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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to ask - if you could go back in time would you still decide to have children?

304 replies

Sunflowers095 · 02/06/2021 22:16

I know parents love their kids and it's not a question of regret. But knowing what you know now, if you could go back in time (pre-children) and assuming you wouldn't get the same DC's again - would you decide to become a parent? If so, why/why not?

I feel like it can be a taboo topic and can often lead to unrealistic expectations of parenthood. As a fence sitter I'd be keen to hear everyone's opinions :)

OP posts:
ExConstance · 03/06/2021 10:58

Yes, I'd have them again. It would be good to go back in time and enjoy their childhoods again as the are now both grown up. If you went back in time with some memory of how they had turned out it would be so easy to parent! I'd know not to bother with violin lessons, encourage art and get DS 1 further ahead with the foreign language he now relies on for work at an earlier stage.

Sunflowers095 · 03/06/2021 11:12

@UsedUpUsername I am actually in a relationship but my partner is a fence sitter swaying towards wanting kids whereas I am the opposite. It something I'd like us to really think about to avoid breaking up in our 30's over it (although I know being single in your 30s is fine!)

OP posts:
samandpoppysmummy · 03/06/2021 11:36

Nothing could ever have brought me more happiness and contentment than my DC have, and continue to do. I can't imagine not having them.

Everything I had done and achieved before they were born (and I had them in my late 30s) suddenly seemed meaningless, from the moment my eldest was born.

miltonj · 03/06/2021 11:40

My daughters only a baby so don't know how I'll feel later down the line but my life has got infinitely better since she was born, my soul feels settled for the first time in my life.

However I always knew I wanted kids, and knew I'd feel a huge sense of loss and sadness if I didn't. If you're not sure.... spend some more time thinking about it... looks like you're about 25 so you've got plenty of time... your feeling on this will likely change as you get older. That's what's happened for a lot of my friends who are in their 30's.

AledsiPad · 03/06/2021 11:43

I wouldn't have my eldest. I adore him, but having him means I cannot fully escape my incredibly controlling, abusive ex who still manages to gaslight me 15 years after we split up. He is a nasty, narcissist who raped and strangled me but I see so much of him in our son and it's really unpleasant. Not DS fault and I would never tell him how it makes me feel.

That said, if I hadn't had DS I wouldn't have met DH and had my other DC and I would hate to be without any of them, including DH, so it's difficult to come to terms with in my head when I'm struggling with ex/DS1.

DuesToTheDirt · 03/06/2021 11:50

please don't have them as insurance for old age. It's not the right reason.

Absolutely, and if you get a child with problems that mean they will never live an independent life, it could work the other way round, that in old age you are still responsible for your child.

ChangePart1 · 03/06/2021 11:54

As a parent I don’t really buy the whole ‘you don’t know love until you have a child’ thing though.

I felt intense, amazing love plenty before kids. Love for my husband, for my best friends, for music, for so many things. A child is a different kind of love for me but it’s no greater or lesser than the other forms of intense love imo. It’s just different.

dozydoo · 03/06/2021 12:03

No I wouldn't.
Children were never part of my plan anyway. When I fell pregnant with ds, my oh, (now dh) was over the moon, I was on the pill, so not so happy about it, I suffered undiagnosed pnd, which was horrific, but I didn't want ds to be an only child, so then we had dd1, then dd2.

This is not the life I planned, or wanted, I love my children more than I can express, but it's so fucking hard & there are times I'd love to walk away.

cabbagefordinner · 03/06/2021 13:03

Yes, one is currently stacking the dishwasher, one is putting the bins out and one has gone to the library to study.

ZenNudist · 03/06/2021 13:07

Right now no! I'm considering tying the 7yo up.... trying to pack for holiday and he will not entertain himself

HarryDavidj · 03/06/2021 13:12

TheLeadbetterlife you are absolutely right about kidding themselves.

It's a really mean spirited idea though. "I wasn't sure whether I wanted this car .. liked being skinny .. having curly hair .. feel that all of the slog that I put into this PhD was worth it .. but now that I know you would like what I have, I feel better about it."

gobackanddoitproperly · 03/06/2021 13:18

I'd have more and invest in bitcoin so I could afford it.

BootsieBarns · 03/06/2021 13:22

Yes 100%

I had the career driven, world travelling life before I had kids. I had them quite late in life. Looking back whilst I enjoyed it to the full if I hadn't had them I'm not sure I would have carried on enjoying it. It was starting to feel a bit empty.

