Do you think it's important to have kids?

I voted how I feel about my life. I don't think everyone needs to have kids to be happy.

People will always have problems with everything you do. Do what makes you happy!

People get down right offended when I say I don't want children! I don't get it, they don't get offended when I make other life choices that are different from theirs.

for me it is necessarily for me to be happy i want children

It depends on the person. I think some people would be happier without children and some people would be happier with children.

I don't think everyone should have kids just because they are able to. I wish more people would make the choice to adopt kids that are already here and provide for them instead of just adding more.

Kids are definitely not necessary to have a happy life. I chose to not have children I guess because I didn't have the "maternal instinct" that people talk about. I am happily married and I love my life. I don't need a little being to make it better.

I put no since you can be happy without children. Some people SHOULDN'T have children since they are terrible parents. ( Like one of my siblings...Ugh.) Personally, I have some reproductive issues, so it is unlikely that I'll ever be able to have children, but I'm complete okay with it.

Whatever makes you happy, makes you happy, and that doesn't have to include kids.

I answered 'no', but there are so many excellent responses here! I love these forums because I get to hear so many wildly diverse and yet equally valid viewpoints. It's always fascinating!

As soon as I read your title, I started thinking about the couple from the movie Idiocracy. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! Both for the entertainment factor, and the social commentary.

Personally, I don't think it's necessary for everyone to have children. I do think it's incredibly presumptuous for people to try and pressure you into doing something as life-altering as having children! I hope you can politely express your feelings about the matter and ask that these people respect your feelings.

I respect you for taking the time to think about the issue and work out how you feel about it. I wish there were more people in the world that took the decision to have children as seriously as you have.

My family wants me to have children, but I don't want any, so I won't. I don't think you need children. Some women do, because some women feel that they need to be mothers, and they need something to take care of. I'm not like that.

I agree, you don't need kids to live a happy life. I know a lot of people who don't have children and they are happy.

Dont think you NEED to have them, though personally I want some.

It obviously depends on the person/relationship. However, I have always know that I want children and make it something that my partner had to want as well. We have talked about it often. We have several things that we want to establish before we start our family...be stable in our relationship, have space in our home, have full-time jobs/make enough money. We are getting married in about 3 months and I am hoping to have our first child in the next 2 years.

In fact, I feel you should be happy in life BEFORE you have kids

Yes and no. I do not want children, but I'm raising my nephew. So... I think there are a lot of people out there that shouldn't be having them.

I keep getting pressured to have some of my own. Nobody listens when I say I don't want them.

I think it really depends on the individual. There are overpopulation problems throughout the world, and plenty of children waiting to be adopted. There will also always be people who either choose to have children or accidentally become pregnant and choose to keep the child. So the whole 'procreation is necessary to continue the human race' thing falls a little flat in terms of making decisions for your own life.

Do kids make you happier? That really depends on what you want to do with your life. If you're not sure whether kids are for you, try spending a lot of time with the kids of friends and relatives, and see how you feel about it when you're knee deep in their messes, frantic trying to sort out what it is they want or need, and desperate for a nap.

Of course, how you feel about children can be something that changes over the course of your life, too. I happen to be one of those people who didn't particularly want to have children but chose to keep a child when my birth control failed. I don't regret my personal decision - despite the fact that my child is disabled - but it's definitely not for everyone.

I'm a woman who NEVER wanted kids. The idea of it freaked me out and I went way out of my way to never have even a scare.

I'm also a mom, by accident. The condom broke, my birth control failed and Plan B didn't stop it either.

I would change it if I could.

All that said, I love my son and he does make me happy. I enjoy watching him learn and grow (he's not yet two).

I do say though that you do not need kids to make you a happy person, my son has made my life harder, actually. He's worth it though.

My life wouldn't be as happy if I didn't have my children. That being said, I don't think everyone needs to have children in order to be happy..but some people do, I was one of them.

I have kids they make me happy. But I also believe some people are happy with or without kids

I don't think they are necessary, but they are a big plus