Childfree people, have you ever had a defining moment...?

A moment in which you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you had made the right decision to not have kids. I had one tonight. I went to Bible study, and one of the women brought along her 4-year-old. After 2 1/2 hours of him, coupled with a hyper chihuahua bouncing around the room, I was ready to climb the walls. I bolted out the door as soon as it was over.





The bad thing was, he wasn't being misbehaved at all. He was just being a normal kid, and he was driving me insane! All of the foolish prattle and weird noises and constant need for attention... If I had to live with that 24/7, I would want to put a bullet through my skull. If ever I had a doubt about my decision to be childfree, it was completely vaporized tonight! Has anyone else ever had that kind of experience?Childfree people, have you ever had a defining moment...?
I have one any time I go to Walmart on a Saturday afternoon, any time a client drags their unruly children to their pet's appointment with them, and anytime I see a mom with a shrieking baby or toddler.


I have no doubt whatsoever that I made the right choice.





Added: I'm not surprised that the old cliche ';It's different when they're yours'; popped up. The asker had a great response to that, and I agree with her!Childfree people, have you ever had a defining moment...?
I have children myself but that doesn't mean I necessarily enjoy being around other children. If I had been in your place, I also would likely have been literally climbing the walls. In your case, you have an excuse because you don't have children but for me, I'm supposed to tolerate that behavior and even enjoy it because I do have children. The truth is that it gets on my nerves, too.
I'm a childfree person at the moment, although I hope to have kids one day. However, it sounds like you made the right decision to not have kids ';just because.'; There is no shame in this decision if you truly don't want kids.





Let's change that word above to childless. I was told that fits better, and I actually have to agree.
This is going to sound really stupid, but I once saw a Cathy strip in which she talked about how much she loved having her time and her money for herself. I just thought, ';Hell yeah!';





I have those kinds of moments all the time on the bus. After a hard day, I just can't stand listening to a 3-year-old yammer on about nothing.
well you definitely have a lot of negativity about it. The wording of your post is full of it. The question is, was it natural, or did you just talk yourself into this frenzy. But one thing is for sure, it is good you have had full actualization about this.
I'm 22 and I don't have any children. Nor am I married but I do plan on having kids once I am married and the time is right. I've never thought about my life with not having kids when I'm ready. I have had defining moments but none about me not wanting to ever have kids of my own.
no, i never had a defining moment. its just not for me. i have always known this. and i always will know this.
I felt the exact same way before I had kids, but trust me, you feel so much different when it's your own.
Why do you have to hate children to not have any? I don't have any kids but most kids love me and I don't know why. Not having children is not up to me entirely anyway, God will surely have His say and there's nothing I can (or want) to do about that. If I have children, I will accept them lovingly as I said in my marriage vows, right now I don't have children and I'm sure there is a reason for that. Labeling oneself also limits what you as a person are saying to others. I see no point in limiting anything about myself. Don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with your choice, I just don't see why you define yourself by it.
Sorry I am not a child free person, but a proud parent of a 6yo beautiful girl. However, in my youth I did have quite a few of those moments. One of them really shook me to the core: it has been many years since it took place, but I won't soon forget it. I was visiting my distant family members in a foreign country. We had not seen each other for many years and were happy to catch up on each others life stories. One of the cousins had a teenage daughter with them, a very cute girl with a pretty rebellious attitude. She enjoyed hearing herself talk and was very rude to everyone there. I knew by then how hard her parents struggled to raise her, how many jobs they worked to make sure that she never wanted for anything, while completely neglecting themselves. But she was not only inexcusably rude but also somewhat malicious in her treatment of her parents. And they simply sat there and took it from her, keeping their eyes downcast to hide their embarrassment. I did not make any comments, because it was not my place to do so. But deep in my heart I'd made a decision that I won't have children, so one day they won't behave as appallingly as this nightmare of a child was acting.





It took me many years to get over myself and my shock, but in my 30ies I wanted to have children and take a risk to bring a wonderful and well mannered human being into this crazy world. So, I did have a child and never looked back. She is the very heart of my universe, and I have yet to be irritated with the sounds she makes. I guess, with your own child you don't think about your own comfort as much, your child's needs and wants become your number one by far priority.