Five Good Reasons to Choose CHILDFREE

Along with my "Five Reasons for Gratitude" posts, I thought it would be kind of neat to post a "five good reasons to choose the childfree lifestyle" post. When I first started blogging in December, I was posting single "not-so-important" reasons like sleeping in. But here are five really important reasons all combined in one post:

1. FREEDOM: This is my all-time most important reason. I'm free to do what I want when I want. I can take a class, take a walk, read a book, watch a movie, work late, sleep late, take a spontaneous vacation, take a nap, go to the bathroom!, spend time on my hair and make-up, shop, surf the internet, go out to dinner, get together with friends, take a drive, go for a bike ride, volunteer, join a club.....you get the picture.....without worrying about childcare. I never have to think of anyone except myself (sounds selfish, but I don't feel guilty). That's not to say that I don't try to coordinate schedules and things with DH. It's just that he's an adult and can take care of himself. And besides, he has many of the same interests, so we do most of those things together (well, not the bathroom bit!).

2. Financial: Kids are ridiculously expensive. All you have to do is read one of those articles that are always on the front page of AOL.com or MSN.com or Money.com. They all tell you the same thing: KIDS REEK HAVOC ON YOUR FINANCES. Well, duh. Just think how much money it costs for formula, diapers, kiddie clothes, kiddie toys, medical care, kiddie food, kiddie furniture, tuition, extra-curricular activities, childcare, bigger toys, more clothes, college tuition, etc. And if you decide you want to stay home with your kids instead of paying for childcare, you are losing a salary. And then when you go back to work, trust me, you won't be starting at the same level you quit at. It doesn't work that way. So yeah, kids are expensive. Especially if you are one of those parents who try to keep up with all of the other parents. See point number 3.....

3. Mommy Wars. Moms (and Dads) today consider child rearing a competition. See my Momzilla post for more details. I can compete with the best of them. But this is one game I just don't care about. When your whole life is tied up in your kid(s) what is left for you? Again, it may sound selfish, but I only have one life. I don't need to spend it worrying about whether or not my kid(s) make it into the right pre-pre-school or do the best on the math test or if they can hit the ball harder than any of the other kids. Thanks, but I'll work on making my life the most joyous it can be. And that doesn't include worrying about if I nursed long enough.

4. Sleep. Worry. Stress. We'll just jam them all together. When your kids are little, you lose sleep because they don't sleep through the night. They wake up t 3:00 a.m. with poopy diapers (oh, dang, I'm limiting this to five reasons), and therefore you need to be awake. So you go through at least a year (if not more) of fragmented sleep. I don't know about you, but I don't do well when my sleep is disrupted. Once they get older, you lose sleep with worrying. Will Johnny do okay on his test? Britney is getting in with the wrong kids. Emma is being picked on my other kids! Could my child have autism? The stress can be overwhelming. Why put this on yourself? Because society wants you to?

5. We don't need any more. Really. There are 6.5+ BILLION people on this planet right now. SIX POINT FIVE PLUS BILLION. When population goes up, quality of life goes down. And I'm all about quality of life. Do we really need to add more people to an already pillaged earth? I thought not.