How to Live Contently Without Children

Many people find themselves in the impossibility of having children mostly because of infertility or because they have tried to adopt children and they failed. On the other hand, there are individuals who decide they do not want children for diverse motives. Being a parent or refusing to be one is a personal choice. It is quite fulfilling to raise children, but they are not the only condition for a long and happy couple life. Here are some hints about being content with your childless life.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. The first step is to accept the decision you have taken. Do not try to reconsider the fertility treatments or the adoption procedures again after you have decided you do not want children. If you are not convinced, try to make a list with the reasons that determined you not to have children.

2. The second step is to stop being concerned about what the society will think about you. Your family, your friends and the society should not represent factors of pressure for you for having children. Being a parent is a great responsibility and you are the only one to decide if you can take the responsibility or not. Don't make the mistake of having children because other people wish you had one.

3. The third thing you have to consider is to take care of your relationship. Spend a lot of time with your spouse and avoid talking all the time about the children you could have. Spend time as a couple as well as with other couples that are not necessarily childless.

4. Being childless does not mean that you don't like children, so you can consider spending some time with the children of your relatives or friends. If you like them very much and the reason you don't have one was an impossibility and not a choice, you may consider volunteering and teaching children from your community.

[majesticdevotio]

on 8/31/2009 I have to agree with karadiablo. I have a sister-in-law that was unable to have children. She became the teacher and loved all our little ones, but it could never be the same as having your own.
You can love yourself, you can love your spouse,your mother, and father, but I don't belive you have found true love until you become a parent.

[KaraDiablo]

on 8/29/2009 Life can go on when your childless. But if it was because of the impossiblity, it can leave a hole in your heart that nothing else can fulfill. Though, I agree that you should spend more time with your other. The pain cannot always be pushed aside. And it can be quite difficult to love and care for other people's children when your life is childless, because it serves as a reminder of your own personal pain. That few can truly understand unless faced with a simular situation.