AIBU for not wanting children?

[VioletTurner]

So I'm 26 now and in the process of buying my first house with my partner. We're not engaged or anything but I feel like there's pressure building from other people (not him) about having children.
My own mother asks fairly offer when she's going to be a grandma because she was married 5 years and had me at 25 herself. I constantly remind her that that was the early 90's and things are so much different now but she doesn't seem to get it.

I used to want to have children say 3-5 years ago, but now I'm not so sure. My partner (same age) doesn't want any, so I'm thinking this might be rubbing off on me a bit. My main reason for not wanting them is just how cruel todays world is. Might be a bit far fetched but all I seem to see on the news is young children and the effect of social media (online bullying I mean), children being judged for being different etc. and I just don't think I'd be able to cope with not knowing everything they do 24/7 which, of course, isn't right and isn't healthy.
Everything is so PC now too, so I'd be afraid of saying something completely innocently, and this being picked up on and even repeated by the child.

Look, I know these are all what ifs, but my friends and family (even random people in IKEA) seem to think I'm odd for not having or wanting children.

You don’t need reasons for not wanting children
Just reiterating what PPs have said, and just in case, as your stated reasons sound a bit like you’ve had to make up an answer to shut up the CFs who decide that it’s ok to ask ‘why not?’
Me and DH are happily child free (in our early-mid 40s, together for 19 years)
In our younger days we discussed periodically if either of us had changed our minds about not wanting DC, and what that might mean for our relationship, but over time as our friends and families have had DC we’ve not felt the need to revisit as regularly and I think last had the conversation about 4 years ago

My mother herself has said that sometimes she wishes she'd not had children, that she doesn't think she was cut out for it.

They are good providers, we were always well turned out, well fed and had nice holidays, presents etc and were loved. But emotionally it was a bit different. I don't think she can handle having a child (me) who thinks and does differently to her.

Have a look at a few threads on here such as AIBU to remain childfree? It's full of people who dont want kids or that weren't bothered and wished they hadn't or that really wanted kids then realised they hated it.

The fact is unless you have kids you're really close to (eg see them when they're ill) then nobody has much idea what its going to be like, therefore few people can really truly know if they want kids (in terms of the reality of what having kids is like).

I know it depends on where you live and your level of education but for a lot of areas you're still so young to be making a choice either way (eg a lot of people I know in London dont have their first til after 35).

I'd just put it out of your mind completely now, concentrate on you (career, travel or whatever) and put off deciding til you're 30. Unless your partner is adamant that he is never ever having any, and you know you want to stay with him forever, in which case the decision is taken out of your hands really

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with not having kids. The world would be a much better place with fewer people in it. For environmental reasons alone we should stop having children.

However, it could also be that you just don’t want them yet. 26 is very young. There’s no way I was thinking about having kids when I was your age. In fact, I think I said I didn’t want them!

Not to undermine what you're saying, but whenever I read these threads, I think back to when I was 26 and most of my friends NEVER wanted children (I had 2 by then)

Now here we are, almost 10 years later and literally all of them have children.
So I don't ever really believe it when someone younger than at least 32 says that they never want children - although obviously I wouldn't say that to them in real life

There is a thread "my children have sucked the life out of me". It made me so sad reading it but at the same time so thankful we chose not to have children.