To not understand why people are still having kids?

[Tobythecat]

I understand that the urge to reproduce is very strong, but the future looks incredibly bleak (I'm not talking about just covid, but also climate change). I fear for the future and what sort of quality of life people will have, considering Automation/competition over jobs, climate change issues (food/water shortages, extreme weather). Honestly, how can you think that everything will be fine and work itself out, or do you just not think about it? Children today will face unimagineable suffering in the next 20-30 years, how can you justify it to them? I wanted children desperately but decided not to because of the above, plus genetic factors.

People mention the war and how people kept having kids, but the threats we face have never been faced before and are multifaceted. Is existing to suffer better than not existing at all?

[PablosHoney]

If you have anxiety especially post natal I can see why this would be extremely triggering (hate that word but can’t think of better) I’ve been there so I get it.

[SadSack39]

This is a ludicrous post.. who writes this stuff..

[AltheaThoon]

I hope you are genuinely proud that your words could well have impacted don frightened anxious people reading this, it will probably have achieved what you wanted and I hope that little bit inside you that needs validation feels better... for a short time.

This. Needless scaremongering on what is primarily a parenting forum.

[Biscusting]

Lol

[PablosHoney]

Nostradamus?

[Nedders]

@Stamen196 to be told essentially that my children are going to live lives filled with misery and suffering and die prematurely is devastating to me. My anxiety reduces my ability to cope with this and rationalise it leaving me extremely distressed.

Thank you @PablosHoney

[Thatusernamewastaken]

People have probably had thoughts along those lines for hundreds of years, but very few choose not to have children.
Why did people in the 17th century have kids when the life expectancy was 35, and disease was rife?
The future isn’t going to be without its issues, but society has never been more technologically, medically advanced. Everyone trots out the “things have never been worse” line when really, progress means they’ve never been better*
*I acknowledge we’re in a pandemic, climate change etc but there’s always a crisis of some kind - fear of The Bomb etc in the 60s

[Dawnlassie]

Children today will face unimagineable suffering in the next 20-30 years

Facepalm.

[Stinkyguineapig]

I've got friends that decided not to have kids for similar reasons. They go on more foreign holidays and short haul flights that anyone else I know. 🤷‍♀️

[PablosHoney]

I remember worrying about Ebola and nuclear war in the 90’s.

[AltheaThoon]

There are lots of sensible voices on the thread Nedders. Try to take some comfier from them. But yes, also hide the thread

[BikeRunSki]

I understand that the urge to reproduce is very strong

There you go. You answered your own question.

[AntiHop]

Strange that the op hasn't told us how many kids she has...

[Tobythecat]

Interesting replies.

I don't believe that the suffering some people experience is 'worth it' just to experience life, no. Yes, I am angry at my parents for having me, but thats because they passed down autism and mh issues and I also grew up in an abusive environment.

I don't believe that it's such a bad thing if humans do go extinct, why would it? What makes our species so special? We have destroyed the planet and some of the most cruel people are the most rewarded by our society, whilst some of the kindest are left to suffer.

[Branleuse]

cos it might be ok and if we all die early then so be it?

[dorothyovertherainbow]

I agree, OP.


www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8726155/SIR-DAVID-ATTENBOROUGH-reveals-born-today-witness-sixth-mass-extinction.html

[TonTonMacoute]

If you want to contemplate a bleak future just imagine a world where no one had children any more.

What an utterly bizarre, over-simplistic, poorly thought out thread to start!

[Stamen196]

@Nedders Sorry to hear that. I was genuinely wondering - I can see your point. Do hide the thread!

[DilloDaf]

People have spent all human history having children despite uncertain and bleak futures and, very often, despite a belief that the end of the world was imminent.

Of course they did, because women didn't have the choice NOT to have children.
Reliable contraception has only been available for a tiny fraction of time if you're looking at the whole of human history.

[Puffalicious]

God, OP, you have your own, personal issues, it seems. Don't go bringing everyone else down to your level of doom and gloom. I have 3 DC- they are fabulous and bring enormous joy to me and my family ; you or anyone else will not temper that joy.

Go be sanctimonious elsewhere.

[sharpeidiem]

@Tobythecat I grew up with autism, MH issues in an abusive family. I'll still have kids, and I'll love them and look after them so much better than I was looked after. Happy kids can do great things with their lives.

[Rebelwithallthecause]

Mankind has shown how adaptable to different dangers / disasters they are over the last multiple thousand years

[msflibble]

Got to love being a woman. If you get pregnant and have an abortion some bellend will wag their finger at you for murdering your unborn child. If you give birth some other bellend will call you immoral for bringing children into a world where they are likely to suffer "unimaginably".
I very rarely hand these out OP, but

[00100001]

By your reckoning, there's never a time to have kids.
Let's look at the last 100 years or so...

1914-1918... War...no kids then
1918/1919/1920 - influenza pandemic
1920s...well there's maybe a couple of years where it was ok.
1925 ... Start of the depression... unemployment around 2 million..no kids please
1929... Wall Street crash...
1930s... Rise of Hitler, abdication crisis, Munich crisis.... WWII starts... No kids here please!
1939-1945... WWII
OK, so late 1940s? Decolonisation oops
1950 Korean war
1956 Suez crisis...
1958-59 race riots
Early 1960s Cuban missile crisis, profumo scandal,
Late 60s early 70s Vietnam war, Kennedy assassination,
1974 miners strikes
1979 winter if discontent
1982 Falklands war...
1986 Chernobyl
1990 poll tax riots
1992 Gulf war
~1996 mad cow disease
2000 for com bubble recession
2001 foot and mouth outbreak, terrorist attacks on new York, war in Afghanistan...
2003 SARS
2005 London bombing
2008 recession
2010 volcano exploded grounding air traffic.



When is there EVER a good timeto have kids??

[Time2change2]

Oh give over OP. You are not having children due to genetic reasons but have convinced yourself it’s not worth it anyway because the worlds going to shit.
Every generation pretty much (except maybe the boomers) have felt like this to some extent. No the world is not going to end. No people won’t ever stop having babies, not until the last humans are wiped out so get off your high horse and stop kidding yourself