I agree with @Coloma too…. just saying…. :-/
For me, I realised I didn’t want a family before I even entered my teens…… when my sister gave birth; she was still living at home. That kid would, scream & scream & scream. When I left for school; it was screaming. When I got home; it was screaming. When I was sat trying to study, scream, scream, scream!!! Then on weekends!, baby sitting! :-/
That kid drove me nuts for over a year…. I was soooo relieved to see the back of that kid; when my sis married her squaddie fella & moved out…. Then my brother moved his girlfriend in & they started knocking them out!! One, two, three…. I gave up; I moved out…. I was sixteen! I’d had enough of kids by then! Over the years I’ve seen how both my brother & sister have struggled financially; neither had great jobs, I feel the kids held them back tremendously. Although they would be reluctant to admit it themselves (DUH!! :-/)
My brother ended up with five girls ( nightmare ), my sister, three girls & two boys.. Only my brother works now; he has one daughter still living at home…. My sister & her husband have both been out of work for several years now & are living off what little benefits they get from the state & his disability allowance; still paying a mortgage, leaves them very little to feed & house her three that still live with them; although one of the lads does work now & contributes to the household bills (not much)….. Anyway; back to me! When I got married at twenty eight; I’d already had well over twelve years experience of what having a family (kids ) entailed. What stuck in my mind was the hardships; also from my own upbringing, we struggled too, my mother had nothing, very little in fact, the kids came first, us; She went without . The very same applied to my brother & sister… I knew long ago I wasn’t going to follow in their footsteps…. Besides, I’m really not patient enough with kids; other peoples, to a certain extent. Because I know they’ll be going home. Kids twenty four seven, I’d go insane! :-/
I’ll keep my cats thanks…. Kids are stupid!!, or is that dogs? :-/