To think it's unacceptable to say you don't like children?

[BirdPlanet]

Increasingly I've heard people saying some variation of the statement 'I don't like children'. I don't see why this is in any way acceptable. You wouldn't say that you 'don't like' any other category of person. If I said I didn't like the elderly or middle-aged women as a group, I'd get slapped down, yet somehow people think it's okay to talk about children as if they aren't human beings. Is it because they can't speak or advocate for themselves? Children aren't some kind of homogeneous entity. They have personalities and different temperaments, just as adults do.

Inevitably people will say that it's used as a shorthand for disliking the behaviour of some children, but even so, that’s more of a reflection of poor parenting than anything else.

Who is telling you they don't like children? What's the context? Your OP is vague.

Absolutely agree with you. And I hear it a lot too. Especially on here.

I don't like people in general so I think YABU.

I don't like children in general, they're noisy and annoying. Yabu.

Yeah its a stupid thing to say, generalisations generally are

I agree. It's ok to say I don't want to have children , or I don't want to work with children, but a blanket I don't like children is odd and unacceptable just as I don't like old people is.

Well, I don't much care for badly-behaved (or rather, badly-brought-up) children.
But then, I do see a lot of them in my line of work.

Let them say it.
It makes clear who you do not want to associate with.

Agreed, and posted a variation of this on another thread recently. People without children seem to forget that they are just small people? No one ever says “pregnant women, they drive me mad” or similar in public about humans in a different life stage. FFS, you were a child yourself.

'I don't like elderly women, they're annoying.'

Can you not see how offensive and silly a statement this is? I don't see why it's different for children. And not all children are noisy, some are quiet, some are loud.

A lot of Mners don’t like people in general, so I suppose it follows that they’re not going to like any subcategory of ‘people’.

I am not a fan BUT I am not daft enough to say it in real life either

Yeh I hate it you can decide not to have children that’s fine but don’t say you don’t like children they’re not all the same it’s a horrible thing to say … tbh I just mentally switch off from people who say it (which I have encountered in life…)

Children haven't been fully socialised yet, they're still growing up. Therefore, they require patience. I am patient, but I don't enjoy having to be patient.

I was going to say that I don't have an issue with it cos kids are noisy, messy & unpredictable and I LOVE them.

But you're totally right - it would be considered horrific to say that of elderly people, so yeah, probably not acceptable at all really.

Hmm I think it’s okay - that’s why you get adult only holidays and adult only spaces. Children are annoying- okay, they’re not all loud but if they’re not my own I would rather not have to listen to them.

Increasingly I've heard people saying some variation of the statement 'I don't like children'.

Can you be a bit more specific to as to ‘some variation’?

I haven’t really encountered many people saying they didn’t like or hated children. Are you seeing this a lot, OP?

Have heard plenty say they don’t WANT children but that’s not the same thing.

I don't like children and prefer adults only places 🤷🏼‍♀️.

And along comes one person to say it! 😂

Plenty of adults are not fully socialised

What brought you to mumsnet which is primarily a mum forum just out of interest?

Mostly the life advice forums and the chat. Also aibu is very entertaining a lot of the time.

I think it's pretty lazy tbh.
It would be totally unacceptable I don't like elderly people but it's perfectly fine to say I don't like Children.
It probably stems from the children should be seen and not heard type culture in UK.
But ultimately if I hear someone say this I take it with a pinch of salt. They usually don't literally mean they hate children. It's more that they are intolerant and don't like being slightly inconvenienced in any way by children.

It's no different to saying "I love children!", which is just as general and doesn't seem to get the same response.

People just mean they don’t like the lack of communication skills / noise / physicality / ceaseless questions etc etc

Young children behave in a unique way - there’s no equivalent of this in any other group of people

So I understand why anyone might dislike them

But agree that, depending on the context, it’s tactless to say so