Childless Woman Explains The Only Downside Of Not Having Kids — ‘It Has Nothing To Do With The Nursing Home’
More people are choosing to be childless now than ever.
Voronaman | Shutterstock.com The traditional family structure has long been lauded by society. That classic family, of course, includes children; however, many people don’t want to, or can’t, have kids.
The choice to remain childless has become a popular one, especially given the current economy and political climate. Yet as a woman on TikTok pointed out, there is one major drawback to the lifestyle.
The childless woman explained the only 'downside' to not having kids.
“To me, there’s only one major downside of not having kids, and no, it has nothing to do with a nursing home or being a lonely cat woman,” Sade Sellers stated. “It’s that people don’t take you seriously.”
“Everyone expects people who don’t have kids to be accommodating to their choice to have kids,” she continued.
Sellers added that this is particularly relevant at work, for her and so many others who are childfree
“What happens is we get the brunt of the work when we don’t want it, and we don’t get twice the pay,” she said. “And we’re just supposed to be understanding, like, ‘Well, she went on maternity leave.’ That was her choice to have a baby!”
“You better replace her with someone temporarily to take over that position,” Sellers argued. “I’m not saying you have to fire her, but we need someone to fill in. It ain’t gonna be me.”
The woman insisted that she is tired of people assuming she has endless free time simply because she does not have children.
“People think because you don’t have kids, you have all this free time, and you can do it,” she continued. “But the free time is for me.”
“There was a reason why I didn’t have children," she insisted. "It was to make sure my free time was for me — not to do my job and your job.”
Sellers added that she has a dog at home who has to be let out and taken on a walk. “So, no, I can’t stay two extra hours later so you can go pick up your kid,” she argued.
“Your choice to have a child is not my responsibility, ever.”
In recent years, remaining childless has become increasingly common.
According to data obtained by the Pew Research Center in 2023, 47% of adults between the ages of 18 and 49 who didn’t already have children said they were unlikely to have any in the future. The most common response they gave for why they didn’t foresee having children was because they simply didn’t want any.
Furthermore, childless employees are often taken advantage of at work, just as Sellers suggested.
The Society for Human Resource Management cited a survey from ResumeLab that found that 72% of those polled “noticed that childfree workers were mistreated because they don’t have children.”
Additionally, “74% of respondents believed that people with children are treated better in the workplace.”
While those with children are often given an extra level of consideration, those without children are not afforded the same courtesy. That's not to say that parents don't deserve our compassion and grace, but child-free people have family, appointments, and obligations just like anyone else.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.