Being a parent is a tough gig, loaded with many ups and downs. Along that journey, most of us have had a moment in which we secretly regretted having children, even if it was just for a moment.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids. However, I’d be lying if I said that it was all sunshine and rainbows all of the time. Truth be told, this sh*t is not easy. With that said, what got me thinking was a Reddit post I found entitled, “Parents of Reddit, Do You Ever Seriously Regret Having Kids? If so, why?” And some of the answers were relatable.
Here are the top ten I noticed.
1. noxparadox1 says,
I don’t regret having my kids, but they sure make it difficult to leave my wife.
If it wasn’t for them, I would have left a long time ago…
2. Thousands_of_Spiders says,
I do not regret having my children, but there are a lot of things I wish I had done when I had the freedom available to me.
3. [deleted] says,
I became a father when I was 19. The kid ruined my professional life. I am now 25, stuck in a dead-end job, and live in a small apartment with her mother, who is now my wife.
I had a plan, I was in the army when my girlfriend got pregnant, after that I got a job with a travel agent as a guide, I was going to take a few years off school to travel the world, then I was going to get back to study. I still love the child, and I have made two more. Figured when I started so early, I should just go with it and get finished early.
4. cyrusm says,
The only thing I regret about having kids is not doing some of the things you would never have thought about…
going on a vacation. Now it costs twice as much, and you can’t do half of the stuff you probably want to do.
going to the bar. It’s not like I quit drinking… I still drink… oh.. I still drink. just not at the bars.
I used to want a motorcycle, now all I can think about is how unsafe they are, and how impractical.
Over all, I don’t regret having kids, it’s been great. But I think I’m definitely primed and ready for a kick-ass mid-life crisis…
5. master_of_all_a_v says,
I had my first kid unintentionally. My (now) wife and I decided that since we had gotten started, and we wanted to have another anyway that we shouldn’t have them too far apart. Our two boys are amazing, but we would have done better by them if we had been more responsible and waited a few years.
If they get out of the house for college really quickly, though, we may have an empty nest when we are 40.
6. trytryagainn says,
I did, when they were little, it’s just soooo hard. I had prolonged post-partum depression; I don’t know how relevant that is. Now that they are school-age, things are infinitely better and I am glad to be a parent.
7. JayAre31 says,
Have a job with awesome insurance and great pay? You still can’t afford to have kids. I know that now. Don’t regret having my child, but damn sure regret not saving more before I blew that final load. Cheers.
8. ProbablyJustArguing says,
No, not regret, but certainly there are times where I long for the days where it was just me and the wife. The life that was there was pretty sweet and life with kids is vastly different.
Worth the change of lifestyles for sure, but I’m sure by the time it happens, it will be a welcome day when they move out.
9. sickx22 says,
Being a parent is hard work, rewarding but hard. Sometimes I miss my carefree, easy, stress free life. But I don’t regret my daughter even now that I’m a single parent.
10. MitchandIsabella says,
Sex. No sex whatsoever.