Not saying you’re wrong, but when people with kids say this, it means very little to me. Like of course you’re going to say that, otherwise you’d be admitting that having your kids was a mistake.
As mentioned in my parallel comment - the conundrum is that anybody advertising not having offspring is almost always going to sound shallow, immature, hedonistic to some extent. Like, nearly all arguments against having children feel sort of sad and lonely played out over the long term.
OTOH, anyone with kids would have to be some sort of psychopath to not argue for having them. Who the hell would believe another person’s existence can be a mistake? All my parent friends end up trying to convince me to have kids, and I don’t even put up any counter-arguments because damn - I really like their kids too. Even the ones who had them in the worst way imaginable!
I don’t think it’s merely about “admitting mistakes” - parenthood isn’t a restaurant menu option or consumer choice miscalculation you make. We are literally wired to love our offspring. We’re mammals - it’s not a logical decision. This whole breeding thing, it’s the strangest philosophical aspect of human nature.
The way I see it: if you can’t or if you don’t do kids, you better have some sort of conviction about what it is that you have to contribute. And it’s not about competition, being right, being smart - it’s about your own mental well-being. There is only so much fun to be had before you start to wonder.
I know this sounds like I’m arguing for having kids - I’m really not. I’m saying the decision not to do something can be just as profound against that absence. You just better have a plan for what it is you want to do with your time on Earth, when those mammalian instincts start kicking in.
