To be or Not to Be - A Parent
able to secure her tubal ligation. Jerry Steinberg was turned away by three doctors before asking the fourth if he would have so many questions if Jerry had announced his intention to have ten kids. The doctor acknowledged his double standard and scheduled the surgery.
- a more satisfying marriage. Research consistent finds that childfree marriages are happier then those with children. On the flip side, childfree marriages are more apt to end in divorce, partially because women statistically earn more money in unions without children.
- being the "cool" aunt/uncle. As a parent, you constantly have to be a role model, remember? As an aunt/uncle, you have the freedom to be your happily imperfect self without the ensuing therapy bills.
Those who elect to take on the responsibility of raising children into fully functional adult members of society have nothing but my respect. My in-laws raised seven children on the salary of a public high school teacher and church choir director, and my own mother managed as a single mother of two before marrying my father, a young man of 22 who not only adopted her kids, but added two more to the brood. Parenthood however, like asparagus, is not to everyone's taste. As Betty Buckley, the Broadway actress most known for her role on television's "eight is enough" said, on reaching her fiftieth birthday, "My life has been so full. I woke up and realized I forgot to have a family."
Some links of interest
Suite101 topic page - Childfree by Choice
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/chil...
Childfree by Choice - clearing house for info
http://now2000.com/cbc
Childfree
http://www.missouri.edu/~c489011
No Kidding!
http://www.nokidding.bc.ca
Yahoo Childfree webring
http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=ch...
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