I don’t agree that holidays are the same whether you have children or not. My last holiday before covid was to New York. We got up first thing in the morning, walked for hours, went to bed last thing at night, went to museums, went shopping all day etc. There’s no way you could do that with a toddler in tow.
Obviously people with children have holidays, but it’s different because you’re having to take a child’s needs into consideration.
Sure if you have kids you can still go out and do things as a couple like go to the cinema. But unless you’re seeing a children’s movie, you would have to arrange a baby sitter.
It also depends on personal circumstances. Some people have lots of relatives who are happy to look after the kids, so the couple can go on holiday alone for a week. But you only have to read mumsnet to see that there are some women whose husband won’t even watch his own kids so she can have a night with her friends.
It’s like the stereotype that all childfree people are loaded CEOs who drive Ferraris. That’s not what childfree people mean when they talk about having more money. The difference is, if you had two women on the same wage, one without children and one with a child. The childfree woman gets paid, pays her rent, bills, etc and then has the rest of the money to spend on herself. The mother will have the rent and the bills but will also have to buy nappies, extra food, potentially pay for child care etc.
I also disagree that everyone will feel this endless love for their child. Just a couple of days ago there was a thread on the mental health board from a dad who felt nothing towards his child, hated being around him and wanted to leave, but loved his wife.