Why I DON'T want kids

 

Transcript:

Hello, my name is Alyne and I don't want kids.

"You'll regret it!"

"That is so sad and selfish!"

 "You'll end up an old maid!" 

"You're so young, you'll change your mind! Just wait till that biological clock kicks in."

But, the years passed, I turned 20...30 and nothing changed. I still don't want kids but that doesn't seem to matter. My boyfriend wants me to have kids. My mom wants me to have kids. Literally, strangers want me to have kids. 

"You'll love it!"

Kids! Kids! Kids! 

It seemed like the whole world expected me to have a baby whether I wanted to or not. And it turns out it's not just me. One in five women in the US won't have kids. More and more people are choosing to be child-free. But what are the reasons why? 

1. Income and education: Studies show that the more money a woman makes and the more education she gets, the lower the chance she'll choose to have kids. 

"I decided to not have kids because I really want to focus on my career."

2. Happiness: Over 20 studies have shown, the quality of marriage decreases once a couple has kids. So, more couples are choosing to stay married but not add kids to their family.  

3. The environment:  Our planet is already dying. People care about it more and more, so they become vegetarian, fly less and live car-free. And, the number one way to reduce your carbon footprint is to not have kids. 

4. Fertility:  "I have a little brain tumor that messes with my hormones, so for me, it's a big maybe." 

Some women would actually love to have kids but they can't. 

"So, I tried, had several miscarriages turns out, doctors said I can never have children. It's getting harder and harder to get pregnant. In fact the U.S. fertility rate is lower than ever in history. So, why don't you want kids? 

You know, sometimes I wish that I did want kids. I feel like my life would be a lot easier but I also think it's just as valid to not want to have kids. If you're a woman, you're taking on all the work: physical, mental work and if I was a guy maybe I'd have kids.

Even if you have a great partner, it's ultimately on me as the woman. Bottom line, I've never had the maternal urge to have a kid and I want to be a mom in a different way. And if you're simply not sure, that's okay because these days there are more options than ever, like, freezing your eggs.

"I'm 33 and I froze my eggs because I haven't found the person that I want to have kids with yet and if it ends up being a couple years down the line and we have any trouble getting pregnant, I wanted to have a little bit of backup. 

Adopting: "My mom and dad could not have their own kids. So, they adopted us and because of that, they gave us the best life that we could ever have. Or being a mother in a different way. 

So, please stop asking us when are you gonna have kids and start asking us what are you working on in life because the world is not black or white. It's not kids equals good, no kids equals evil. Everyone's situation is different. 

So, what's right for you might not be what's right for them. Now, with all of these new options for many women, the world is going from black and white to colorful. And whatever your choice - to have many kids or none at all, make sure it's you choosing it and not society choosing for you.