Rising Anti-Child Movement...Parents BE AWARE

[MAC3]

Originally posted by luvwinnie
I view children as I do adults...some I like, some I don't. Every adult is different...and so is every child.

Well said!

 

[Hercules10]

We don't have kids and don't want 'em. Doesn't mean we don't like them.

But I agree with them that those of us who choose to not have kids don't get pressured or hassled about it and just leave us in peace in the adult pools, and Serenity Bay.

To those of you claiming that I need to pay school taxes (even though I don't have kids) because they are my future, I ask this: Why am I saving for retirement? If your kids are going to be there to take care of me...I assume you mean for free since I would pay for room, board and health in reality...then I should be able to stop my 401K and savings. Right? And save the Social Security excuse, that pays diddly even now.

BTW-If I'm helping to raise your children then send them on over to my house to mow the lawn once in a while will ya?

 

[barbeml]

Have to agreee with the points Airhead and Disney Doll made.

DH and I are blissfully childless by choice, but we are very close to two of his cousins' kids and my nephew. We love them so much that we paid for my nephew's trip to WDW with us last year, and are trying to arrange a future trip with the other two kids.

However, DH and I have both been victimized at work by the parents who run out the door when the first snowflake falls or there is a school play, leaving us to pick up the slack. Make no mistake about it, those without kids are EXPECTED to do more, and that is not fair. DH has NEVER taken all of his vacation days because they are always swamped, due in part to a couple of guys who are constantly out dealing with kid stuff.

Also, school vouchers have been a big issue. The argument from the parents who want to send their kids to private school has been "Well I'm paying for a (public) system that my kids aren't using, so I should get that money back to help pay for private." Excuse me? I have no kids in the system, why am I paying school taxes? I should get a refund. (Trust me, I accept that paying school taxes keeps property values high, I am just using the voucher seeker's argument to illustrate).

We are also penalized as condo owners by the fee stucture. A family can have ten kids and all 12 get a pool pass. We get two passes and have to pay for additional if we have guests. Of course, we are getting soaked every spring for fee increases due to the damage the "bored" children inflict on the common property over the winter. No one would dare suggest that households with kids pay higher fees.

In short, I don't resent children, but I do resent parents who act as though their children should be the center of MY universe.

Barbe

 

[kasar]

Okay, we get that there are some people who don't want children (and if this is their belief then they really SHOULDN'T have them!). That is a choice that level-headed adults make about their own lives - sometimes it changes as people get older sometimes not. I think we can all agree that it's nobody else's business. I agree that adults should have places to go where they can expect to enjoy themselves without the company of children.

However, in most societies children are valued and embraced for what they represent - the future and continuation of that society. People who parent well (and there are many despite what you may hear ) are not a "burden" on society - they are doing what nature intended animals to do - procreate. I KNOW that people have free will and the ability to choose whether they have children or not (I just said that I agree with them), please don't flame me for what is basic biological fact. Children are a necessary fact of life and part of being in a civilization. The more they are cherished and incorporated into that society the better we all are as a whole. I'm glad that people know enough to not have children when they don't want to. I'm also glad when people who do choose to have children are appreciated and respected for their part this fun evolutionary game we're playing. Wouldn't THIS society be better if all it's people, especially the vulnerable ones like children and the elderly, were valued and protected?

 

[Pembo]

gymnasticsmom said

We have a couple of them on the DIS.

LOL!! So true..............

 

[disneydragon]

Originally posted by Hercules10
We don't have kids and don't want 'em. Doesn't mean we don't like them.

But I agree with them that those of us who choose to not have kids don't get pressured or hassled about it and just leave us in peace in the adult pools, and Serenity Bay.

To those of you claiming that I need to pay school taxes (even though I don't have kids) because they are my future, I ask this: Why am I saving for retirement? If your kids are going to be there to take care of me...I assume you mean for free since I would pay for room, board and health in reality...then I should be able to stop my 401K and savings. Right? And save the Social Security excuse, that pays diddly even now.

