Thursday, March 28, 2024

Childlessness

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FOR YEARS OPRAH WINFREY has publicly declared that she never wanted to have children. She didn’t feel the pull of motherhood and quite honestly states that she never had the desire.  But during an interview she went even further to say that she couldn’t have the life she’s had and have children. She has no regrets about not having any.
Women from the time they are children seemed primed to prepare for motherhood. But there are scores of women like Oprah who are childless either by circumstance or choice. But does that make them any less of a woman or any less accomplished in their lives if they opted not to procreate?
Motherhood has often been considered one of the most difficult jobs on the planet.
But that does not mean that every woman is cut out for motherhood. In fact there are some women that have children and do such a poor job at being mothers, that one questions why they went the route in the first place.
But today some women especially career women, are opting out of motherhood all together. Many of these women are between the ages of thirty and forty. It can be attributed to better contraceptives, more education and better job opportunities. It can come from seeing half their girlfriends sleepless and weary from raising young children, many of them without husbands.
Does deciding not to have children make you better or worse off. Is a woman less of a woman if she decides never to have kids? EASY magazine posed this question to our online readers and here’s what some of them had to say.
Chelsi Bannister: No, if you personally think you wouldn’t be a proper parent you shouldn’t have kids. There are a lot of people in this world that treat their children as though they never wanted them in the first place. Choosing what is best for you and the community (because we are the ones that have to deal with the same wayward kids) is responsible and respectable.
Tara Blackman: I am in total agreement with Chelsi. It may seem like a silly question to some but you are no less of a woman if you don’t procreate. Motherhood is fantastic; but even if you’re not a mother, you can still be fulfilled.
Damara Keisha Boyce: I agree 100 per cent its makes absolutely no sense bringing another life in this world when you aren’t physical or mentally able to deal with children.
Kefa Constable: According to Lady Saw, not having a child don’t make you any less of a woman Susanne Eriksson: Is a man a real man if he decide to have kids but doesn’t care about them?
Susan Janine Carew: Some women can’t have children so decision is already made! A woman is a woman childless or with children.
Donna Trotman: Why would anyone think that she will be less than a woman. It is her right if she wants kids/or a kid. Sometimes you don’t have an answer or you can’t explain the cause or reason but you know in your heart that you don’t want a child sometimes it is just your choice not to have kids.
 DeAmour Murrell: These posts I believe are quite fair but somehow I feel that they are a lot of other people who may not feel the same way deep down inside. If you listen to the comments made around mother’s day for instance, you will realize what I mean. Sadly, some women who would like to have children but find it difficult and may find themselves in a similar position.
David Aplmac: Too many children are accidents! Don’t bring accidents into this world. We have enough already. Barbados population is already 300 000! Bear that in mind when you feel the urge to go forth and multiply!
Shelley A. Austin: There’s nothing like hearing a child say “mummy” for the first time but I think a woman is considered less of a woman if she decides not to have a child. It could be for health reasons or financial reasons that she made that decision.

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