Kids are adorable, no doubt about that. Children are a blessing, so what most religious… or not so religious people say. They are a true source of happiness, friends and families would assert that in your face. In fact, they will give you a litany of reasons why it is important for you to have kids. The list is endless but I’m sure they mean well.
However, if you decide to take a different path of living a childfree life, it is equally awesome as having some little and not so little darlings. Here are the perks of being childless …
1. YOU CAN HAVE FREEDOM FROM MORE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT
Kids , especially these days, are expensive. No one can argue otherwise. Think about the diapers, milk, baby foods, clothes that are worn not for long as they grow fast, childcare, health, education. The list can go on. Expenses can be higher depending on the number of children one wants to have. In a report by Ripeka Timutimu in Newshub, a study shows that parents in New Zealand will spring for a whopping average of $250,000 for a child until the age of 18. However, a result of Robert Plotnicks’s 2009 research entitled Childlessness and Economic Well Being of Older Americans claims that “childless married couples tend to have slightly more income and about 5% more wealthy compared with married parents.”
2. YOU CAN BE MORE MOBILE AND FLEXIBLE
You can change job and move to another city easier. You can hang out with friends anytime you want. If you have a partner, it is even better if you have the same set of friends to have a drink or two with on a Friday night. Or if you just fancy to hit the road on a weekend to catch fresh air away from the hustle and bustle of your life, you can just pack your bag with ease and turn on your engine. You don’t have to spend your weekend after weekend taking a kid to music lessons or sports activities. You can snooze as long as you want. Or go for a longer holiday in Fiji or in Paris, in Tahiti or in New York. The time is all yours how and where you want to spend it.
3. YOU CAN DEVELOP AND EXPLORE POSSIBILITIES FOR YOURSELF MORE
You want to learn hip hop at 30 or 40? By all means, you can do so without worrying to spare time for it. You can go back to school and study another course. You can follow your long time passion or you can create another one. You can just grab your computer and start a blog or a book. Or you can sit and meditate and explore what you want to do, what you want to happen, what goals you have achieved and what ambitions you still crave to bring about. Believe me, the possibilities are endless.
4. YOU CAN HELP MORE PEOPLE
If you love to do charities or just want to donate to charities, you can do this more and voluntarily. Considering that a large part of your budget is saved to (unless you commit the crime of sabotaging your own finances!), you can easily dig deep in your pocket and give more to your favourite charity. You can also have a wee bit of leftover funds to help some struggling family members. You can afford to assist a friend look for a place to live, mow your old neighbour’s lawn that has grown into a bush, walk your other neighbour’s dog, help someone with his/her garden, be a contingent parent to a good friend’s child once in a while and contribute to the community. Whether what you can do is big or small, you can certainly make a difference in other people’s lives. And that, I believe is tantamount to raising a good child.
5. YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HOUSE THE WAY YOU WANT
Admit it, kids’ stuff can run over a house. Toys, books, clothes, art materials, etc., etc. It can be too exhausting to tidy spaces because kids love to play all the time. It can be more taxing if older kids’ help is way too farfetched. I’m sure the image of a chaotic scenario of crayola paints on the wall and food spills on the floor and the little feet running around and the screechy strident cries is already driving you to the place of insanity! Anyway, to be childfree is to be mess-free (unless you are messy yourself!). Well, it is by far that your house is in order the way you want it if it is kept to yourself and a partner/spouse (if you have one). However, if your partner just leaves his socks by the door and can’t bring it to shoot to the hamper, that’s a different story.
To have or not to have children is a choice one makes. Both can have advantages and disadvantages, but being child-free, I can tell that I absolutely revel in the peace and freedom it affords me.
Dora's Thought Hub 