Having kids forced me to be a better person. They forced me to step up and tackle my own problems that were preventing me from being a decent parent, and as a result outside of parenting I’m a better version of myself too.
Having kids made any kind of travel more difficult but honestly it’s opened up new things to me that I wouldn’t do without kids. That awesome new playground in town? Yeah I’m totally climbing on it chasing my kid and definitely not having a blast too! Same with the zip line, and the big slide! Going to do a corn maze in the fall and they’re all too easy? Have the child lead us on where to go and they’ll get me far more lost than I ever could get myself lost!
I’ve absolutely put off some hobbies that I’d like to explore because they aren’t compatible with kids of my kids’ ages, but they’ve become my hobbies as I nurture them and try to not only keep them alive (seriously these kids are way too skilled at trying to kill themselves or eachother) but also grow them into decent human beings
Meaning has a lot to do with happiness and for me, my life has infinitely more meaning since the little one came along. A lot of people don’t need help finding meaning in their lives and that’s great, but taking care of my family is more rewarding than anything I have experienced. But yeah… not everyone is like me and that’s okay. Some people definitely shouldn’t have and/or don’t want kids and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I’m trying to imagine applying this logic to anything else.
Telling a friend not to try out for the baseball team, because playing baseball will increase your stress. Warning my sister not to watch a scary movie, because evidence shows they cause fear and discomfort. Breaking off a date with a cutie, because I’ve got butterflies and I don’t want to feel anxious.
What do these sociologists think about rollercoasters or car races or heavy metal concerts, I wonder?
Sounds like a kind of crazy blanket statement for actual researchers to make but then again sociology research… well…
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Having kids forced me to be a better person. They forced me to step up and tackle my own problems that were preventing me from being a decent parent, and as a result outside of parenting I’m a better version of myself too.
Having kids made any kind of travel more difficult but honestly it’s opened up new things to me that I wouldn’t do without kids. That awesome new playground in town? Yeah I’m totally climbing on it chasing my kid and definitely not having a blast too! Same with the zip line, and the big slide! Going to do a corn maze in the fall and they’re all too easy? Have the child lead us on where to go and they’ll get me far more lost than I ever could get myself lost!
I’ve absolutely put off some hobbies that I’d like to explore because they aren’t compatible with kids of my kids’ ages, but they’ve become my hobbies as I nurture them and try to not only keep them alive (seriously these kids are way too skilled at trying to kill themselves or eachother) but also grow them into decent human beings
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mist Americans can’t afford kids, the main reason is simple as that
curious what happiness rates look like in real first world countries
Meaning has a lot to do with happiness and for me, my life has infinitely more meaning since the little one came along. A lot of people don’t need help finding meaning in their lives and that’s great, but taking care of my family is more rewarding than anything I have experienced. But yeah… not everyone is like me and that’s okay. Some people definitely shouldn’t have and/or don’t want kids and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Because it’s a simplistic blanket statement about a very complex issue. You think you can take a single factor “kids = stress” and that’s that?
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The article did not say that but the originator of this thread did.
So nobody can arrive at any conclusions about complex topics? That’s like saying we can’t quantify global warning because climate science is complex.
I’m trying to imagine applying this logic to anything else.
Telling a friend not to try out for the baseball team, because playing baseball will increase your stress. Warning my sister not to watch a scary movie, because evidence shows they cause fear and discomfort. Breaking off a date with a cutie, because I’ve got butterflies and I don’t want to feel anxious.
What do these sociologists think about rollercoasters or car races or heavy metal concerts, I wonder?
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