BTW-If I'm helping to raise your children then send them on over to my house to mow the lawn once in a while will ya?

I'm all in favor of certain "adults only" areas. It's only fair, since an adult without kids can't go certain places without people thinking that he/she is a huge pervert, lurking around. But, that's not the point of my post.

The point of my post is that I'm a taxpayer and as a taxpayer, I'm paying for ALL SORTS of things that I don't use or agree with. I'm paying for roads I don't drive on, disaster relief for areas I don't live in, welfare for people that don't need it, medical care for people who can't afford it, donations to countries who hate the U.S., and countless other things. My money is going to all of those things, in addition to schools. Frankly, I would rather pay for schools. Someday, the kids who attended the schools I paid for will become the military, the teachers, the service workers, the doctors, and all of the other people who's services I use on a daily basis. And maybe one of those kids will become the person who will change the crazy tax system.... One can always hope.

In the meantime, if you get anyone to take you up on the lawn mowing thing, send them to my house after they finish at your's. Deal?

 

[Hagred]

Originally posted by barbeml
However, DH and I have both been victimized at work by the parents who run out the door when the first snowflake falls or there is a school play, leaving us to pick up the slack. Make no mistake about it, those without kids are EXPECTED to do more, and that is not fair. DH has NEVER taken all of his vacation days because they are always swamped, due in part to a couple of guys who are constantly out dealing with kid stuff.

I've dealt with this as well. It would be wonderful if every time a parent had to leave early or took an afternoon off for child activities, the single people also got the same amount of time off. If Ruth gets to leave early two days a week, then I should get to leave early two days a week as well.

Not gonna happen. For those who are using the 'discrimination' card, I should be able to consider this 'discrimination' as well because I have to take up the slack for others simply because I don't have children.

But it CAN be worked out. Our department has to be staffed 24/7. I'm single. I'll be happy to work Christmas (and the triple-time it brings in) if a family person covers New Years (and the triple-time it brings in). I'll pick up Easter if you pick up Memorial day. I'll take the Thanksgiving shift if you can cover Labor Day.

It's only when parents behave as though I have to sacrifice my days off because of choices THEY made that I get a bit steamed. We all have to make sacrifices for our choices. Laying a guilt trip on me because YOU decided to have a family and YOU want to spend time with your family but YOU have to work because I'M so selfish that I won't take your shift will only make me avoid you and never want to give you a hand.

 

[Hercules10]

Originally posted by disneydragon
I'm paying for roads I don't drive on, disaster relief for areas I don't live in, welfare for people that don't need it, medical care for people who can't afford it, donations to countries who hate the U.S., and countless other things.

Couldn't agree with you more on dumping welfare and medicaid. But I do run them roads alot!

We choose to support children's activity. Support Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and teach Sunday School. But that's by our choice. If we choose to remain childless, we should have the choice in how to support other people's kids.

Even though we pay school taxes, we have no say in the edumacashun system. Why? Becasue we don't have kids.

 

[disneydragon]

Originally posted by Hercules10
Couldn't agree with you more on dumping welfare and medicaid. But I do run them roads alot!

We choose to support children's activity. Support Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and teach Sunday School. But that's by our choice. If we choose to remain childless, we should have the choice in how to support other people's kids.

Even though we pay school taxes, we have no say in the edumacashun system. Why? Becasue we don't have kids.

Oh, don't get me wrong.... I certainly drive on the roads a lot. Just not all of the roads that are being repaired, replaced, repaved, whatever. We think alike about welfare and medicaid, apparently.

I think a lot of people wish they had more say in the "edumacashun" system (loved that!). Parents, especially. I don't have a child in the public school system (yet) so I can't really comment firsthand about it, but I do know someone who is a parent and a teacher and the law just charges ahead and implements new programs without consulting parents or teachers. So, don't feel like you aren't getting a say because you don't have kids. I think most people aren't getting much of a say in general. It is confusing!

