Why Are Some MumsNetters Not Parents?

[SavvymummyLondon]

Hi All, long time follower, first time poster.

Prior to becoming a parent, things targeting parents & carers were completely off my radar. However, I have noticed a few times people who self-declare that they are not parents or carers post on the MumsNet AIBU page and I think to myself...but why? 🤔

I found out about MumsNet when I was expecting, and started engaging with the content once I became a mum. Before that, MumsNet wouldn't have even exisited in my universe!

I'm genuinely curious.

BIIIINGGGGOOOO.

What’s with all the rage bait posts recently?

To make some sort of light of it all, my ovaries are good so if you’ve a couple of unburst fallopian tubes then between us we should be good to go! X

Ive been here since the beginning. I dont have kids. I had stepchildren though, I had a not so "d"h, got divorced, relocated, and have worked in a childcare environment for the last 12 years. Mumsnet has given me loads of advice, and laughs over the years. A quick look around the site should tell anyone new that parenting is only a small fraction of the topics that are discussed.

That made me laugh!! They are both blocked so I'm completely useless! 😁

OP not been back, I see. So much for being genuinely curious.

Worth a shot! If find us a tube though we will be sorted “who you gonna call, tube hunters” 😆

Because I don't have any children so I can formulate the best theories about how everyone else should bring theirs up.

I wasn’t blessed with motherhood, but I’ve been an active aunt and now a very very active great aunt.
i have a wealth of life time experience.its good to listen and share experiences and knowledge. I’ve found my tribe!

What a disgusting thing to say ! Some people aren’t as fortunate as you in having children. I suggest you think before you make thoughtless comments

Because they don’t have kids, how many Aibu threads today have been child related? Or ones in legal or money matters? Why do you care?

Part of what makes it so unfair that not everyone can be a mother is that people like you can

Two words

Penis beaker

But also as above there are many interesting topics that aren't directly related to parenting. I think MN actually first came up on a random FB post and I somehow went down a rabbit hole of legendary threads

Worse than that (I am being genuine) is that men post of Mumsnet.

Yeah...I don't understand it either...there is a Dadsnet. But men....

I'm sure it will be a great comfort to the infertile women posting here that you think men being here is even worse than them being here.

I’ll often read the opening post of a thread and make a bet with myself that the OP won’t return. I always never lose.

I have no worries my record will be damaged by this thread either.

I'm 39. No kids. Been on here since I was 20.
Why? I googled something to do with my degree and a MN thread popped up. I enjoyed it and read a few more. After that I posted when I was doing research for my dissertation. A lot of kind people responded.
I've dipped in and out over the years but I've always come back. I love a human interest story.
I've also posted for advice a few times and got great answers.
At the end of the day, it's a chat forum. And people who have kids are not JUST parents right? They have a wealth of other interests and opinions.

because it can be helpful and ive read some of the funniest things on here

no kids its just a name now

Even the title is annoying. What you mean is “Why are there non-parents on Mumsnet?”. “Why are some Mumsnetters not parents?” is a different question.

Infertility makes you giggle?

When I was in the depths of infertility reading one of the threads that people without children shouldn't be on Mumsnet made me cry. It should be obvious that the having or not having of children can be a very sensitive subject. There's lots of fun and wisdom on here as a site that is predominantly used by women that can be entertaining or useful to anyone, it's weird to gatekeep it just because of the name.

🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱

It deals a lot with issues that women have to deal with such as sexism, having a female body and all the fun with that, and has a much more feminised view of relationships than other sites.

For example I am child-free but a lot of my friends are parents of young-ish children. It has been sad and frustrating for me at times that my friends are understandbly distracted, miss having the female-centrised conversations that don't revolve around childcare. Mumsnet seems to be the only place where those conversations occur

For example there is an expectation that if I meet up with my friends for a drink that they can bring their children along. In reality it means our conversations have to be "child-friendly" and have lost that mutual intimacy that they used to have. What makes it worse is there simply isn't the same expectiation for men, and I have been very jealous that its been fine for someones husband to go off for a couple of days with their mates, but I am the villian for asking for a child-hour when having a crisis.

I have had a couple of close friends that have been able to muddle through in the last year which I really apprecitate. They both very patient people, but yeah, my world has got a lot smaller socially since my friend got married and children, and Mumsnet has helped me find other women to talk to that has fill that particular gap.

How patronising 🙄

I joined because of an absolutely horrendous miscarriage and subsequent infertility. The advice and support I've had has been invaluable.

Not really something to 'giggle' at.

I love the drama. It also fascinates me how differently people think about certain things.

Yanbu - it started out as a parenting forum but grew bigger & bigger with a wide range of topics. I think a name change might be good at this stage to make people feel more included..