As said many times, having kids is NOT a requirement in life PART II

[theking]

‘No regrets’: At 80, this woman has no kids and no fears of being lonely or uncared for

‘Social interactions are critical as we age.’ At 80, she has no regrets and is grateful for the many connections she’s made in her life.

In 1974, at 32 years old, with my biological clock ticking in my head and a mother-in-law saying, “Go home and practice!,” I questioned whether I wanted to birth or raise children. I started thinking, Maybe there is something wrong with me? Why would a woman loving her school kids [I was a teacher] not want to have her own children? Wasn’t this my biological destiny?

I tried to find any information about these feelings I was having, even going to a therapist who told me it was OK to live a child-free lifestyle. The word “free” was foreign. Wasn’t it (child)”less?”

It didn’t help when my friends and family would say, “Marcia! It’s the greatest experience you’ll be missing.” Or, they would admonish me with warnings of regret. I would be doomed to become an aging sad, lonely woman without anyone caring for me. Maybe I’d have a few cats for comfort. (I’m allergic to cats.)

Read: ‘Who is going to take care of you when you’re old?’ Childfree retirement planning answers the questions all of us should be asking.

Thankfully, I found one book that changed my life: “The Baby Trap” by Ellen Peck. I devoured it in two days, handing it to my then-husband who agreed he was perfectly fine without children. We didn’t have to be trapped into what society thought was normal. This led me to be an advocate of the child-free, not childless, lifestyle.