But who will look after you when you're old?

I'm staying childfree (and it has ruined more than one relationship... Irish women in my experience are all desperate for children), and every guy I've talked to has said something along the lines of "I love MY kids, but don't have any!".

But yes, who looks after me when I'm old is a question. I'm going through that with my parents. My dad is visibly getting older, and he is the main caregiver for my mum who has early - mid stage Parkinsons. He is adamant I don't have to do anything to help him when he needs it because it would interrupt my life. My mum, on the other hand, is adamant she will not go into a nursing home anytime and that I am expected to look after her as she did to her parents. I have no siblings, and live with them, so it is on me.

There is every iteration of situation out there.

People who dont want to have kids simply dont like kids if they be truly honest with themselves.

There is no reason to use boring excuses like climate change to try to justify their decision - just be honest and say you hate kids.

Whether he wants your help or not, he may end up needing it and the likelihood is that you will give it to him i guess, also if you are living with them there must be some quid pro quo unless you are doing it for their benefit rather than your own.

Having someone to look after you when you are old is no reason to have kids, but the reality is the only people who really give a toss about you are your closest family so having a bigger family helps in that regard. Personally i have kids and i am glad i do, but i can understand fully who people would choose not to and i respect anyones decision in that regard as their own.

No wanting to have kids because of uncertainty of the future (Ie climate change) is a completely legitimate reason.

One person giving up having a big car and four trips abroad is going to make zero impact on climate change.

You can't just give up the above then go 'that's climate change sorted, now I can have kids!'. Fairly ridiculous statement to be honest.

Has anyone with siblings who have parents who needed looking after. Had the experience that all children look after their parents. Or did they have the experience that some or all of the children had little or no involvement of the care of their parents.

Plus you can be sure that said poster won't be convinced there are enough people. The right people aren't having enough children for it.

Oh, you again. So it's o.k. now for women to not have children? Who is the woman you're addressing in your post? Yourself? Have you had that abortion yet because you stated you can't comment on abortion if you're not a woman. Do you allow comments about having children to men? They're involved yinno.

But, you DID say that only those that had had abortions could comment on them. So, is it o.k. for men to comment on this and, in fact, any other questions regarding having children or not? Your comment might've been valid to you, but it didn't parse too well:

Children in Ireland now are a matter of choice. Not so prior to the repeal of the Eigth. And, is 'this woman' you? So you're child free? Or, who is it you're saying 'well done' to? And I think, 'every man is not a father' is what you wanted to say, not trolling in the gender fluidity question. Also, 'non maternal' women. Is there a scale? Can you be somewhat maternal, full-on mary2021 class maternal, not interested in having a child at all.... And is that relevant to this thread?

But, you can clarify this easily. Do you believe you should have children to take care of you when you're old? That's actually what this thread is about and what most of the discussion is about. You've just sort-of warped in here to share your philosophy in general, but that's not the question at hand.

The goal, of course, is fewer people. You've yet to describe the balance; do you think removing all the childfree-by-choice people from the planet, that will balance things? How many do you think there are?

Such utter idiocy.

We don't have kids and both my wife and I are only kids so very small family, not sure how it will pang out but will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Seems like adoption is a crapshoot, there's not a lot of data but, somewhat unsurprising, once the adoption's done the church that helped organize it, isn't interested. And the risks of a problem are high:

"More than a decade after this movement peaked, many families who went overseas are in crisis mode: respite weekends are booked through 2023, there is an annual Christian conference devoted to burned-out parents, and a new documentary has been released on desperate families who have extremely ill children. Parents now say that the churches that encouraged them to adopt in the first place aren't there for them now.

Few statistics exist on the number of adoptions gone wrong, other than a 10-year-old study by the US Department of Health and Human Services reporting "adoption disruptions" ranging from 10-25 percent. This little-known statistic points to a meltdown in the industry and a sign that adoption and foster care have become a landmine for many families who believed God had called them to help these children."

Edited for more info. Thanks.