It seemed like a good idea at the time, something that has ruled my life for good or bad.
Change 1989 to 1969, twenty-seven to forty-seven, and your statement speaks for Mrs. Cretin and me. Perfectly. Ages 66 and 70, our “elderly” years already underway, and never a moment’s regret, misgiving, or “wonder what if” for either of us.
It seemed obvious to me that the best thing I could do to beautify the world would be to make sure my wife’s genes were perpetuated as much as possible.
I dunno. Maybe it was the fucking?
Ex-wife was a catholic. I was woefully unprepared for parenthood.
Your experience is not universal. The Mrs. and I have been going at it together for over 4 decades, and still feel it’s getting even more fun as time goes on.
But the kids were definitely planned. Because we wanted kids. Never doubts about it.
Mine were happy accidents. 
Okay.
But humans are one of approximately 8 to 10 million species on Earth, for pretty much every one of which procreation is normal and natural.
That seems to imply that not procreating is not natural.
When a mommy and a daddy really love one another… and booze is involved…and the stars aligned…
My wife always wanted kids. I always wanted to pass on my amazing genes and watch them do better with another chance at things. My wife was unemployed and bored so we figured kidlette one would fill her boredom. Now we’re figuring on kidlette two in early 2018.
That being said I don’t like kids or really want to be around them so I am treasuring each milestone as it makes her closer to a functional person who will be awesome.
They don’t have that no questions asked return policy at the hospital. I don’t know, maybe they do when they’re new, but after a few years even if you have the receipt they won’t take them back.
It is kind of the number one thing selected for by evolution. After all, if your parents didn’t have any children, you probably won’t have any either.
Ditto here on all counts. My oldest started on the first try, which made us really happy about being careful before. (44 years for us.)
There is one universal command given to all life and that command is procreation.
It seemed like a good idea at the time… oh, wait, that’s already been said.
We wanted a family. We’d have liked to have had 2 kids, at least at the time, but it wasn’t to be. And once we got our daughter out of college and on her own, we were relieved we were done with all that, especially looking at our friends who were trying to put 3 kids thru college.
On one hand, I’m sorry our daughter doesn’t have any siblings, but she’s pretty close to her cousins, so she’ll have family of her generation when we’re gone. So far, she has no children of her own - maybe she’s the last of the line?
Why did we have a kid? Lots of reasons; I guess the most self-serving reason was because we wanted to experience all that life has to offer, and a major aspect of life is child-rearing. We could have gone on very comfortably doing the things we do, without a kid; the risk was I suppose that life could have seemed somewhat stale and predictable, after a time.
Without a doubt, kids shake things up. Kids give you a new perspective on things. Life seems amplified - the highs are higher and the lows are lower, as it were. They take you out of your comfort zone for good and for bad.
A part of the joy of having a child, to me, is to experience all over again the stuff I myself loved as a kid. Going up to the cottage on the long weekend, we saw the Milky Way and counted satellites and shooting stars. I could do that without a kid of course, but the delight and wonder of a young child seeing these things for the first time is kinda difficult to replicate in slightly shopworn adult. 
Another big part of it is hard to explain without sounding corny: the child-parent relationship has a quality of love to it (or ought to anyway) that doesn’t exist in any other sort of relationship. Why do people enter into romantic and living-together relationships with people of their chosen gender(s), which creates all sorts of hassles and compromises for them, rather than just seeking sex when they are horny? Part of the reasons are somewhat similar; because people crave community and affection. Children provide a different aspect of community and affection than romantic partners, but a compelling aspect nonetheless.
Which leads to another aspect: kids help create the future of community and affection for you. Without kids, your future is bounded by your friendship and romantic bonds, and there is no guarantee that these will last, or that new ones will form to replace the old ones.
Me: Male, 47 years old.
Mrs. MeanJoe: Late 30’s and we’ll just leave it at that.
I was always on the fence about the topic, or maybe more accurately I was indifferent. Occasionally I’d have the “What if…?” thought exercises or wonder if I was missing out on something. But I also really enjoyed the life I had - a good paying career, an awesome house, and the freedom to basically do almost anything I wanted.
Mrs. MeanJoe had always stated emphatically that she did not want to have kids. She is/was the greatest Aunt in the world but she did not want to have children of her own. When we were dating and things were becoming much more serious, she sat me down to make sure I was okay with never having children. At the time the best I could say is that although I could not say for certain I do not want to have children, I also did not feel any real compelling reason that I must have children. So we sorta-agreed that we would not have children and I was comfortable with her position being much stronger than mine on the topic.
Then came our honeymoon, roughly 3 years ago… she rolled over in bed, with the sound of the ocean waves whispering through our window and suggested “Maybe one…?”.
After our honeymoon, we thought it over and discussed it several times over a few months. As she was the one who was originally opposed to kids, I really did not push one way or another and let her come to her own decision on the topic and basically (to myself) decided to support whatever position she arrived at. That decision ended up being that we would try for 12 months, the standard way without using any fertility methods, etc. If it happened, it was meant to be.
I put the puck in the net on the first shot. puffs up chest
Our daughter is now 18 months old and is loved so completely by us both. Neither of us can imagine our life without her now. She is my everything and brings me so much joy in ways I never even knew were possible. She also brings me more anxiety, fear, and uncertainty than I ever had for myself and my own future. I had no idea one could worry about another so much! Haha.
We have absolutely no regrets over having a child and I am so thankful that my wife, for a whole variety of reasons, opened the door to reconsidering having children.
I don’t have children, but if I did, it would be for this reason;
I felt I would enjoy being a parent (I like kids, I like spending time with kids, I like Lego), and that has worked out pretty well because I do enjoy being a parent.