 

[believe]

Originally posted by airhead
Discrimination should NEVER be something we learn to accept. Never.

Not that you should accept it as part of your life, but explain to me how you can not discriminate against someone when 'decisions'/laws are made. I may have worded it incorrectly but I know that I 'put up' with many things I don't agree with on a daily basis...that is part of life.

 

[Crankyshank]

Originally posted by Hagred
I've dealt with this as well. It would be wonderful if every time a parent had to leave early or took an afternoon off for child activities, the single people also got the same amount of time off. If Ruth gets to leave early two days a week, then I should get to leave early two days a week as well.

Not gonna happen. For those who are using the 'discrimination' card, I should be able to consider this 'discrimination' as well because I have to take up the slack for others simply because I don't have children.

But it CAN be worked out. Our department has to be staffed 24/7. I'm single. I'll be happy to work Christmas (and the triple-time it brings in) if a family person covers New Years (and the triple-time it brings in). I'll pick up Easter if you pick up Memorial day. I'll take the Thanksgiving shift if you can cover Labor Day.

It's only when parents behave as though I have to sacrifice my days off because of choices THEY made that I get a bit steamed. We all have to make sacrifices for our choices. Laying a guilt trip on me because YOU decided to have a family and YOU want to spend time with your family but YOU have to work because I'M so selfish that I won't take your shift will only make me avoid you and never want to give you a hand.

ITA with this post. Where I work also has to be manned 24/7/365 and I've had to deal with getting the short end of the stick because of not having children.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

WOW. I am 30 and married, and have never felt pressured to have kids. Maybe it's because I have two children by way of my marriage, and people figure that's good enough. Anyway, I have never felt discriminated at work because we do not have children living full time with us. I don't often work overtime (though I will on occasion, at it's usually when I feel I need to, not because my Sr. Director expects me to). We do plan on having one child together, just not sure when yet.

Anyway, I guess I am asking where all this discrimination is?

DH doesn't have any problems either and he holds a position that is staffed 24/7, and he is able to get most major holidays off (unless he wants to work for the overtime).

 

[CheshireVal]

I'm about to hit 30, am single with no children. I like kids and want to have them one day, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I'm now at the age where my friends are getting married and having children, and suddenly I'M the outcast because I don't have kids yet and don't have much to say on carseat shopping or baby formula, prenatal vitamins, etc.

Not only that, but I DO get dumped on at work more. As a single person, people assume that I have no other reason to live other than for my job. It's so funny-- extra work gets dumped on single people because they have no "families." But... how am I ever supposed to get a "family" of my own with no free time in which to do it, huh?

 

[cats mom]

disneydragon - you are so right, I have three children in public schools and I am very involved - but I feel I have very little say in the whole "edumacashun" system. Any taxpayer; educator, parent, or childless individual is welcome to voice their opinion at a school board meeting. Getting anything actually changed is of course a different story! (just fought my second major battle with my local district - still a little scarred - I did win though)

I do think it is our responsibility as a member of society to help pay for the education system, whether or not we personally use it. Believe me, there are a lot of programs my tax dollars are being used for that I absolutely do not agree with and do not have the time or energy at this point to fight the system over.

I do get a little upset at the idea of trying to make whole areas not accessible to families in part to avoid or reduce property taxes because if there are no children - there is no need for a school.

 

[my3kids]

Gosh, if the condom breaks, I hope they can hide all copies of the magazine....poor kid...finding out how unwanted they ever were.....

 

[FreshTressa]

Originally posted by barbeml
Have to agreee with the points Airhead and Disney Doll made.

DH and I are blissfully childless by choice, but we are very close to two of his cousins' kids and my nephew. We love them so much that we paid for my nephew's trip to WDW with us last year, and are trying to arrange a future trip with the other two kids.

