miss c had it COMPLETELY right. nothing in life MAKES you happy (or sad or anxious or nervous or mad). YOU are the ONLY PERSON that MAKES you feel/do/say anything, and it is up to you to interpret it as good/bad. raising children doesn't MAKE you unhappy.. you make yourself unhappy because things aren't going as you expected. but it's ignorant to expect ANYTHING when raising children because every child is different and you can't expect to push them out, raise them, and shove them out the door without some complications.

i'm waiting to have children. i want to adopt one day, and maybe even avoid the whole mutilated vagina thing that comes with child-bearing. my boyfriend and i always promise each other we're never having kids, but we both know we have a soft spot and would make terrific parents. we're just enjoying the ability to come and go as we please, and drink and carry-on through all hours of the night. i'm sure the novelty will wear off and we'll need to set a new pace, but it won't be for another decade. plus, i want to wait until after 2012 for a couple different reasons..

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Maybe I would have been happier without them, but I don't think so. I think most parents probably feel about the same, if they have put much time and effort into their child's development.

To each their own, but they have helped make me who I am today as well, and I'm very grateful for having them.

No, life is not happy 24/7 whether you have kids or not. That's a very narrow and judgemental comment there, Colt. But, for some of us, it's a whole lot happier without children to raise. If kids are for you, flippin' wonderful, have as many as you can afford, but please, don't pretend that being a parent makes a person somehow more noble or superior to those that don't want them.

After reading these comments it's seems that it should just be to each their own but some people still can't wrap their heads around why someone would make a different decision to them. I don't want children myself. This doesn't mean a meaningless life. It also doesn't make me selfish!

I guess it might look like that if your biggest ambition in life is to pop out a few kids.

But look at some of the greatest minds in history. Do we remember people like Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein for their kids (or lack of them)? Of course not.

Remember... to each his/her own. Maybe a life without kids would be meaningless to you. But that is not the case for others. There are plenty of ways for us to create meaning in our lives; having kids is just one of them.

Heh. "Ah got no kids! Ah do what ah want! Ah buy what ah want!" Self-interest can be good. Self-gratification is not quite the same.

Some people think me selfish for wanting to spend my time on earth with my friends and lovers, but I say there's more than enough people around allready and they who think they 'need' to have kids to 'be complete' are the selfish ones.

'go forth and multiply' yay

There are negative feelings too, but it comes back to what type of personality you have. A parent should be able to look at a child who is screaming over the silliest thing and giggle inside. These "negative" moments are about handling one's responsibility, not getting emotionally caught up in the moment like a child.

Fifty years from now I'll wish I could travel back in time to enjoy something as simple as my kid crying over my cutting his peanut butter and jelly sandwich the wrong way. People who know how to brush off stress should be parents.

Grand parenting rocks!

How could you possibly isolate all the variables in that?

I will say that kids are a huge responsibility. People have the wrong impression on raising children, so perhaps they are disappointed and depressed to see the reality.

I can say that I know many people with children who are extremely happy. The key is to have a bit of a sense of humor about it all.

I can't speak from experience but I'm been told that several times.

Also no matter how many statistics I see like this, it doesn't make me not want kids anymore, it just makes me want to post pone it as long as possible

Many other species do not breed if the environment is wrong. I'd never bring a kid into this world given it's present state.

As for me and my husband, our two children are a constant source of joy in our lives. One heartfelt hug and "I love you!" from your child can really make up for a lot of awful things in your day. Yes, having children can be stressful and sometimes you feel like an inmate at an insane asylum. But let me tell you, those times can be all but forgotten when you get the chance to experience life anew through your children.

That being said, I firmly believe that not everyone needs to go out and have children. Some people are built to be parents and other people are built to do things that parents cannot. You need both types for a good society.

I'm single, most of my relationships have been ugly trainwrecks, but I have an excellent job w/ decent pay and I have saved enough money to start thinking about becoming a home owner. Yet it all feels so shallow and depressive when I compare my bachelor lifestyle with the one my sister has, which is a steady family of 2 kids and a long-term boyfriend.

Today I woke up late, had a great breakfest/lunch in a nice restaurant, watch some Office episodes I had not seen and I'm looking forward to playing some videogames for tonight. If I had kids, doing any of that would be way more complicated, if not impossible. So why do I find myself wishing I had some ?