Why do so many posters hate mothers/children

[Sundayschool]

Inspired a bit by the current thread on SMP!

Why does Mumsnet, predominately/historically a forum for parents, attract so many posters who seem to hate children and mothers? It surprises me how fast posters are to tear down any women who want better conditions for themselves or their children or indeed anything to make life a bit easier (parent/child spaces, better SMP).

Why do such people choose to post on this site in particular? Surely if you really feel so strongly this is the last place you would think to come and post?

But the posts we have seen on that subject are about people doing just that. Posters who have had years of being leant on by people who really shouldn't be doing a job which requires Christmas working because they obviously can't do it.
I really don't understand why those people are seen as 'haters' because once in a blue moon they'd like their scheduled Christmas off without being told to think of someone else's children.
If YOU want Christmas with your kids, and I agree, it is important, get one of the many jobs that don't require Christmas working. Most parents who have children but work in these roles accept it and get on with it. It's a tiny few who think company policy shouldn't apply to them.
I love children. I work with children. I'd always move seats on a plane, I don't care why the kid isn't sitting with the parents, it's right that they should be. But most posts on this subject aren't about the people who politely ask, they are about the people who demand somebody move, they never ask men to move and are generally obnoxious about it.
There's a certain type of person, and they are more common than they used to be, who thinks that parenthood equates to 'rules don't apply'. And plenty of parents on here have things to say about those people.
On the thread the OP referred to, as many parents as non-parents thought SMP shouldn't be extended/increased/paid for by the tax payer.
The parents got slated too, to be fair.
This is pretty much AIBU in a nutshell. I have yet to see a thread where everyone agrees, even some of the ones about people suffering domestic abuse, etc get nasty comments.
There were one or two negative comments from child-free individuals on that thread. Hardly enough to warrant an entire thread on the hordes of anti-child lurkers.

If you don't want child free people on this site, petition the admin. In the meantime, accept they are allowed to be here, call out the individuals who are arseholes, but I do object to those on this thread who claim increases in negative comments are down entirely to the presence of non-parents.
The majority on threads specific to parenting are parents. They aren't always fucking nice.

I read something once that said, 'children are like farts, everyone else's are repulsive but you can tolerate your own'.

As a mother of three I totally agree with that.

what is happening on that thread? If you don't have kids, don't come here and comment

I really hate my own farts, so perhaps it follows that I am childfree 😄

Except Mumsnet is quite happy to have child free users on the site. That you don’t like it is, well, entirely a you problem.

and you have 4 kids - you are a Mother to 4 kids?

Yes, mumsnet is clear that it is for both men and women, parents and non-parents. Basically, everyone.
I do wish there was a way of having a site that was for mothers only. Or at least for parents only. It would be near impossible to police, but there would be value in having such a thing.

This explains A LOT.

What's your point @Goldenbear ? I have 3 adult and one teen child. Raised and paid for by me and dh and who have all turned out well - they are honest, responsible, decent people. They haven't grown up to think the world owes them a living - they are all out there, working hard and making their way in the world. I think dh and I have done a decent job.

That doesn't mean I should feel responsible for a strangers child on a plane (if that's what you were getting at), beyond making sure they weren't in any danger (although, in truth I probably would look after them and if it wasn't massively inconvenient, would swap seats so their parent could do so).

DH and I organised our lives so that we were responsible for our dc. We didn't expect strangers to rearrange their lives to accommodate them - so no moaning if they weren't invited to a friend's wedding, or any of that crap which is constantly posted about on MN.

I've noticed people being intolerant of children on here.
On a thread the other day a child was called scuzzy and another poster accused the parents of 'not being able to control thier child' because the child had wet themselves in a supermarket. (?)
On threads about dogs there's also a lot of people who make a point of 'I'd rather ban children from a pub than dogs' etc..

And, surprisingly, some of those intolerant posts come from parents.
@Bellsandthistle if a lot of the threads on this site are anything to go by, you'll still get plenty of people who have opinions you don't like about mothers and children even if you could just have a site for mothers. Some of the nastiest I have seen have been the 'perfect parents' telling some poor stressed out and overwhelmed woman what a terrible mother she is and how immaculate their house is with their perfectly behaved two year old.

Yep. On the whole parents are much nastier to each other on here than childfree/childless posters are to parents.

Yes. If the argument is that child free people simply 'don't understand', well, some parents don't seem to understand that not every child is the same as theirs. Some of the SEN comments, honestly!

The truth is, this is the internet. It brings out the worst in some people. It suits some people to be 'tribal' about it. To put the blame on one specific group because they aren't in your 'tribe'. I'm not saying people without children can't be vile about parents, but it's not like this would be all rainbows and unicorns without people who don't have children. There's no such thing as a 'safe space' on the internet, because judgy people exist in all walks of life. Having children might give people more supposed 'right' to be judgy pricks about other people's children, but having children doesn't give them any more 'right' if they've never worked Christmas day in their lives to be judgy pricks about people who just want their colleagues to take their turn once in a while.
But we don't, not should we, live in an echo chamber.