{Why I Don't Want Kids.....Right Now}

I can’t even count the times that I have gone through this conversation:

Person 1: “So, when are you two going to have kids?!”

Me: “Actually, probably not for another couple of years.”

Person 1: “Oh…really?....Why?”

And then I have to tell them my personal reasons for not wanting to have a kid the second after I get married.

So, I decided to just let everyone know what those reasons are and my opinion of why I do not want a kid right away.

However, I do not want anyone with kids or who had kids young to take this post offensively. I do love kids. It’s just not for me right now. And I’m sure you wouldn't give your kid(s) up for anything and will never regret having them, however, everyone is different. So, without further ado:

1.       I love Michael and I’s spontaneous date nights.

See, Mike and I usually never plan dates nights. They always just...happen. I mean, we plan the bigger events, but we love getting home, noticing we have nothing planned for the night, looking up show times and just deciding to do dinner and a movie or just going shopping. However, I feel like we won’t have much of that once we start having kids. Our date nights will have to be planned in advance so we can get a babysitter or we will just take our kids with us if we really want to go out and can’t find a babysitter for the night.

2.       Sleeping in

Boy, do Mike and I love sleeping in on our Sundays. Once we have kids though, forget it, at least until they are old enough to watch over themselves. We would be waking up whenever they do to feed them, make sure they don’t fight or hurt themselves, and all of the other responsibilities that come along with being a parent.

3.       Working and Earning Money

Personally, I LOVE my job. I love what I do and I love my coworkers. I look forward to seeing them every day and all the laughs we have together. I love being able to work and make my own money, instead of leaving my husband to go to work every day, pay all the bills, and make extra money for me to spend. I love that I am able to contribute, help pay bills, help pay off debt, and earn some money that allows us to have fun as well. I think it is going to be very hard for me when I am a stay at home mom to not be making some sort of money. However, I have engrained in my mind that I will never be that wife that makes her husband stress about money. Even if I am only making $100 a month selling homemade quilts or something (totally random, I know), I want to be doing something to help contribute. Today, I was talking to one of my coworkers about her, her husband and her son, and her choice to work. I am honestly very impressed by her decision to go to work every day to make a better life in the future for her family. That is very respectable to me. It is very true though. Although she may not be able to spend every waking moment with her son, she is working hard to be able to give him and her husband an easier life. I feel like that will very well pay off a lot better in the long run. Same goes for my mom. Although she doesn't work a lot because she is VERY busy taking care of so many kids and donating her time constantly, she still finds time to be an awesome, dedicated Realtor and bring in a good amount of money.  I respect working moms very much. (However, I know there are moms out there who physically can’t work, and that is 100% understandable.)

4.       Vacations

Yes, you can still take vacations with your children, but it’s not the same. A trip to the beach before you have kids entails sun tanning, sleeping in, and doing pretty much whatever you want. When you bring the kids along, it’s a constant worry about if they have on enough sunscreen, making sure they don’t get lost or drown, bringing all of the toys along, etc. I am positive my parents enjoy their vacations 150x more when they are alone instead of bringing all of the kids along. Not to mention, vacations without kids is A LOT cheaper too.

5.       I want to just spend time with my husband

Michael and I have only been married for 5 months now. I am still getting to know him and still loving finding out new things about him. I want to spend some time, just him and I, for a while before we start a family. Once you have kids, they are there forever. So, I want to wait a couple years or so before we start a family. I love just having a family of two right now.

I am just going to go ahead and stop there though. I have a few more reasons, like kids are expensive and watching other people’s kids is already enough ‘kid time’ for me, but I better stop before this list gets too long. Again though, nothing is wrong with having kids young, having a lot of kids, or having kids in general. I’m just saying why it’s not for me RIGHT NOW. And I don’t think there is anything wrong with any of my reasons of not wanting a baby right now. I love kids and one day I will wake up thinking “I’m ready” but that day won’t be soon, unless God plans otherwise. One thing I know for sure though, is that Mike will be one amazing father and we will make some cute babies!