Being single and childless was once something to be afraid of. Old cultural values suggest that a person’s worth lies in their ability to reproduce and be a good partner.
The world is evolving, though, and there are 30% more single individuals aged 25-34 than there were 30 years ago. Marriage is declining, people are waiting to have kids, and there is a lot of real value in that.
Think of this article as a single and childless guide to reworking your perspective. We’ll also explore some of the single and childless benefits you might be missing. So, let’s get started.
Why Being Single and Childless is a Good Thing
The benefits of being childless start with your freedom.
And no, we’re not talking about a “selfish” kind of freedom that your parents might have hammered into your head. Taking time to further your career, travel the world, enjoy your relationships, and work on yourself is not selfish.
You’re going to be much better to the people in your life if you’re able to enjoy your own experience. Self-growth allows you to explore your compassion, learn about the world, and generate a perspective that makes you a better person.
Let’s say you do end up having a child and getting married one day.
Who do you think is the better partner? The person that rushed into a relationship and had kids all of the sudden or the person who’s satisfied with where they are in life and ready to take on a new stage?
That isn’t to say that getting married and having kids young makes you a worse parent by any means. Only that you might be in a better position to start that journey if you want to once you’ve lived your life and done what you thought was important.
It Isn’t 1840
Another thing to consider is that the pressure to have kids is a social construction. If you lived on a rural farm in the 1840s, having kids was a method of producing more labor that generated food to eat.
More kids gave you a better shot at survival.
Now, having more kids reduces your quality of life if you don’t have an excellent job with good benefits. Further, human life has started to enter one of the most confusing and uncertain periods in history.
A global pandemic wreaked havoc on our lives and catastrophic climate change looms a few decades away. You can be like Betty White and skip the whole “having kids” thing.
She made a fantastic life for herself, and who knows how things would have gone for her if she’d caved into social pressures that she didn’t see herself fitting into.
Need More Lifestyle Tips?
We hope our look at being single and childless was useful to you. Life is rife with these dilemmas, and we’re here to help you through them. You might just need a little food for thought.
Explore our site for more ideas on the benefits of being childless, health, wellness, and a whole lot more.