I’m a vehemently childfree woman. My doctors thought I was weird to get myself fixed, but I know I don’t want children and I don’t want to pass my mental illness to a child. Many people out there slam women who are childfree by choice. They say condescending things such as:
“You’ll change your mind.”
“You’re being selfish”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Many of us who don’t have and/or don’t want kids will have pets instead. I’m a proud dog mom, and my fur babies are members of the family. One particular mommy-blogger has written a post about those of us who treat our pets like our “babies.” This hateful woman managed to piss off both childfree people and parents in a single blog post.
Everything you need to know as a new dog parent https://t.co/wX5saLqAap pic.twitter.com/VZVVyMaFe4
— TAXI (@designtaxi) August 26, 2016
She made a list of things that are different about being a parent versus being a dog parent. Basically, she thinks she’s better than those of us who are dog parents. Here are some of the points on her list with my rebuttals:
1. Aging
“My daughter ages one damn year at a time, not seven. She’s not gonna be a sweet, deaf old girl by 13.”
Yes, dogs don’t live as long as people do. Everyone knows this. I guess caring for a dog doesn’t count for her since they don’t live as long, or she thinks she is better because she has to parent longer. Our pets are members of the family; we hurt and grieve for them when they are gone.
2. Babysitter Vs. Dog Sitter
“I can’t drop my daughter off somewhere and pay to have someone bathe her, and, even if I could, it would definitely be frowned upon.”
First off, people hire dog sitters, so we don’t have to always board your dogs. Also, you can drop your child off with someone; it’s called a babysitter. Think through these points before slamming people.
3. Spay/Neuter
“I can’t have her ‘fixed’; to avoid unwanted early grandmahood.”
Why even point this out? Yes, we all know you can get a dog fixed, but that doesn’t make her entitled ass better than me.
4. Money
“Clothes, shoes, underwear, socks, and so much more — it’s all required when parenting a child, and must be replaced with often alarming frequency.”
Yes, we know kids are expensive. That’s why most of us prefer a pet. Again, this doesn’t make you better than us at “parenting.”
5. Leashes
“Sure, leashes have been adopted by parents. Now, I’m not about that, but I get it. Either way, I certainly can’t leave my kid tied to a pole outside of a store until I’ve finished my business (although I certainly wish I could sometimes).”
For someone who is acting like she is better than dog parents, she sure does complain about her kid a lot.
Being a dog or cat or any pet parent is a special experience. It can’t be completely compared with parenting a child. We all know that being a parent to a human is harder. Many of us are not having children for that exact reason. The hate and judgement toward those of us who don’t want children needs to stop.
Here are the Young Turks talking about how childless adults are often told they’re selfish:
Featured image via Twitter.