“Grow up, get married, have kids!” – that’s how tradition dictated women lived their lives for many years. And for a long time, that is how many women thought their lives should be lived. Nowadays, more and more ladies are deciding to not have children, or delay having kids until later in life. While we see absolutely no issue with this, a part of society seems to! Women who choose not to have kids are often met with shock and surprise, confusion, and even disappointment. This, in our opinion, is wrong. So, let’s discuss the many reasons why women are deciding not to have kids, and why that is a totally acceptable life choice!

Traditional Values

Many still hold traditional values, and we’re totally behind that, but we’re also incredibly into those who choose to live their lives differently. As those at RebelLove say, “We unpack and explore how to improve our lives by learning from the stories of others.” and we couldn’t agree more! Everyone wants to live their lives differently, and we can learn a lot from others who do so. So part of this, having kids is not for everyone, and women who choose not to should not be judged.

Childfree By Choice

Childfree is the word used to describe a woman who decides to live childfree. We are talking here about those who choose to live childfree. Sadly, some women who wish to have children cannot due to biological reasons, but that is a conversation for another time. Those who are childfree by choice are women who can biologically mother a child but have decided that they do not want to. These are the women who we are discussing here today. 

Why Be Childfree?

There are many reasons why a lady may choose not to have children. These can be for personal, religious, family, or even environmental reasons. So, let’s discuss some of the most common factors influencing why women may choose not to have kids:

1. Forced Changes In Life

Let’s face it, when you have a kid your life is going to change. There is simply no denying it, your lifestyle will be massively affected. Waking up at 1am, then again at 4 to feed your child. Losing sleep. Planning your days based around childcare. Missing events, feeling tired, and eating meals in 5 minutes while you can find some time. Some people obviously want that change, but others simply do not. To some these are simply things that they do not ever want, and we support that entirely. Life doesn’t just change when they are babies, either. Your life will change forever, of course!

2. Career Driven Women

Some women delay or completely put off having babies due to their careers. As we have discussed, traditionally, women were expected to stay at home and look after the children while men got careers and earned money. These days the world is far more balanced when it comes to the sexes, and many women pursue great careers instead of being stay-at-home mums. This is a choice which should be understood and respected by all, not looked down on. 

3. Social Lives

As previously discussed, your life will change forever when you welcome a child into the world, and for some that is not what they desire! Your once bustling social calendar can become empty, or full of childcare requests instead of social events. To some, this is simply the price paid for having children. For others, this is a price they never want to pay. Many modern couples grow old without ever having children as they would rather enjoy more travel-based, social, free lives. Enjoying more time as a couple throughout their life, instead of having a bigger family. 

4. Financial Security

Another reason for keeping your family small and just living as a single person or childfree-couple is finance. The average child costs well over $150,000 to raise over their lifetime in school fees, toys, medical fees, uniforms, and more. For some, this is some of the scariest stats of potentially raising a child. Some people decide that investing that money into their own future is more desirable. This, again, is a totally valid life choice! If you decide that having your own financial security and a wealthy retirement is your ultimate dream, you go live that dream!

5. Changes In the Body

Of course, pregnancy can be extremely hard on a woman’s body. Historically, many women died or got life-changing injuries during childbirth. Fortunately, as modern medicine has progressed, this is now an extremely rare occurrence. However, pregnancy can certainly still take its toll on the body and for some, these changes are too much to think of. Again, this is extremely understandable, and no woman should be forced to bear a child if she does not feel physically ready at any time in their life.

6. Overpopulation

A more social reason rather than personal here. The human population is growing at a rate like never seen before. Human population has grown from 1 billion in around 1800, to nearly 8 billion today. It grows on average at a rate of about 1.1% every year. Many of us are starting to realise the fact that human consumption of produce, land, and resources is starting to have a negative effect on the planet. Also, every human creates more carbon indirectly by travelling, eating, and more. So, many think that overpopulation is an issue which is going to permanently damage the world, as we currently don’t seem to be able to reduce our emissions or carbon footprint. Some women may decide that they do not want to further contribute to these factors, and on that basis decide to be childfree.

So, there are six good reasons why women may decide that they want to have no children. And we believe, as stated, that women absolutely deserve to be able to make that choice. Whether it’s for one of the reasons listed above, or something totally different, it is a woman’s choice. And whether you do, or do not have kids, we agree that everyone lives their lives in different ways, which is part of the beauty of the world.

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