SmokeAndMirrors
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I belong (like many I'm sure) to another forum, it's boating forum and most members are family orientated, that said, out of the 34 responses so far, not one said NO to the question of "Are children worth it?"
What a different set of responses, all men members so far and 100% said the kids are the best thing that ever happened to them. While the intellects here have a 20% disapproval rate, interesting, very interesting.
I think there's probably something pretty obvious going on there. On a boating forum, you're probably looking at a selection pool that is mostly upper-middle class and higher. People in that socioeconomic bracket are more likely to wait to have kids, or not have them at all if they don't wish for it. They are more likely to have adequate support and income if/when they do have kids. They are also less likely to divorce.
All those things in mind, yeah, parental regret will be lower, and even quite rare. The people who weren't into the idea of parenthood just chose not to have kids, and the people who were got to wait until they were ready and had a partner who would stick by them.
In the lower income brackets, those outcomes aren't as certain. There's more people who had unplanned pregnancies, had kids they never wanted in the first place, and struggled with finding the money to raise them.
But the "intellectual" set may also have something to do with it, yes. I voted "no," but I don't have kids. I decided it wasn't worth it based on everything I saw, everything I know about myself, and everything I know about what gives my life meaning, so I was able to avoid it from the outset rather than winding up in a situation of regretting something I couldn't take back.
And statistically, it is true that intellectually-focused people are less likely to want children.