A man on TikTok shared an exasperating experience with his relatives, who tried to get him to look after their 5 children while they went onvacationwithout even asking for his permission first.
More info:TikTok
Image credits:Andy Kuzma (not the actual photo)
“Call me crazy, but I think if you have kids, you should be the one in charge of them”
“My cousin and his wife, the ones who have six kids, and constantly leave them with me, because they need a ‘break,’ have decided that they’re going to Thailand. I [said], ‘wasn’t that really expensive to book eight tickets for all of you to go?’ They [said], ‘what are you talking about? We’re gonna leave them with you because you work from home.’”
Image credits:@unwedvampire
“And I’m just thinking, I do work from home. Just because I’m at home doesn’t mean I don’t work”
“This is why I didn’t have kids. And they also called my mum and [said], ‘he’s not being cooperative. He’s not being considerate. He’s not, he’s just being selfish.’ So now my mum’s on my case, ‘oh my God, just do this as a favor. You work from home, so it’s fine for you.’ If anyone has any advice, that would be greatly appreciated.”
Image credits:Asad Photo Maldives (not the actual photo)
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Bored PandainterviewedVeronica and Rick, the authors ofThe Childfree Connectionpage. They mentioned that they are on a mission to connect childfree people around the world and guide the community into living their most fulfilled lives. They shared that “there is a general assumption that childfree people have extra time. Although for many, this can be true, it does not offer outsiders a free pass to hijack whatever time is available.”
Veronica and Rick mentioned the assumptions that people have about childfree folks, stating that, “they are ‘expected’ to pick up the slack in theworkplaceor with family members because they don’t have the built-in child-caring excuse. This discrepancy comes down to a lack of mutual respect for the different lifestyles.”
“Society does not question parents on whether they are managing their time effectively but childfree people are questioned as to why they wouldn’t offer up their free time for anyone at any time. Neither side should be questioned because ultimately, we just don’t know what is happening behind closed doors,” they added.
According to asurvey of childfree people, it was observed that they faced discrimination in the workplace with 63% being denied time off, 69% having to work overtime, and 70% being given a greater workload. Studies onvoluntarily childfreepeople found that people often believe that they are “selfish, cold, and materialistic.”
Veronica and Rick also mentioned that “another assumption is childfree people lack responsibility because all we do is jet-set and chill. Although we encourage celebration of our lifestyle and soak in the deliciousness of our choice, our lives are just as layered and complicated as those with kids.”
Veronica shared her experience as achildfree woman, saying: “while I received a barrage of judgment and criticism about my ‘selfish’ choice, his friends high fived him for ‘dodging a bullet.’ As a couple, though, we tend to be placed under the umbrella of all these false assumptions.”
“Since the assumption of selfishness and the accusation of ‘something is wrong with you’ mainly falls on women, I created a6-week program[for] women who are stuck in the decision to (potentially) not have kids due to the fears, anxiety and judgement from outside sources,” she shared.
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