"You Almost Always Get Forced To Work When Everyone Else Gets Time Off": 30 Women Get Honest About The Toughest And Best Part Of Not Having Kids

Many women in the r/AskWomen thread said that they didn’t regret their decisions and fully embraced the freedom and financial opportunities offered to them by their childfree lifestyle.

However, others noted that they’ve had relationships fall apart because of their choices and were looked down on. Others noted that they’re unsure if they might not regret their decision later on in life. Everyone’s specific circumstances seem to be unique, but there are some common threads. A lot of people can’t seem to stomach a woman not wanting to raise kids. And this isn’t the first time that we’re hearing about this.

A while back, Bored Panda had gotten in touch with u/Raveynfyre, one of the moderators running the popular r/childfree subreddit that welcomes people who choose not to have children.

There are two similar terms that people in the community like to distinguish between. ‘Childfree’ individuals don’t have kids because they don’t want them. Meanwhile, ‘childless’ folks either can’t have kids or simply haven’t gotten around to having them yet. Generally speaking though, large chunks of the internet shame both categories of people because they feel that they must have kids, at all costs.

If you do have kids, it’s best that you want to do want to be a parent, rather than just giving in to social pressure or ticking some box. And while parenting can be even more rewarding and that it is challenging, it also doesn’t mean that it’s the only way to live. Raising munchkins isn’t for everyone: it’s completely valid not to want to be a parent. However, childfree people tend to get a lot of hate because they live their lives differently than the ‘norm.’ 

However, it’s not just childfree individuals who have to deal with tough situations. As we’ve covered on Bored Panda before, pregnant employees tend to face discrimination, too, for example, in the workplace.

Managers and colleagues tend to view pregnant employees as less competent and productive. As a result, quite a few employees end up hiding the fact that they’re pregnant as long as they can. Of course, this sort of discrimination is illegal in many countries. If you feel like this is happening despite your best attempts to work things out with management and HR, you may want to seek legal help or involve your union.