Apparently millennials are choosing not to have children or delaying when they have them. I am a millennial and I get it. Prior t0 having my daughter with two days notice children wasn’t on my immediate radar. I had a list of personal reasons why I wasn’t interested in the moment of having children. I also had a list of fears that would often convince me kids weren’t for me. But whether I chose to have kids or not I understood the value in either decisions.
One is not better than the other
Choosing not have children does not make you better than those who have chosen to have children. Choosing to have children does not make you better than those who chose to not have children. Both hold value. Both provide unique experiences, challenges, rewards, and opportunities. To have kids or not shouldn’t be an argument that one is better than the other. Either choice is a personal decision.
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover
Social media, movies, books, etc often are a small lens into someone’s actual reality. No one has everything together with or without child. That person that has seems joyful being a stay at home parent might struggle with maintaining an identity outside of being a parent. The childless friend you know that seems to be having the time of their life traveling might be struggling to find someone they actually want to have kids with.
To each their own
Everyone is entitled to their own choices. Your choice to have or not have children is your own. But can we please stop trying to convince others that one is better than the other? Can we please stop look at either side with pity? They are distinctively different but both hold value. So do what you want. Have kids. Don’t have kids. Do what makes you happy.