As life has changed I've come to value family more and more. I'm much more content and settled than I was before and value things I never really did before. I love watching them grow through each stage and I've discovered I'm actually quite a maternal person. I love the bond with them and the relationship we have. I find myself smiling when thinking about them and getting excited at doing things with them. Don't get me wrong, it's the hardest thing i have ever done and it is relentless but its by far and away the best thing I've ever done.

I get to do a bit of the champagne and business travelling lifestyle on the side as I still have a full time career. But if it were a straight choice, I'd pick kids everytime.

Hockney236 · 03/06/2021 13:38

I don’t have children and have never regretted it, though I come from a big family so was never in any doubt as to the reality of it all. My husband has 4 and he doesn’t regret at all, but I feel all the pain for him because honestly that saying that you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child is true. Two of his children have mental health issues and it is constant worry and drama. And the money, it’s just so expensive as at least one of them will never be financially independent I don’t think. My sister has 4 too, they’re a delight. It’s a spin on the roulette wheel, isn’t it? You never know what you’re going to get.

littlepeas · 03/06/2021 13:44

Yes, without question. The good bits far outweigh the tricker times. We would be able to afford a very indulgent lifestyle if we didn't have dc, but there is nothing material or experiential I would rather have than my family.

RidingMyBike · 03/06/2021 13:54

Such a difficult question! I was desperate to have kids - strong desire for years and it took us nearly five to get pregnant (naturally - bit of a surprise after all that time). I was obsessed with babies and not sure what would have happened if I hadn't got pregnant, although clearly I'd have had to draw the line at some point. So, I looked over the potential childfree life and didn't like the look of it.

But pregnancy was so physically and mentally difficult, without the support I'd thought there would be from family and from midwives. Pregnancy was high risk, birth was awful. I remember DD eventually exiting me and being put on my chest to breastfeed and she looked revolting, it felt really meh and I just wanted someone to take her away so I could have a rest! I hated the way I had to be with her the whole time without a break.

I really struggled with the first few years, especially the first which seemed to go on forever. I knew I'd been so desperate to have a baby but I didn't like mine at all and we didn't bond for months. It turns out I don't actually like babies or small children which made the first years relentless, boring and frustrating. The only things that kept me going were working part-time which I really enjoyed and my lovely DH!

I'm not sure if I'd do it again knowing what I know now. I thought there would be so much more support (my Mum was useless as a grandparent despite moaning for years about not being able to 'grandparent' my nephews as SIL's parents got priority). My extended family put me under pressure to parent like them (attachment parenting) which made me feel like crap but provided zero actual support. My church made a big thing about their 'family welcome' but no actual support emerged, despite them knowing I had severe PND and that we were really struggling. HVs were useless and just pressured me to carry on breastfeeding whilst refusing to provide support for PND, suggesting that I try church instead Confused. It was such a shock as when I did start going to toddler groups there seemed to be so many people with grandparents helping out with kids, people dropping meals off to newborn families, people from next county who had brilliant HV support.

DD now, 5yo, is lovely - funny, captivating, frequently adorable. I now enjoy spending time with her, but that's a fairly recent thing and I had to pretend for years to avoid letting her down. I still really appreciate my days at work! TBH knowing what I know now I wish we'd bought in help, especially in the first year, to fill in the gap of support we didn't have. I didn't know things like maternity nurses or mother's helps existed, and it didn't occur to me that we could use childcare to have a break!

Notadramallama · 03/06/2021 13:55

I'm 44, very happily child free and would definitely make the same decision again. My life is fabulous - no one should feel sorry for me.

And no, pp, I do not look at people who have children with envy!

NeverDropYourMoonCup · 03/06/2021 13:58

No. But I'd also need to know how to escape from an abusive homelike and had practical help to do so.

comingintomyown · 03/06/2021 13:59

I was very much anti having them but had 2 who are grown up and left home. I’m extremely glad I changed my mind but I should say they were super easy and I was able to be SAHM with plenty of money and an involved husband which I think made a lot of difference

LeroyJenkinssss · 03/06/2021 14:11

Absolutely but I would have had them younger. I had mine late twenties and early thirties and now I would preferably have had them when I was early twenties. But only if I got the same ones as mine are ace Grin

nanbread · 03/06/2021 14:19

I would have them again, but I would do things very differently.

Choices21 · 03/06/2021 18:10

How do people even get to the decision they want children?! I’ve been on the fence for years! It’s really stressing me out to be honest. The replies here are mixed for having children but all good for not.

Trewawgy · 03/06/2021 18:17

Maybe those who really regret not having children are more likely to avoid threads like this because they might find them painful. I don’t know.

DeeDimer · 03/06/2021 18:20

I'd have absolutely had them but I think I could have been a better mum.

Lazydaz · 03/06/2021 18:22

No I wouldnt have any

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