Woman Calls Out 'Child-Free By Choice' Community For Hating On Kids & Moms
Instead, we should all try to be empathetic to each other's struggles and pains.
TikTok When it comes to people who are parents and have children versus those who choose not to, there is often a clear social divide between the two.
Anyone who is child-free — either by choice or not — knows the pain of constantly having to explain why you don't have kids but, in an effort to defend their situations, some members of the child-free community may be inadvertently offending parents and kids.
To some extent, many child-free adults don't always have the same sympathetic nature toward children that parents have, and in some cases, parents can also display that same behavior with their own kids.
In a TikTok video, a woman called out child-free adults who occasionally shame parents and their children, by acting in an uncaring manner toward them.
A woman called out people bragging about being 'child-free' for hating on kids and moms.
In a video, a woman, Liberty, advocated for children and parents, writing that "hating kids isn't edgy."
In overlay text, she called out people who often say phrases about kids, such as "Children shouldn't be allowed on planes/in public," and "I hate children."
"Hating kids isn't edgy, cool, or radical," Liberty wrote. "Imagine openly showing contempt for the most universally victimized and vulnerable group, and often their mothers too."
In another video, a woman, Gabriela, called out the way people often speak about children and mothers, especially on social media.
"If you hate kids, say less," she began. "I've been child-free for most of my adult life, but some of the stuff that you guys are saying about children and parents, let's be honest, it's about moms, you guys aren't safe."
Gabriela noted that she is a mother to her 2-year-old son, and criticized child-free adults who use the excuse that parents "chose to have children and now you must suffer in all things, perpetuity."
"When I hear these things, it really doesn't surprise me that women go through so much postpartum anxiety and depression, and there are a lot of parents that leave the workforce because they don't feel supported.
She added that many parents, especially mothers, don't experience much empathy from other people, and are often left without a support system by child-free people in their lives.
"If you are childless and child-free by choice, and you support parents and mothers, thank you."
These constant back-and-forth disagreements between people who are child-free and people with children don't solve any actual issues and only cause a further social divide.
There is no value added if someone chooses to have children or not, but what does matter is carrying empathy, compassion, and sympathy, for people who need it, no matter which side of the line they happen to fall under.
TikTok users weighed in on the divide between child-free adults and parents.
Many TikTok users took to the comment section under Gabriela's video, voicing their own opinions on the topic.
"I get this. I joined a child-free group and it was mean, so I left. I just wanted a safe space to be childfree, not to be mean," one user noted.
Another user added, "It's great when co-workers can support parents, it's toxic when parents expect special treatment because they're parents."
"Child-free by choice and I'm with you 100%," a third user added.
"We all just need to chill out. No kids? That's cool! Got kids? That's cool too! As long as we can respect each other's time, space, needs, and boundaries."
A fourth user chimed in, "I love this! I actually have 3 kids & I fully support people who want to be childfree - being a parent is not for everyone."
"If you realize that about yourself no shame in not having kids. I love being a mom but man is it tough work some days. Let’s just all support each other!"
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.