Television shows, movies and the popular media want to portray the child-free as cold, career-driven, sophisticated and sexy selfish egomaniacs. We are often unmarried and having affairs, partying and shopping 24/7 and could care less about anything other than our salary. When people read articles pertaining to the childfree lifestyle, they th ink “Oh, these are the inhuman creatures who don’t wanna be parents”.

It’s really quite erroneous. As much as I am inexorably damant in not wanting to spend the next 18-20 years of my life being a Mommy, it does not mean I’m a stone-cold, callous woman. There are times when I get the baby blues too! I think to myself, “Maybe baby…” but this is often fleeting and I return back to my regular life in relief. Sometimes, when I’m at the grocery store or driving down the street I’ll catch a glimpse of a family walking hand-in-hand with their stroller and my heart may flutter a little. It is difficult at times to go on Facebook and be faced with a barrage of infant photographs of my adorable baby cousins and my friends’ children. Wherever I go, I’m bombarded with strollers and babies and pregnant bellies. Sometimes I’m nonchalant and go on my way, and sometimes it affects me.

I don’t regret being childfree and I’m not “on the fence”. I don’t want kids, period. I don’t hate kids, either. But we’re not inhuman creatures who eat baby’s guts and vodka for supper every night. Heck, as enticing as partying and wearing swanky outfits sound: I hate coming home around 3 o’clock in the morning, tipsy and feeling like shit the next day! My home is a quiet oasis, my life is stable and I have the freedom and independence that makes me content. I have one or two choice children in my life I like to spend time with, and yes I do care about them very much. I’m glad they exist! If anything ever happened to them—god forbid—I would welcome them into my home lickety-split!!

When I go on childfree forums and read blogs, I see people who are often misunderstood and typecasted because they chose not to reproduce. We are all very different and diverse, some of us don’t like kids at all…and others surround themselves with children and even have step-kids living in their home. Some of us prefer partying, and others prefer quiet retreats at the cottage up North. This is the same with any classified group. At the end of the day, we are all human. We all cry, laugh, love, get angry and make mistakes. So let’s just stop harshly judging one another and make our own lives the happiest we can.