Complete Without Kids: An Insider's Guide to Childfree Living by Choice or by Chance Paperback – January 1, 2011

I enjoyed this book a lot. It shows the path not taken and how the general population view those who take this path by choice. The topic for those who wanted to have children but couldn't is like the author said, very emotional and the book focuses more on those who decided to not have children by choice.I truly think that those who chose to be childfree are far more responsible than many parents, not all, many. Childfree adults actually sat themselves down and thought about whether or not they wanted children or took steps to prevent having children until they were ready. Keyword being wanted. Many people say they are going to have children. Like its some process that they have to go through to reach the golden years. I don't understand why people don't think more about bring a life, a human being into this world. It's become an afterthought to have children. The value of life dwindling to no longer being as precious. We aren't in an age where children are needed to help continue the population or where the mortality rate is high and life expectance is low. There are plenty of methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies, buying birth control is far cheaper than raising a child for the next 18 years. So at this point in our speices we should seriously consider what it means and what follows when having children. I think if people seriously thought if they actually wanted, could properly provide for children there would be far less children in the foster system, abused, or neglected. People also don't take their jobs as parents seriously. Thinking they can just go pleading to the government for money and assistance. In a lot of legitimate circumstances these programs help a lot of families. In other chances these programs enable bad parents to continue to no get jobs or step up to their role as a parent. I've seen this side of parenthood more than those blissful moments of parenting. I by no means am anti-child, I simply wish and hope that every child entering this world is entering with a fair and fighting chance given to them by responsible parents. It's all about being responsible.I'm still very young being in my mid 20's and still very much on the fence of whether or not I want to have a child of my own. Both paths have pros and cons. I don't think either side should be hostile to each other. It's simply a life choice. Both sides have their losses, childfree adults miss the parenting experience but there are other ways to fullfill that need and they keep their freedom and independence, parents lose that independence and freedom but they get to watch something they created grow. This book shows a lot of insight for the path of being a childfree adult. There were some aspects that I didn't agree with like the love of a pet is that of a parent and child. I'm not dismissing that a person can have a deep emotional connection with a family pet. And I do think that if bosses are letting parents slide with leaving work early for a personal reason then that should be applied to all employees equally. But in the heirarchy of value of life a child is above an animal, this is my belief and I understand if people don't agree.I think it is uncalled for that people viewed childfree adults as selfish. I believe both sides are equally selfish and selfless. A parent will do anything for THEIR child. That's both selish and selfless. A childfree adult could mentor, volunteer, even be a babysitter acts that are selfless but they have that extra time to do those things along with whatever they wany because they chose to not have kids, selfish. So its all about deciding which is right for you. I think every young adult should read this book just to open them to the concepts that women don't HAVE to have a child and it doesn't make them cold, unmotherly people if they choose so, being parents isn't the only option in life or as cracked up as it's made to be, that if you're thinking about having children they should think and talk about it then think and talk about it some mor and ask themselves if they can truly give their child the life they want to give them.

Reluctantly, I confess that it is strictly my own decision and idea to be child-free (since the age of 8). I say reluctantly because my husband expressed his feeling that I would have made a good mother and that we would have had beautiful children together. However, his decision to spend the rest of his current lifetime with me is constant even with my choice to be child-free.Complete Without Kids: An Insider's Guide to Childfree Living by Choice or by Chance by Ellen L. Walker caught my attention because of my interest to seek out books that support a voluntary choice to be child-free. There are more than enough families who have more than four children per household (just in the United States of America alone) to make up for the number of men and women who voluntarily decide to stay child-free.I admit that I'm not sure how my biological mother and adoptive mother would have felt about my firm decision to stay childfree. This is only because both women died within 18 months of each other and before I married my current husband (who I met in 2002 and married in 2004). However, I would like to think that both my biological mother and adoptive mother would have been supportive about my certain decision to stay childfree (if they were still alive today).Additionally, most women that I see who truly enjoy being mothers are depression free, are prosperous enough to afford help in caring for their children and/or have parents around who would immediately drop what they were doing to help look after the children.I am thankful for all of my family members and friends. Additionally, some of the celebrities and people that I admire in real life are parents. However, it is important to me that I collect information on others who bravely share their stories on being childfree. This is especially due to both my acceptance and awareness that there are others who are going to judge my husband and I for voluntarily choosing to be child-free. Additionally, I come from a large family where many of the adults enjoy being parents and a big portion of their identity is proudly tied into that life experience. To be one of the few adults to politely declare my decision to be kid-free can be tricky in such a situation. I actually knew since the age of 8 that I was going to choose the child-free path, but I was obviously only taken seriously in my decision about 9 years ago (after I got married).Walker courageously interviews and shares the stories of other adults who have chosen to be child-free. She explains the dynamics behind the decision making of voluntarily choosing to be childfree and how the concepts of love and money tie into such an important choice. There are also resources included for those who are certain that they want to partake in the child-free route. "Complete Without Kids: An Insider's Guide to Childfree Living by Choice Or By Chance" by Ellen Walker is also a suitable accompaniment to Kidfree & Lovin It by Kaye D. Walters.

Recomendado a cualquier persona ambivalente en su decision de tener hijos. Decidir una vida libre de hijos, no solo es valido, sino sano y correcto

I enjoyed this book. It is the first book I have read about deciding not to have children and felt it was a good introduction. I did find the repeated text that the previous commenter mentioned unnecessary too (the original text could have been bolded for emphasis) though all in all, I enjoyed it and found it useful. I am in my mid thirties and am happy with my decision to be child free but I actually found the exercises at the end of each chapter useful and thought provoking. It's not the 'usual book format' but I felt that the style of the book, helped take you on your own journey and unearthed some questions and thoughts for me that I hadn't considered before.

A well researched and edited book, which is vital reading for anyone seeking their own answers and truth about being childfree. Clever chapter structure gathers real life stories into thematic overviews, but never in a simplistic way. Thought provoking and refreshing, there are also useful questions at the end of each chapter to challenge the heart and mind. This doesn't turn it into a "self-help" book, but one which invites us to consider big questions with honesty and clarity. We need more books like this on the subject of being childfree, and reading this book helped me in many ways on first reading, and on the second and third over time.

This book could be, for someone who's uncertain about their child free status, a really thought provoking read. For me, it simply confirmed a lot of what I already knew about myself ... But it is nice to be validated sometimes.

Walker writes with thought about what can be an emotive topic. I was pleased to see many of my own thoughts about living childfree reflected on the page.