I’m so tired of parents dragging childless people into their complaints about having to parent their own children.

The problem arises when parents accuse the childfree of being privileged, not knowing our privilege, or that we don’t understand the struggle, never considering we may have other caretaking responsibilities or have no choice in being childfree. https://twitter.com/lesliemac/status/1278815479583432704?s=21 https://twitter.com/lesliemac/status/1278815479583432704

Raising children is probably shit right now. There are also a lot of single & childfree people who are experiencing a certain type of loneliness in the middle of a pandemic and are having some ideations but let’s make sure they recognize how easy they have it without kids.

Childfree people are out here minding our business, maybe also struggling but in different ways, and here come parents, lightweight scolding us for not being more... what? Like them? Why?!

Childfree people are already expected to be willing to sacrifice parts of their lives to help out parents at work. Now after 4 months of parents fussing at us, we’re still supposed to be empathetic & understanding? Maybe we’re at the ends of our ropes too! https://twitter.com/tnwhiskeywoman/status/1276630290329370624?s=21 https://twitter.com/tnwhiskeywoman/status/1276630290329370624

I promise you— childfree people are not interested in playing the Suffering Olympics but so many parents frequently bring us into their frustrations without the slightest consideration of how it may be a very sensitive subject for many of us and yet they want us to be empathetic.

For the people who want children but are unable to have them, being tossed into parents’ complaints is like living barefoot and being told “at least you don’t have to worry about your diamond shoes pinching you. Look at how tight mine are. Isn’t it just awful!”

I firmly believe more parents should admit that parenting frequently sucks. It would go far in helping to destigmatize people’s decision to be childfree. But focus those venting sessions on *your* choices, not anyone else’s.