The typical dream every parent has for their child is that one day they will grow up and have kids of their own. But what happens if the child does not have that dream themselves?
Although I'm still quite young, I truly do not think I want children when I am older. Of course, there is that slight maybe, but it does not overpower the not wanting. It is not because I do not like kids, because I absolutely adore them with all my heart. There are bigger reasons as to why I do not want them.
First, they are extremely expensive. Watching my parents struggle to keep up with my siblings and I constantly asking for something, or needing money, or even discussing paying for college, is too overwhelming for me. The average kid costs a little over $200,000, and that is one single kid. Some people have families of five or eight, and wonder why they are always working to keep up with the bills. Not wanting kids because they are expensive seems kind of selfish in a way, but you really have to think about it. For the profession I hope to go into, the salary is not all the big. People tell me all the time that I am going to be broke once I get older, because they assume that I want about three little rugrats running around. Once I tell them that I do not plan on having any rugrats whatsoever, they go quiet for a second. Then they give me that little "Oh..." and nod their head, completely baffled by what I just said.
Another reason I do not want kids is because I want to travel a lot. I do not want to have to worry about finding a babysitter, or finding somewhere kid friendly wherever I go. I would like to travel to Italy and go to a wine tasting, or go clubbing in Byblos. I also want to travel wherever, whenever I want to. Sure, you can travel with kids and still do all the activities I want to do, but that makes traveling 100x harder than it has to be. People can say that I can just wait till they are much older in order to do these things, but forget that I will be getting older as well. Kids, as sad as it is, trap parents from their freedom quite a bit. The parents that do not allow that to happen are labeled as "bad parents" simply for trying to live their life.
The last reason I do not want kids is because of the world. I view the world from both good and bad, but the bad day by day is overpowering the good. A lot of violence and hatred is happening within societies across the globe. Wars are still going on, and many children are dying because of it. We claim to love kids with all our being, and are disappointed in the people who do not want to have them. But put a child that was just killed in a bomb attack in Aleppo, and they will tell you to change the channel. We are not paying attention to our children as much as we think we are. I love kids too much to bring them into a world this cruel. If something were to ever happen to them, that would be the end of myself as well.
Not wanting kids is not selfish. It is merely just a desire not everyone has; yes, even women. Who knows, I could end up having a least one little me running around one day, if I think the world is good enough for them. But as of right now, I plan on having two dogs and a cat as my kids.
