match yours?

Children aren't fully evolved though so could generally be grouped as more demanding to be around? For me, as with all ages I like a few children, don't like others.

I'm none of those things. I've just chosen not to have children and actively choose not to spend time with them. Very happy with my lot and not a sociopath. Bit of a stretch.

Interestingly in a world where the modern narrative is that people are encouraged to be 'their true self', there is more and more policing of people's thoughts and language.

YANBU OP, it’s horrible.

A lot of people have forgotten they were once children themselves.

Also, many children put the behaviour of adults to shame. They see the best in others, are kind and generous. I always feel humbled watching local children, some very young, picking up the rubbish strewn around our parks- they know it’s wrong.

People can think and say whatever they want. They don't have to be tolerant of anything or anyone either.

As long as they don't start going on a murderous rampage or even just threatening or abusive, it's not unacceptable to have any opinion they like. It's only becoming unacceptable to act on it.

I don't really want to spend a lot of time with either young children or the elderly. My kids are young adults now. Does that mean i don't like either? I'm not sure, but they're certainly not my preferred age groups to spend time with.

I don’t like most children. Sometimes not even my own. It doesn’t bother me when anyone says they don’t like children. What I find is if you say you don’t like dogs then you get an even more extreme reaction. Usually followed up with the dog owner insisting theirs is friendly and encouraging you to touch it or let it lick your clothes.

I will happily accept that description if it means people don’t bother me with their kids 😁

I think sometimes people say this as a reaction to the assumption that all women should love babies and children just because they’re female.

I have never disliked children en masse but before I had DD I was quite uninterested and unmoved by them and found it irritating that I was expected to gush over them just because. I used to sometimes say I could take or leave them.

I think child free women get tired of being expected to find other people’s offspring enthralling so they possibly say this to head it off at the pass.

It's interesting that some women think that if other women say they don't want children, it's because they're secretly so sad they don't have any. No. We don't want them, and luckily, in most countries in this part of the world, women have bodily autonomy.

If it's beyond the realms of your imagination that many children have had interesting experiences and/or have interesting perspectives, then you must be quite a boring person.

I find it really strange when people say they don't like children. It's a weird generalisation, they're all so different. I think people either think they are cool and edgy making such a statement, they're sociopaths or deeply unhappy people who manage it with some hard faced defence mechanisms.

I don't like children in general but have 3 of my own (loving my own family and not wanting to be around groups of random kids, two wildly different things) so that argument holds no water.

I find it interesting that many of my parent friends aren't 'kid' people but many of my child free by choice friends actively choose childcentric life styles (like primary school teacher etc...). Although I suppose if I had to watch other peoples kids all day I probably wouldn't want to get off work and do it all again too.

I don’t like other people’s young children. They become more interesting as teenagers.

Thats because society doesnt enable us to be honest. Working with that demographic is extremely difficult and I cant manage it, its ok to say that. Im dreading if my OH or parents get dementia, Im not sure how I would manage it. Its ok to say that.

Conversations in other countries are a lot more honest about that sort of thing, including working with people with MH disorders, ND, LD etc etc.

Ha, I'm very happily child free and don't enjoy spending time around small children. I can assure you there's no envy here. Plenty of people like me. Not everyone wants kids, shocking as that may be to you.

I had a very abusive childhood so can’t really answer what I was like as it was very much moulded by circumstances. I was very quiet and helpful but can’t say I would have been like that in other circumstances.

I didn’t say they were messy though I just said they are unpredictable and noisy. Maybe you are confusing me with someone else?

eh, most people don't like certain groups of people.

I don't like children (I absoloutly love my own though, don't expect anyone else to be forced to though). I find newborn babies fucking adorable though even though older children annoy me to the point of breakdown sometimes.

I also don't greatly like the elderly (I have nothing in common with them, most are of outdated view points too), I don't like stuck up middle class people, fox hunters, Nigel Farage voters and 'horse' people either (all for the same reasons that we just are completely different in interest, attitudes and lifestyles).

Not liking them means I would no seek to hang out with these groups (which lets be honest talking of kids if a middle age person willfully hung around with little kids at the park that are not their own children etc... thats fucking creepy and they're likely a wrong one) but it doesn't mean I go around drop kicking them on sight.

You are allowed to 'not like' something that you have nothing in common with.

My eldest is a teen now, since becoming a mid-teen many adults we know have started to befriend him at social events. They had no real interest until he was around 15 and could hold articulate conversations expressing educated ideas on things. Now they invite him to join in because people want to 'hang out' not babysit and thats absolutely fine.

I agree 100%

Plus, you used to be a child!

By all means say “I don’t like looking after children”, but “I don’t like children” seems ridiculous to me.

Children are just humans!

I don't think I'd say I dislike kids but I don't have much interest in them and generally actively avoid spending time with them, at least not until they're 8 or 9 and can hold a conversation. This applies to my nieces and nephews too who of course I love but still wouldn't want to be around them for any amount of time when small