Why Are Some MumsNetters Not Parents?

Not sure you’re really that “savvy”

There's a lot of stuff on here that isn't about kids; also a lot of good stuff about issues that relate to women, whether they're parents or not. I've seen a few other "women's" sites but they're not as fun or as useful.

I'm a parent but to adults. I found the site because I googled something and it took me to a MN thread and I was interested in the discussion. The majority of things I engage with on here are not about parenting, they're about relationships, politics, feminism, just life in general, mainly from the perspective of living it as a woman. I think of it more as womansnet I suppose.

I don’t even think of Mumsnet as a parenting site. I see it as a gigantic women’s forum that discusses everything from weight loss to literature to feminism to movies to fashion. It’s the second biggest women’s forum in the world after Reddit possibly. The AIBU board is for all sorts. I actually think it’s only a matter of time before this site renames or has sub-sites as so new women will see this as a woman’s forum as opposed to just a Mums forum. The volume of users and the breadth of topics is huge. Parenting increasingly is making up a smaller and smaller percent of it.

Perfect answer to the question actually asked 👏👏👏

Why do some ‘I’m so superior’ posters start threads and when they dinna go their way fuck off without a trace eh?

As several others have said I joined when I was going through IVF for the info and support on those threads. None successful, but I don't see why I should up and leave as it is a useful resource for other topics with mostly female opinions, fashion, health etc. And AIBU is not all about kids and very amusing a lot of the time!

I am not a mother but i still reply to parenting posts You dont have 'All the answers' just because you have become a parent !

The example I always give is a mother on a panic because her 15 year-old daughter is on drugs, or pregnant, or off with some dodgy older man. There’s no reason why the mother of a a five year-old is qualified to advise on that, just because she’s a fellow mother. Whereas one of the childless women here could well have been that 15 year-old once.

You said, specifically, that you were being genuine.

Dear God. Some people will always find a way of twisting things.

Because unfortunately each pregnancy has ended in the first trimester

OP never returned... how unexpected.

I joined MN because it was brilliant about giving the lowdown on areas I was considering moving to. Then decorating advice, then advice on dogs, gardening, elderly parents, and several other interesting topics.
I'm married but never had children but find that MN is excellent. Top thing is the long series of thread about The Archers - like an enormous chat with good friends.

There are lots of threads that don't relate to parenting, I read those. I.look for threads on relationships, education- from.teacher aspect, podcasts, books fashion, property and reminiscing etc. Don't do Facebook so get quite a bit of info from this site.

The usual three word username and not returning.

I wish MNHQ would delete them just for that.

Long term follower but arent aware that their are plenty of topics on here that arent related to children???

I am not a mother but i still reply to parenting posts You dont have 'All the answers' just because you have become a parent !

I like tons of threads.... Most of which arent about Children or parenting

5 pages and the OP has vanished???
lots of other topics and threads that are not parenting related.
I switched over from a too quiet gransnet at the request of my daughter to do some school selection sleuthing.

Also people who don't have kids can still be lawyers, teachers, nurses, gardeners, bakers, doctors, nursery workers etc, all people that we ask advice from every day on Mumsnet.

I would like to have kids (going to try to conceive this year, touch wood), so I started reading mothers forums to prepare. I kind of regret it, reading about being a mother is very effective contraceptive.

Yanbu - it started out as a parenting forum but grew bigger & bigger with a wide range of topics. I think a name change might be good at this stage to make people feel more included..

I love the drama. It also fascinates me how differently people think about certain things.

How patronising 🙄

I joined because of an absolutely horrendous miscarriage and subsequent infertility. The advice and support I've had has been invaluable.

Not really something to 'giggle' at.

It deals a lot with issues that women have to deal with such as sexism, having a female body and all the fun with that, and has a much more feminised view of relationships than other sites.

For example I am child-free but a lot of my friends are parents of young-ish children. It has been sad and frustrating for me at times that my friends are understandbly distracted, miss having the female-centrised conversations that don't revolve around childcare. Mumsnet seems to be the only place where those conversations occur

For example there is an expectation that if I meet up with my friends for a drink that they can bring their children along. In reality it means our conversations have to be "child-friendly" and have lost that mutual intimacy that they used to have. What makes it worse is there simply isn't the same expectiation for men, and I have been very jealous that its been fine for someones husband to go off for a couple of days with their mates, but I am the villian for asking for a child-hour when having a crisis.

I have had a couple of close friends that have been able to muddle through in the last year which I really apprecitate. They both very patient people, but yeah, my world has got a lot smaller socially since my friend got married and children, and Mumsnet has helped me find other women to talk to that has fill that particular gap.

🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱

When I was in the depths of infertility reading one of the threads that people without children shouldn't be on Mumsnet made me cry. It should be obvious that the having or not having of children can be a very sensitive subject. There's lots of fun and wisdom on here as a site that is predominantly used by women that can be entertaining or useful to anyone, it's weird to gatekeep it just because of the name.