I dislike children.

[HonestJan]

What is wrong with me?

Never liked em. I don't find them cute, sweet, funny, interesting or entertaining. I have a few nieces/nephews and obviously love them but I don't enjoy the whole 'come watch little niece sing/dance 😍' and then enduring a painfully shit performance, 'Wow look at what little nephew has drawn' and it's a dreadful mess/ordinary drawing, and so on.

When kids do things like throw tantrums or make a scene in public and their parents do that 'ah isn't she adorable' look, I just don't get it.

When I'm sitting having a coffee and they come over to me/others to pester them and the parents leave them to it as if everyone must find their children as wonderful as they do, I don't get that either.

Babies I have no interest in either. I don't want to cuddle a small person or pull silly faces and coo over it.

I really enjoy people and I'm sure I'll have much more time and patience for my nieces and nephews when they grow up but I seem to be considered some sort of monster for not having an interest in children.

I thought Mumsnet was for mums?

It's also a nice place for women to talk to other women. I know men are here too but it's predominantly women and rheee aren't many places online like that.

I don't like kids either, don't find them cute really, and some are gross and annoying. It goes without saying that my own are expected from this general lack of interest. However:

"When kids do things like throw tantrums or make a scene in public and their parents do that 'ah isn't she adorable' look, I just don't get it.

When I'm sitting having a coffee and they come over to me/others to pester them and the parents leave them to it as if everyone must find their children as wonderful as they do, I don't get that either."

Fine not to get it. But not good to judge, if you can avoid it.

If my kids walk up to someone in a cafe, I'm not going to take a flying leap and wrench them back over to our table. They are actually people in their own right. Quite a lot of people are happy to have a little chat to children or at least smile at them. Ok, so you are not one of them. But we have to interact with all sorts of people in public spaces. I actually think it's a bit of a modern notion that we can float through life never interacting with children, ever, if we so choose. I think that children should be, within reason, present in public spaces.

The fact that they are generally kept so separate from other adults isn't great for new mothers like me who had no particular reason or desire to interact with babies toddlers or kids - I was totally clueless when mine arrived

I thought Mumsnet was for mums?

It's also a nice place for women to talk to other women. I know men are here too but it's predominantly women and rheee aren't many places online like that.

I thought Mumsnet was for mums?

It's also a nice place for women to talk to other women. I know men are here too but it's predominantly women and rheee aren't many places online like that.

Neither do I

Wow I genuinely don't know anyone else in real life who feels the same way. I was lambasted recently for not spending a Saturday night taking turns to cuddle a new baby and I just couldn't put my point across as to why I wasn't interested without sounding heartless. So in the end I was called all kinds of mean and made to feel a right bitch.

It's happened lots of times before with people quizzing why I'm not gooey over children too so I try and pretend to not be as disinterested as I actually am when it comes to kids.

Glad to have found similar opinion

My AIBU was basically am I some sort of monster/is there something wrong with me? Sorry should have added that at the end.

There are plenty of non parents on the forum.

I like children and always have but I don't have any opinions on those who don't feel that way. I think alot of people could identify with the way you feel.

Don't build it into a big thing.

Genuinely interested in why you joined a parenting site then?

There are loads of people on here who aren't parents and tons of the site isn't concerned with parenting.

Gosh, people are really rude just at the suggestion that their little darlings may not be totally adorable to everybody. She's not saying she wants to jab children with red hot pokers, just that she's not massively fussed about them.

OP, it's perfectly normal, even for parents. I was reading something the other day about Princess Margaret who absolutely loathed all children except for her own, even relations and insisted they were kept out of her way at family events. However her own children adored her and thought she was a wonderful mother. And she was very close to some of the children she loathed when they were old enough to be interesting.

Yes...there is something wrong with you. You stay in on a Saturday night to tell people you don't know (the only thing you do know about them is that they're parents) that you dislike children. I would say you have some kind of attention-seeking thing going on.

If you proceed to find Kindred Spirits on this thread and enthusiastically go on about how much you don't like everyone else's children, it will be clear what you wanted to get out of this.

I joined this site a long time ago to get help with a work problem. Have nc but have given lots of advice on threads in the past too. I've never seen this as a place just for parents, sorry. Nor is it only filled with threads about parenting.

YNBU sometimes I don't even like my own never mind anyone else's. Actually tell a lie I prefer someone else's to one of mine because he's such a angel

It certainly isn't just for mums at all. What a ridiculous thing to say. Best close down all the other sections if it's just for mums getting mummy advice. Child related chat only from now on eh.

I'm not that interested in cuddling other babies tbh, if their parent is a friends and needs me to whilst they do something then of course, but I don't feel the need to play pass the baby around. I like that my clothes remain baby sick free nowdays ( although Dh did get my 5 year old vomit in his hair a few months ago! So seems children are still puking on people whatever age)

I love my own children although I never did that "ooh isn't that cute" thing. I really don't like other children though and now mine are predominantly adults I find children seriously annoying (thank God mine aren't planning on making me a Grandma )

Also the best threads are usually the ones that don't involve kids, for example the drunk ones

I don't like pensioners. They get in my way when I'm shopping, take up all the seats on the bus, insist on yattering in my ear when all I want is some peace from their voices, and they walk too slowly. They're not interesting and I don't want to have to listen to them. Why would anyone want to be bothered with anyone over 65? But I'm sure I'll be vilified for being an over 65s-hating monster...

None of the above is true btw but it really gets on my tits when people write off a huge section of the population purely based on their age. You could try seeing them as individual people?

YANBU.

Your own DC yes, others noto so much.

Have nc but have given lots of advice on threads in the past too

We can only hope it's not on anything to do with being a parent...

honestjan I don't get the baby holding thing either. Not for me at all!

I did warm up to babies and toddlers a lot more once I had my own. But still find babies too floppy and small and it's not that I dislike them I am just unmoved by them! YANBU