WE ARE CHILDFREE

Being born in the year 2000, my parents and especially my mom grew up in a world where women wouldn’t be complete if they weren’t a mom. So in my childhood and teenage years, I didn’t realise that not having children could also be a choice.

When I was about 18, I noticed that if I wanted to study and go into business, becoming a mother in any stage of life would completely change the way I would navigate my career. I would have to sacrifice the time I spend on my own development or sacrifice time with my child. Neither seem like a good option to me.

Also, since one of my siblings has special needs and is on the autism spectrum, I felt alone and not listened to a lot during my childhood. My parents usually did not know what to do in situations where I felt unsafe or when my borders were being crossed by my sibling. Only during my adolescence I noticed how these circumstances had made me incredibly anxious, leading to years of severe panic attacks.

Having grown up the way I did, plus my career path being altered and this world that we currently live in not being ideal to bring up children, I decided that for now I am sure to not want any children.

It helps that my partner is supportive of this choice and that we can openly talk about it. It will enable us to focus on our relationship and the loved ones that already are part of our lives, as well as being able to travel anywhere we would like.

We always joke that our first child should be a dog and we’ll see from there :)