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Comment by mrmetanoia | Hacker News Reader

I just don't think I'd be all that happy as a father. I feel like I'm in a constant struggle to claim as much time as I can for things that aren't paid work and sleep that interest me, and a kid has never been on that list of interests so I don't want to have one and then resent it consuming more of my time.

I just like to think and make stuff while I listen to music, I don't want to be responsible for picking a child up or dropping it off or feeding it. And, I'm not particularly concerned with how long we perpetuate our human nonsense.

I don't hate life, but I don't know that I'd have picked it for myself and I don't feel strongly about forcing it on anybody else.

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Given describing a child as “it” and only the work involved and not the reward, if you want to dig deeper within yourself I would look at reading positive discussions about kids

There was an instagram comment feed (of all places) where the OP asked people to post what their reservation for kids were, and many parents responded to those positively

The next post asked parents to post what they were surprised most about being a parent. Some common themes were “I was afraid I wouldn’t like/feel attached to my child” and “I was afraid I would resent my child for the time commitment.” For the latter, dozens of responses say that something within them switched, and they wanted to bear the responsibility. It was fulfilling like a hobby may be, but deeper.

Personally I don’t like the rhetoric that describe (others, not you) kids as leeches that take time and money, i think thats toxic to our society.

If you know yourself and know you don’t want kids, then it’s best for everyone involved not to have them.

Dude just don't want to have children. Nothing wrong with that.

The world sucks at the best of times. The last thing someone should do is putting an unwanted child in the world.

I have a daughter, who I love and means the world to me. But I wanted her, so all the work and cost is meaningful and rewarding. I wouldn't feel the same if I didn't want a child.

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