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.

Yes, should have qualified. From the planet's (and every single other living thing on it) pov.

Well yes for us to be extinct would be for the planet’s best interests but…. I enjoy life too much and want my children to enjoy their lives too for me to remotely consider prioritising what is in the planet’s best interests re the existence of humans!

worth as that would be

I don't like elderly people and, with a few exceptions, I don't really enjoy their company. Is it unacceptable to say that?

This.

I think they would be better saying that they are not interested in having children, rather than not liking them, which would be less likely to offend people.

That’s what most people do say. But people interpret that as not liking them.

But finding a group difficult is very different to saying you don't like them.

Totally agree. But then I don’t much like old people….

edited to clarify I’m joking!

I don’t like most children. They’re mainly irritating. My own DC are mostly lovely and a tiny bit irritating 😂

I think it’s become cool with the younger generation to announce they hate children.

Although saying that, I had an older friend who told me they hate kids when I had just given birth. It was done in a very pointed and condescending way. We no longer talk.
It’s a weird thing to say to people I think. I don’t like cats but I never admit that to my friends and neighbours who owns cats, why would I? It’s to be antagonistic for the sake of it.

What are you going to do if you end up stuck in a care home when you’re older? Surrounded by other biddies? Forced to play bingo with them on Thursday afternoons? You’ll be buggered then 😂

I have children but what brought me to mumsnet originally was the property forum. I also enjoy the hiking chats, savings and money chats, and many others that aren't about children at all. You know if you google a question about any topic, if often links to a mumsnet thread about it, I don't have the app.
I imagine many on here don't have children, or if they do they are here for other reasons.

I find myself irritated by those children who are perhaps around 8-10 years old and 'mature beyond their years'. Join in adult conversations/say things only grown ups would say.
I don't have any specific examples right now, but political/social/relationship comments that they couldn't possibly know anything about and are presumably just repeating what they've heard adults say.
Oh and some of the horrible kids where I live that swear at you, throw stones at passing cars etc .
Blame the parents!! Etc, but I'm sure many of them pick things up from school/internet and it must be hard for parents to control everything.

I've never had children. But if I had, I would have homeschooled them and taken them far away from where I live.

But I have a child and I don’t like children either.
Apart from my own, he is amazing 😂

I think when people say they hate kids, what they actually mean is that they hate DEALING with kids.

I could say I hate cyclists. I don't.

I hate coming up behind them on the road and the worry that they might fall or swerve without warning. When I'm not having to drive around them, I have no feelings regarding them at all.

When people are rude enough to ask me why I don't have children I think it's a perfectly acceptable response.

You’re right. Reminds me of Sarah Milligan’s line “My husband and I can’t have children, because we hate them”.

well, Ive never met a child I liked so far....maybe there is one out there I would like but I probably will never meet them!
(TBH I didnt even like them when I was one!😄).

Children are in a vulnerable, underprivileged position in society though. It's punching down. It's like saying "I don't like disabled people" maybe keep that opinion to yourself.

It's also inaccurate - you can't hate every person who is young, they're all completely different

"I can't stand bloody annoying old biddies, they should be banned from shops and public transport" would get me hung out to dry but replace old biddies with an equally derogatory term for children and many would consider it fine. OP you're right.

Go on a dog thread. There’ll be more comments about hating children than anything to do with dogs!

I don’t like spiders
I don’t like mice
I don’t like men
I don’t like bullies
I don’t like narcissists
I don’t like rude arrogant people
we all have our people
I do like children though

*Millican

It doesn't matter.

People are allowed to have their opinions about anything and any group.

It's not necessarily inaccurate because the OP didn't say anything about hating children, just not liking them.

That doesn't mean hating anyone or any group. just saying 'I don't like' as a group.

But that applies to most things that people say they don't like. They don't like hospitals, or schools, or cats, or cars or cheese. They haven't experienced all the hospitals or cheese because there are millions of variations.

So there's a possibility there might be a hospital, school, cat or cheese that they would like.

But people don't have to experience all variations of something to be able to say they don't like something. I don't like olives. I've tried loads of olives over the years and never liked any. I've had olive-fans tell me over the last 30 years that I just hadn't had the 'right' olives and if I did, i'd love them. I didn't and don't. In many countries and different situations. I don't like olives.

People are entitled to opinions and feelings and life experiences that other people find doesn't align with their opinions and life experiences.

And that should be okay.

No opinion should be unacceptable.

So ‘I don’t like people with ginger hair, I don’t like white people, I don’t like people with cerebral palsy’ - these are all acceptable to things to say out loud?

It’s okay to have an opinion, sometimes it’s not okay to verbalise it to others.