# Parents, why did you have kids? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106 "2016-09-05T17:07:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/61 "2016-09-07T18:43:00Z")
♫And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon…♫ ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/62 "2016-09-08T02:43:28Z")
Why did I have kids? I don’t know to tell you the truth. I haven’t regretted it though. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/63 "2016-09-08T21:16:30Z")
Because I wanted to experience the nightly mental chess game of trying to get a toddler to go to bed and stay there. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/64 "2016-09-09T03:12:11Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Because I wanted to experience the nightly mental chess game of trying to get a toddler to go to bed and stay there. Oh, I’m doing the same right now myself. ---
**Author:** ![jessaragen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3e96dc/32.png) [@jessaragen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessaragen)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/65 "2016-09-09T08:30:39Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > I’ve always enjoyed the company of children … so having some of my own seemed to be the next logical step … no regrets … I had a lot of fun raising my kids, I learned it takes about a half gallon of maple syrup to cover a four-year-old head-to-toe … the rest of wound up tracked all over the house … owww that’s amazing and sweet! That is highly important - to enjoy the process of bringing up your child ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/66 "2016-09-09T08:39:15Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > **you with the face** just had a baby today, everyone! Congratulations to the exhausted mommy, the proud daddy and the kind aunt who brought us the news 🙂 May the kid have great digestions and be a champion sleeper. > [@monstro](#): > > But it’s alright if the favorite aunt has a few oopsies, correct? > > \ I don’t know what will this one be like, of course, but a version of “bouncing on a knee” that some of “my” babies loved involved raising them an inch or two, which on the first time was enough for them to think I was standing them but but not enough for them to try and stand up, and letting my hands off so they’d bounce down. OOOOOOOOH! One of the cool things about babies is that it’s pretty easy to see if they like something or not. ---
**Author:** ![Mavic\_Chen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mavic\_Chen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavic_Chen)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/67 "2016-09-09T09:47:55Z")
We had a son after years of being together just because of her biological clock. It split us up and I hardly ever see him, so I am firmly in the “don’t know why I did it” camp. Don’t get anything out of it at all except occasional problems. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/68 "2016-09-09T21:39:28Z")
I’ve been circling this thread for three days now, trying to come up with an answer. I honestly don’t know. I really love them, really enjoyed them (they’re grown and gone), but I can’t give you a specific reason we decided to have kids. I guess it just seemed like the thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/69 "2016-09-09T23:24:20Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > **you with the face** just had a baby today, everyone! Let me be the first to say both congratulations AND insist that, from this day forward, we refer to this new bundle of joy as **you with the babyface** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/70 "2016-09-09T23:40:05Z")
Need a source for extra organs ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/71 "2016-09-09T23:46:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Let me be the first to say both congratulations AND insist that, from this day forward, we refer to this new bundle of joy as **you with the babyface** > > 😉 LOL! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106/72 "2016-09-17T14:22:57Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I’ve been circling this thread for three days now, trying to come up with an answer. > > I honestly don’t know. I really love them, really enjoyed them (they’re grown and gone), but I can’t give you a specific reason we decided to have kids. I guess it just seemed like the thing to do. Circling for a week, decided to pop in to say we were quite content to be “barren” (we always referred to ourselves that way, but with a laugh). Oh, but my best line was to an old lady at church who asked us when we’d be “starting a family”. I (transfixing her with a steely gaze) said “The two of us already _are_ a family.” But one day my wife turned to me and said “Y’know, if we wait 'til we’re ready, we’ll never have kids.” So we did. Turned out great… lots of worry, lots of joy, but they’re grown and gone now. So we can start catching up on those 10,000 hours of lost sleep… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-why-did-you-have-kids/765106.md?page=3)