Do you have kids (or step kids)?

I have two step sons

In the scheme of things, the kids are hella more work and the ramifications of "messing up" a lot higher with the kids than the dogs. Dogs don't need clothes or shoes, they don't need education nor actual playmates. They only live a small number of years, they eat the same thing (out of a bag) every day, they don't really need to learn much about language or ethics, (just enough not to crap in the house) you can leave them home alone, even when they are young, and the most difficult thing about them is when they occasionally crap in the house.

No way in a million years do I or could I love a dog the way I love my kids. They are humans and something we made together and they have a future, intense feelings and will have an impact on the world and it's events. Dogs don't do those things.

I mean, a pet can "love" you, but it is nothing like the love of a child. Not even close. We have both, so I can easily see the difference. When a dog dies, it is sad and we move on. If a child (G*d forbid) would die, it would be a life altering tragedy from which I would never recover.

Kids, well, I could write a book about how much effort they are, and of course, for us, the payment in good people we have helped produce.

But, kids are certainly not for everyone. I admire people who choose not to have kids and know that this lifestyle is not for them. Not so much those who think no one should have kids, though. Each life is different. What works for one couple or person doesn't for an other. I would never tell a childless friend they "should" have kids, (because if they chose not to, they most likely shouldn't) but many of them feel more than free to tell me MY choice to have children was "shortsighted" or worse. Why is that OK?