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Parenthood is something no man or woman should enter into lightly - and any mum or dad will tell you it's hard work.

Indeed, once you have kids, your life is never the same again.

For some people, those changes are life-altering in a completely positive way. "I can't remember life before the kids came along," they will tell their friends with a smile.

But for others, welcoming new life into the world just wasn't ever the right thing to do for them, personally.

Parents who regret having children have been sharing their thoughts on Q&A website Quora , explaining why starting a family wasn't the best decision they've ever made.

1. "I wasn't ready - he deserved more"

One anonymous parent readily admits that they are "much too selfish" to really care about someone else's feelings and they shouldn't have had a child.

They wrote: "I don't regret the person my son is, although I wish he didn't receive so many of my adverse traits. I do regret the fact that I have done such a lousy job parenting him - he deserved more than I was able to give him.

(Image: Getty)

"I regret having children because I wasn't ready (23), and because I'm much too selfish to really care about someone's feelings other than my own.

"I regret having a child because it's a really, really big job that I wasn't able to handle."

Do you have regrets about becoming a parent? Share them with us via the form below or email yourmirror@mirror.co.uk

2. "There's a huge taboo about saying you simply hate being a parent"

One dad explains that he never wanted to have children and his wife felt the same, until she was around the age of 40 and discovered an 'unquenchable desire for motherhood.'

After several rounds of IVF and 'huge time, financial and emotional costs' a healthy son came along.

The man, who remains anonymous, said he was "immediately plunged into a seemingly endless spiral of resentment and depression."

He continues: "I knew at a profound level that I Did Not Want This. It completely destroyed spontaneity and flexibility; everything needed planning, and our son like all very small children needed to be watched pretty much 24/7."

(Image: Getty)

After being told by his therapist that this was much more common than he might think, but there was simply a huge taboo around saying you hated being a parent, he decided to search online.

He continues: "Lo: it was all over the place. People overcome by tedium and regret."

His regret about becoming a father has also put a strain on his relationship with his wife, who is upset by the way he feels.

The man adds that he is a good father, he loves his son and wants to do a good job - and for the boy to have a good life - but his own life is 'markedly less enjoyable since he came along. That's simple honesty.'

3. "If I had the opportunity to go back, I would take it"

Another man explains that he has ever been keen on kids, enjoys his freedom and could even be described as quite selfish.

He adds: "If I am really honest with myself, I went along with having a child because my wife was ready and keen."

The anonymous male now has a 12-month-old daughter and admits he has been forced to go on medication to cope with stress.

(Image: Getty)

He continues: "Do I consider HER a "mistake" ? No I don't, but do I consider HAVING her a mistake. It was just the next thing that happened, and while I do love her, if I had the opportunity to go back to the way things were? Sure, I would take it.

"People just don't like to hear that kind of thing."

4. "I wasn't cut out to be a mother"

One woman, Victoria Elder, shared her own story of her journey to motherhood

"I planned my one pregnancy and thought I desperately wanted to have a baby. I figured out pretty close to immediately after her birth that I had made grave errors.

"[Her father] didn't want her and when she didn't result in my undying devotion to him, he walked away from her. And now I was the mother of this tiny girl and whose great idea was that?

"I wasn't cut out to be a mother. I thought I knew what I was doing. I really had no idea until her gorgeous blue eyes, my blue eyes, were staring back at me full of expectations and adoration and dependency."

She continues: "I felt like, and still feel like, I made a mistake. And to be clear, I LOVE my daughter... If anything were to happen to her, I would be inconsolable. Forever. I would want to die with her if she died.

"My mistake was not because I don't love her or because I don't want her or because there is something wrong with her. None of that is true. It is not, even in my mind, even just sometimes, her fault by any stretch of the imagination that I shouldn't be a parent. I have never blamed her, either to myself or out loud, for my failings.

"And because of that, because she is pretty damned awesome, what it feels like more often than anything else is guilt. I feel guilty all the time that I'm not the parent she deserves."

5. "I think about the fact I could be travelling the world"

Another mum offered some words of advice to others who may be considering having a child, stressing that your partner is the most important aspect of the decision-making process.

She said: "I have two children. One is 21, the other eight - I had them at 20 and 33. While you would think that timing (age of the mother/father), money, stability, etc. are more important in the decision to have children, they are only peripheral.

"The person you have the child with is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. I can't stress it enough. It doesn't matter how ready YOU are to have a child, if your partner isn't willing to also be a parent, it simply won't work.

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"My current husband and I have plenty of money, stability, good jobs. What we don't have is a calm, happy home. It is as much my fault for agreeing to have a child as it is his for demanding one.

"In the end, I selfishly think about the fact that I could be travelling the world right now instead of helping her with her homework - I would have been "done" at 39.

"Instead of focusing on that, I have decided to get a divorce and show my child the world - she is still young enough to feel the wonder of things and I don't want her to grow up hating life. Do I regret having a second child? Yes. Do I regret having HER? No."