Some surprising studies about being childfree

Repost from 2009

My Twitter keyword alerts tell me when something interesting happen in the world of childfree people. Lately, it’s been all about Two Is Enough, I’m sure you all know about it if you are childfree and haven’t lived under a rock. Anyway, this one article based on Two Is Enough, kind of surprised me well beyond any other article written on the basis. According to the article, there have been two major studies, that both busted a myth. One myth being that children and having a family is the most fulfilling thing you can do with your life. A survey of 20,000 people conducted by Dr. Phil shows that ONE THIRD of the respondents wouldn’t have had their family had they known then what they know now. I thought one tenth would be about right, but one third blew me off my chair!

The second myth that I gladly saw busted through studies about being childfree was that despite the persistent “you’ll regret not having any” isn’t true either. Apparently, it’s far more common to regret having children than it is to regret not having them. There was no widespread regret shown in the study of 171 “childless folk”, says the article.

The reason why it seems that nobody seems to regret having children is that it is a complete and utter tabu to say it out loud. If I had children I would NEVER confess to regretting it. I would say I love my children, which would be true, and that it is amazing to see them grow, which would be true too, and the furthest I would go to warn anyone about not having children, I would say it is a personal choice that everyone should make for themselves. I would never in a million years confess that I thought my children were a mistake. Regardless, I have heard people confess this to me, even strangers who say they wouldn’t have had kids if they made the decision on a hindsight. And I haven’t heard anyone say the opposite, so at least as far as my personal testifiers go, it goes along with this study.

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