Parents Hate Parenting?

@BroadwayBk Your post made me stop and think .. Children are a source of infinite joy though parenting is definitely no walk in the park. I come from a culture where people believe children are a gift from god and people in India usually have children because they think that they will have someone to look after them when they are aged(Not really true nowadays have seen tons of incidents where children who are busy with their lives and families make no time for their parents). In fact I saw a documentary on British TV recently which featured a fertility clinic in New Delhi which was helping women reverse menopause so that they could fulfill their dream of having a child.
However living as I do in NYC, I am torn at the thought of having a child in this city. Sometimes I do get broody and want to have one asap but I do think it would be incredibly hard especially since I dont have a support system here. I dont have any family in NYC so I think it would be incredibly tough for me.. that being said if it were to happen I am sure I would rise to the challenge and would not be unhappy about it.

According to that story, parents are in denial about just how unhappy their kids make them. Of course I can understand why: parents love their children, and don't want to see them as a burden. But that article makes a really good point in that the later you wait to have kids the more you know what you are missing out on. You can't travel the world with kids - you could hardly write a novel, unless you could afford daycare or never slept. I can honestly see why having kids wouldn't make you happier than if you didn't have them.

I know some parents in their mid-twenties who obviously regret not being able to do as they please, though they will stifle these out-loud musings with iterations about how much they love their kids.

@BroadwayBK Interesting article. I only got a couple of pages into it, but I'll have to come back and finish it before I comment further.

That was such a depressing article. It makes me never want to have children - and I always thought I'd want some! But I can't help but think - will it make my life miserable?

That's true, @neversleeps - but as someone who hasn't had kids and thus doesn't necessarily understand - I'd want to have purpose with or without children. Although I do dream of raising/indoctrinating a charmingly bohemian mutilingual girl named Sophia, dressing her in anachronstic outfits, teaching her classic literature at a preternaturally young age, etc..

@ajadedidealist I too would love to have a girl...btw @everyone did you know that many NYC parents actually indulge in gender selection and there are docs in the city that can indeed help with the procedure.
http://www.observer.com/node/39166

@uptowngirl, BroadwayBK I agree that the idea of determining gender/ eye color of children is a creepy idea. Not only is it irrelevant to the person that they'll turn out to be, but pretty much the entire significance of the relationship you build with this little person you've helped create is the commitment to loving them no matter how they turn out.

@DBlack I totally agree with you especially since I come from a culture where the male child is revered and much sought after and the female child is treated like an after thought.. why in my own family that happened when my brother was born..my grandmother distributed sweets to all and sundry while my grandfather gave the workers in our family business a bonus. There were no such celebrations when either me or my other female cousins was born.
Personally I believe as long as you have a healthy child it really doesnt matter what sex he/she is, of course that being said I would love to have a girl but if it doesnt happen will not love any son of mine any less.

I wonder if you can even manipulate genetics to the point where there is no room for failure. I'll bet that even if you paid a cool million for your baby boy to have blue eyes, there is still the off chance that you may end up with a brown eyed baby girl.

@uptowngirl I always say that rather than having my own kids, I'm just going to adopt an unwanted Chinese baby girl. Personally, I'd rather have a girl.

@all - don't worry - I was just kidding (mostly). I don't intend to actually indoctrinate my kids into being little me-clones. Although my boyfriend does at times flat-out refuse to let me name my hypothetical children either Cyril or Artemisia, so he may balance out my parenting with some much-needed sanity.