Say it Loud, Say it Proud: The Childfree Life is Wonderful

Let’s get off the backfoot and start celebrating it

I often feel we childfree people spend our discussions of the subject on the backfoot. If we’re not writing articles inspired by unpleasant conversations with people who feel personally affronted about our life choice (see my last piece), we’re opening our hearts to the vulnerability of why we’d make bad parents.

Photo by Nghia Le on Unsplash

But there is joy in the childfree life. It’s not a burden, it’s a valid choice. It’s not something to mourn, it’s a freedom. It’s not something we’ve missed out on, it’s life-affirming. It’s not irresponsibility, it’s actively choosing different priorities.

So here are my top joys of the childfree life, the things that make not having children worth it.

Spontaneity

“Shall we go out for a meal tonight?”
“It’s been a long day and this task has sapped all my energy, so… yeah, why not.”
“Where do you fancy?”
“We haven’t been to [insert restaurant name here] in a while.”
“Cool, I’ll phone and book a table.”