Nobody understands when a woman says she doesn't want children. It is passed over as her not finding the right man as yet, her biological clock just isn't ticking yet, or she's just going through a phase. It seems most people believe that women should have babies simply because god gave them the plumbing to do it. It is also seen as a strange thing for a woman to be married and still not desire a child. Some women, however, just don't want to have children. Children are a major responsibility with questionable benefits, so some person choose not to burden themselves with this responsibility. Some women may not even think of it as a burden, but simply have no desire towards making babies.
People assume that there is only one path to life, education, job, marriage, children, die. When I was only a wee teenager I realized just how boring that sequence could be and decided to take another route on my way to death (since we're all living to die). That path has come to be about travelling, learning about different cultures, working and living in various countries, writing and researching, among others. That plan has no room for family house mortgage, mini van or expelling large objects from my body that make me ill during and after pregnancy.
Now, it may not be easy to see how a baby would poop on my seemingly flexibly plans, but let me provide some enlightenment. A 2014 Huffington post article by Emily Thomas stated that raising a child in the US from age zero to 17 costs approximately US$304,000 . Consider the delivery of a child alone, that's easily US$10,000. That's over a million Japanese yen. That would significantly cut into my budget for eating, drinking tea and travelling to two three countries per year. In fact, it may eliminate any such plans whatsoever. This is just a monetary issue though, so if you are rich, that won't be an issue. The thing is though, how many people are rich enough to take three vacations per year to exotic places like greenland, Palau, South Africa and still maintain a child? Even without a child in the picture, I would have to work really hard to achieve my travel dreams, so imagine, having an extra plane seat to pay for and other child related expenses.
Consider my desire to work in various countries. Again, I would need to consider international schools that are usually expensive. Think of the child's well being. Would a child be happy going from school to school just because of her mother's busy life? I don't think so. That may lead to mental problems in a child, learning problems, mental disorders due to not enough family times and no close network of friends, since he/she never spends enough time in one location to make any real friends.
Another thing, if a woman doesn't want children, she probably isn't overflowing with maternal instincts. She would probably suffer serious depression if she were forced into a situation where she had to have a child. Given the hardships experienced by pregnant women and mothers, a woman should be mentally ready to sacrifice her body, money and time for the child. Otherwise, she will probably be miserable and lose interest in her own life. That kind of thing is what leads to crazy mothers killing their babies and sometimes killing themselves too.
Source of the cost of raising a child: Huffington Post article by Emily Thomas: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/18/cost-of-raising-a-child_n_5688179.html
Today, one particular song grabbed my attention - 'young heart run free' by Candi Staton. This song is essentially telling young women to guard their hearts with all their might and enjoy youth without being bogged down with families and relationship problems.
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