However, DH and I have both been victimized at work by the parents who run out the door when the first snowflake falls or there is a school play, leaving us to pick up the slack. Make no mistake about it, those without kids are EXPECTED to do more, and that is not fair. DH has NEVER taken all of his vacation days because they are always swamped, due in part to a couple of guys who are constantly out dealing with kid stuff.

Also, school vouchers have been a big issue. The argument from the parents who want to send their kids to private school has been "Well I'm paying for a (public) system that my kids aren't using, so I should get that money back to help pay for private." Excuse me? I have no kids in the system, why am I paying school taxes? I should get a refund. (Trust me, I accept that paying school taxes keeps property values high, I am just using the voucher seeker's argument to illustrate).

We are also penalized as condo owners by the fee stucture. A family can have ten kids and all 12 get a pool pass. We get two passes and have to pay for additional if we have guests. Of course, we are getting soaked every spring for fee increases due to the damage the "bored" children inflict on the common property over the winter. No one would dare suggest that households with kids pay higher fees.

In short, I don't resent children, but I do resent parents who act as though their children should be the center of MY universe.

Barbe

Wow, this sounds angry.

I have been in a workplace before where a woman had to deal with her mother becoming ill and having to take her to medical appointments. I was happy to help her out.




I don't like how children are singled out as being 'disrupters'. Lots of people can be annoying or disruptive.

Now, I am not complaining, just telling how it is. The grocery store in my neighborhood is sourrounded by retirement centers. Whenever I go to that store, there are always elderly people walking too slow, taking up whole aisles, deciding to spend a long time counting money and chatting with the checkers, taking forever to decide at the meat counter etc.

There is NO WAY on earth I would suggest that they make an under 50 grocery store, or restaurant where mentally handicapped people aren't allowed because they might disturb the 'romantic atmosphere'.

I, personally, enjoy the diversity of public places. I wish more people did.

(and before I get flamed again for this opinion, I still don't like being around 'dirty' people!)

 

[Planogirl]

Wow, my husband's workplace certainly doesn't care that he is a Dad. His constant travel and extra work have led me to having to more careful about the hours I work because he can't help much.

But as far as adults-only places go, I've never liked that it became discriminatory to allow adults-only apartment complexes or at least adults-only sections of these complexes. I can fully understand why child-free adults of all types might prefer to not live right around families. It never bothered me to have such facilities.

This has been discussed a lot but I see nothing wrong with adults-only restaurants or at least allowing adults only during certain hours. Kids don't have to be everywhere.

 

[FreshTressa]

I totally agree about the condos....those are not public places, but private residence. I would not like to live under a family with kids and I HAVE kids.

I guess I just have trouble seeing how having a straight only or a white only restaurant is discriminatory, and having an adult only one is not.

 

[Kallison]

I love it when we run into anti-kid people at Disney World of all places. I always sarcastically say "Gee kids having fun at Disney World, imagine that?"

 

[Danauk]

Please do not think that all childless couples do not like children. I'm 27 years old and have been married for 5 years. I love kids (I work with 7 year olds) however don't plan to have kids of my own. I have never felt pressured to have kids by friends or family, when people ask if I want kids I simply say that I don't and that is fine (many of my work mates think I am the smart one after a hard night with their kids!! However I know they are joking.) At work I have never been put upon to do extra things because I don't have kids, in fact I always go on the residential trips firstly because I don't have the responsibility that others do and secondly because I love my job and enjoy my time with my class. I don't mind paying my taxes for childrens schooling (hey it helps me too!!)
I guess what I am trying to say is that please do not think all couples who choose not to have children are against or hate children. I spend all my day with 28 kids who I love dearly, but at the end of the day I couldn't imagine coming home to more kids (just the same as other people could not imagine their life without their kids.) In my opinion kids are wonderful, I just don't want any of my own.
At the end of the day everyone is entitled to choose whether to have children or not. People who have made the choice to have kids made the right choice for themselves just as I am choosing not to have kids it is the right choice for me