To have or not have...

[Kim]

I adore both my children who are now 20 & 22, they are so special to me and my best friends now, I would hate to be without them. I always wanted to be a mum, I am definitely maternal. I respect each of us has the right to chose though.

[farthing]

I don't have a maternal bone in my body, I'm not even that fond of baby animals. I assume I must have some hormones missing or something, but never ever wanted children. I got annoyed when people used to say wait til that boilogical clock starts ticking- I must look old now because nobody says it any more .

[dandysmom]

Farthing, a friend once commented to me that she'd noticed I never coo over babies. And she was right; I must also be missing some hormones. But I do coo over kittens, baby lambs, baby chicks, etc. ?? Apparently someone forgot to wind up my biological clock!

[angieh]

Oh same here! Babies are best left alone or with their own mothers and families. Kittens now, that's totally different. I'd love to know why, although I'm quite happy just cooing over those kitties!

I even felt very protective towards little Pip when I brought him home.

[dandysmom]

Angie, that makes me feel so much better knowing I'm not the only one who reacts that way!

[MrsH]

I've often been amazed that, given horrendous living conditions and poor life-expectancy in the past, all the women in my direct ancestry lived long enough to produce children who in turn did the same. A fairly obvious fact of course, if they hadn't done so then I wouldn't be here! I'd always wanted children, but apart from that, I'd also had a curiosity about where our family line would lead. I don't mean that to sound as though we were predestined for great things (chance would be a fine thing ) and I don't mean it to sound as though I felt we had an obligation to our ancestors to carry on the line either!

There were some horrible days when my children were small but I loved their presence in my life. I'm not and never was their best friend, I didn't fill up every minute of their lives taking them to gym, pool, dance, judo, theatre clubs etc. I was their mother. I told them off, kissed their knees better, taught them honesty and kindness, taught them to read and later on tolerated their dreadful taste in music! My daughter (34) is not remotely maternal and has decided not to have children, I would love to have grand-children but totally respect her decision. It would be completely wrong for her to have babies if it was just to please me!

[Aquatic]

I don't think I will have kids yet but I want some when I'm older for now I'm happy with my baby boy Felix
At the moment I hate toddlers don't mind babies but can't stand toddlers because my friends toddler is loud and I mean loud. I had to babysit him before my friend told me he will go straight to sleep and give me no hassle at all he was forever calling my name shouting and screaming throwing his toys all around the room and would not go to sleep when I put him to bed. By the time my friend got back I was almost asleep on the sofa and I'd only been looking after him for 3 hours imagine what it must be like everyday of the week!

[angieh]

Originally Posted by dandysmom

Angie, that makes me feel so much better knowing I'm not the only one who reacts that way!

Definitely not Eileen! This is such an interesting thread isn't it? I've just been thinking about MrsH's post - my ancestors (so far in my research) all had large or even huge families. Interestingly, the 1911 Census asks the very personal question about how many births per couple and how many of those children were still alive. Now what was the govt. of the day going to do with those stats I wonder???

[dandysmom]

MrsH's post made me think: I'm the end of the line for my maternal grandpa. Moms two sisters had no children, she just had me, so that's it. On the paternal side Dad's four sisters being good Catholic girls had oodles of kids, so the bloodline goes on there.

Yes, this is a very good thought provoking thread. Good to get the different opinions.

[calismum]

I agree it's an interesting post. I tend to be the same, never one for bending over prams and cribs but will form a queue to see a baby animal - I wonder why that is?

My family tree also has big families and lots of branches.The women also tended to live longer than the men. I'm sure my family tree programme works out an average adult age, must have a look at what that comes out as.