Super Little Things That Puzzle You II: Turbo X

[gunrock]

I have three. It's hard work but great. I always thought I'd have kids and thankfully my wife was the same- she was just born to be a mum.

Just this weekend the kids wanted to play a game together, so we spun up Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 on the Switch and all four of us (19 yo daughter, 12 year old twin boys) button mashed and bludgeoned our way through a few levels. It was great.

[Cassius_Smoke]

[MENTION=16665]Blobcat[/MENTION]
That's incredibly candid, thank you for sharing.

I honestly didn't think I'd spark such a discussion from a simple observation I'd made.

[dataDave]

My little boy is my best friend and everything. I was a little apprehensive about being a dad at first as I’m such a selfish twat, but it’s working out okay so far. We just had a girl, so I’m done now. Three would have been nice for 4P multiplayer but that would make holidays and scheduling day-to-day far too difficult.

[Neon Ignition]

I always wanted kids and have gone the full spectrum of being in my twenties and thinking I was in no rush, hitting thirty and thinking it probably won't happen, landing in my mid-thirties going through the rollercoaster of getting some and now hitting my forties and being done. It's been... eventful and has highlighted a lot along the way.

I fully respect those who don't want kids because it's simply not the right decision for them personally. No-one who doesn't want them should force themselves into it, especially for others badgering them. Of the people I've known who have been against having any, typically you get the sense that there's more behind their reasoning that they want to keep to themselves which is fine, it just seems a bit excessive to be anti-child in general especially vocally if one is around. But likewise there are far, far more who do want them and really shouldn't have them.

We originally talked about having four but have settled on three. The few occasions we have someone else's kid around, four feels a bit much and in reality the journey can be stressful and heart wrenching. When myself and my missus got together we started trying around two years in, given we were starting older we didn't want to let too much time pass. Close to three years passed till we ended up with Jr1, it getting to a point where we figured we might not be able to.

We had our three kids over a 5 year period, but those three kids took six pregnancies and it's those other three that really highlight why it's such an awful thing for people to try and heavy hand those who don't want kids into trying to get them to have one. It's not just a hard experience, but as one of those other three showcased, it's still a dangerous and potentially life threatening process not to be taken lightly and that's not touching on the lifetime of parenthood that follows.

Fortunately we got the outcome we wanted, they drive us up the wall but they're worth every moment. If we hadn't have been able to have any we'd have 100% adopted. But on a daily basis you see people who are just so disengaged from their role as parents or are absolutely terrible at it. As long as it's a genuine feeling then no-one should make you feel bad for not wanting any.

[Colin]

In my twenties I liked the idea of being a parent, but was in no way capable of having a stable relationship. Due to having come from a broken home myself, I would never have wanted a family with someone who I didn't think I was going to be with for good.

As I hit my thirties and got a bit more level I would give myself wee targets of "If it happens by this age it'll be fine" and year on year I'd extend that until eventually I just wasn't bothered by it. If I'm being honest I'm glad that was the case. I met my wife in my early forties and we've now been together eight years, neither of us at our age were interested in having kids by the time we met. In the first couple of years we were together I remember us having a slight 'scare' which turned out not to be a pregnancy at all, and both of us were so relieved.

I do however like kids, but definitely like having kids around that can be handed back to being someone else's responsibility! Some people see what I'm going to say next as being selfish, but we never wanted to lose the freedom to do what we like, when we like, by having kids. If it's selfish to want to enjoy your life for yourself and not for the opinions of others then maybe so, but we're very happy with our choice. Our dog is pretty much the level of responsibility we want!

I definitely think in our area there are clearly loads of kids who haven't been brought up well by unengaged parents or are spoiled to the point that they are absolute little ****s, but that outcome definitely lies in the hands of bad parenting. Every time I see a kid take a meltdown in my shop I might take a wee sigh of relief with my own life choices.

[Baseley09]

42 and got first kid on the way, just sold my Samantha Fox Mirror on which she had her baps out so yeah deffo getting too sensible.

[Blobcat]

I remember my first dental boss was excited that he and his wife can start going out more with clubbing and such as their son was (happily) going to boarding school for his secondary education. The summer holidays before he leaves they go on a family cruise and...came back with an extra member of the family on the way.

He was a bit shell shocked about the future but delighted at the same time. Wasn't happy about selling his car for a more baby friendly one though.

It's getting around that time again that the youngest is going to start secondary school next year so I hope he plans the future more carefully unless he wants the same to happen again!

A few of my closest friends are having kids later, my mum had me later but nearer 30 than 40 but are definitely more prepared in life than they would have been in their 20s.

[fuse]

Another here on the cusp of my 40s who's not had and isn't going to have a child. We were both in our 30s when I met my partner, and at that stage with biological clocks being what they are, you can't responsibly be out dating and not have your head straight on the topic to at least allow for the conversation up front.

I can absolutely see the appeal of having kids, but not to the detriment of everything else in my life. I do like my life the way it is, and particularly with my health being what it is (rubbish), I just can't picture being in any kind of state in my 50s to be able or willing to keep up with a teenager.

Thankfully my mum's great and has never vocalised any expectations she might've had, but given how active she's been with my sister's two I think she's probably had her fill of it all.

[CMcK]

I’m 47 and childless. My ex partner didn’t want children so that was that. Among my friends and family roughly half of them have one or two children with rest childless. Most of the childless have a failed marriage behind them too. I adore my nieces and nephews and thankfully they’re still happy to do stuff with me. But it’s not the same as having your own. I’d start a family tomorrow if I meet the right woman but I appreciate it might not be prudent to do so at my age.

[Neon Ignition]

That's an acronym - What does it stand for?

[Lebowski]

to jump on the crtism of a show about having a 100% white cast

Fails, Racial Inclusivity, Entirely Non Diverse Stars

[Neon Ignition]

Suddenly I'm spotting background celebrity... cars


Santa Claus: The Movie





The Continental: The John Wick Universe

[Neon Ignition]

Still somewhat puzzled by the level of fuss I'm hearing about Murder on the Dancefloor being No.1 again. So much chatter about it being a rediscovered social media frenzy moment etc

It was never a song that 'went away' and the film that has helped it to rise back to No.1 can't be that big of a lightning rod cultural event given its fairly dire box office?
Feels like it more exposes once again how abysmal the singles chart sales are that old songs are regularly bubbling to the surface again

[wakka]

It never went away for us, cos we're old.

Gen Z are discovering it for the first time, in a cool scene in a cool film (where the box office is not really relevant IMO since it hit streaming so quickly).

[Neon Ignition]

"Most users ever online was 25,592 at 14:37 on 26-04-2024."


What the hell was going on last Friday on this site?