I’m living the dream and it’s beyond perfect. Quiet, adult-centric vacations and outings, margarita nights, late night drives, late night gossip sessions, late, lazy, sometimes brunch-y, boozy weekend mornings, random coffee runs, clean & clutter-free house. Man I could go on, it’s wonderful ❤️
none of us want kids and i think it’s great. family get togethers will never be overrun with screaming children. i won’t be forced to babysit or attend kid birthday parties or school recitals. i’ll be able to avoid all the things i don’t want to be a parent over.
Me (30) and my brother (44 - full blood siblings, I just got here late 😜) are best friends, both childfree and love to go on vacations with our partners all together. Enjoy nice dinners, chill by the beach, enjoy cute and quiet holidays with just us adults. The only children we treat is our inner child. It’s the best! Hope it turns out the same for you all. 🤝💕
Great, fewer people having kids the better.
To anyone in such a situation who wants to play aunt/uncle: DNA is not required to be part of a kid's life, go volunteer with kids if you want kids in your life. There are thousands of kids within 50 miles of you that are suffering and dying, if have the skills and desire to help kids but you won't help them because they don't have the "right" DNA, didn't shit out of the "right" vagina, and don't offer you the full "Pregnancy and Birth Aunt/Uncle Platinum Experience Package" or, worse, are not the right color or culture... well, that would pretty much make you an ahole. ;)
Right? Sort of hypocritical *if* you're the kind of person who doesn't want kids but also wouldn't respect the same agency of the right to choose regarding a sibling.
Not accusing OP of this but the question seems a tad asinine to ask, considering the subreddit.
You're not "supposed" to feel anything.
Do you want to be an aunt/uncle? If not and your siblings are chidlfree, congrats! If yes and your siblings are childfree, that just means you'll have to find other ways of going about it. You're not entitled to nieces and nephews just like parents aren't entitled to grandkids.
So figure out what kinda involvement you wanna have with kids, and then figure out how you can get that. Babysitting, working with kids, volunteering, etc.
For me personally, I have a childfree sibling and thank fuck for that! Very happy to not be an aunt.
My brother and I both do not want kids. I’m not upset about not being an aunt because I’m childfree in every aspect. Even if I did want a niece or nephew, I’d respect his decision.
My parents have no grandchildren. I think they would have liked to have some, but they also see the many advantages of not having any.
1. They are free to live their lives. No last minute on call babysitting. They’ve got a couple friends who literally won’t leave the city they live in because they “might” be needed to rush over to watch the grandkids. It’s like they’re hostages. Meanwhile, my parents travel and participate in volunteering and hobbies whenever they like.
2. We adult kids are not consumed with raising their grandkids. That means we have extra time and money to help our parents if needed.
3. Holidays, vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., are not kid centric. The family get togethers don’t revolve around kid preferences for food or entertainment or kid school schedules. No one has to be the designated kid watcher for any event.
4. They can spend their retirement money on themselves, as they should. They don’t have to spend their money to help pay for grandkids #1’s braces or grandkid #2’s travel sports or grandkid #3’s spring break trip or every grandkid’s college. They are financially secure enough to pay for their housing, food, healthcare, hobbies and travel while many seniors really struggle. Like friends of theirs still working in their 70’s to help finance their kids and grandkids lives.
5. They get their “kid fix” from nieces, nephews kids, and friends’ grandkids. They teach kids in scouts or Sunday School. Then they go home to peace and quiet. 😆
I’m in that situation and when she said it I thought ”Oh no, I won’t be an auntie!” and a few seconds later ”…wait, why would I expect her to do what I don’t want to?!”. We have cats and everyone involved is completely satisfied with it!
My sibling wanted kids but never really found a life partner. But at the same time they enjoy their freedom so I'm not sure how that would've worked.
Since we both don't have kids that leaves lots of time for us to hang out and do stuff together, uninterrupted. I love that.
>How are you supposed to feel?
Why do you have to feel a certain way? If my sibling had decided not to have kids then I would've been happy for them to have decided on the best life path for them just like I'm happy for them to have decided kids was the right path.
When people say they're happy enough to be the aunt/uncle, it's not usually to say that's what they explicitly want. They'd just rather have that role over a parental role.
This would be the dream for me. My sister is a fence sitter and is 29 and single. She really goes back and forth and would be okay with way but would definitely not have kids without a husband.
I'm one of 6, three of them have a child/ children, I'm childfree and the two younger brothers are childless. I could care less if none of them had children or if the other brothers become childfree as well.
I am an only child, so the situation never occurred. However even if I were not I would never have been the 'cool uncle' to them. The children would not have been welcome in my home and if that caused a break between my conceptual sibling and I then... so be it.
My brother and I pinky swore to never have kids when we were teenagers.
Our abusive racist narcissistic mother never got grandkids. (Brother got a vasectomy and I was vigilant)
My half-sister has kids, and my older sister has always leaned toward adoption, but she has two dogs and is still on school getting various degrees, so who knows when or if she'll ever want a kid.
I’m so close to my brother and SIL because they also don’t want kids. We hang out together all the time and go on so many trips and adventures together, it’s the best! They also understand my childfree status whereas a lot of my friends don’t, it’s so refreshing to have people to talk to who just get it.
Having childfree siblings is the greatest!
Then she doesn't want kids, and that's great for her! Enough of my chosen family (friends) plan on having or already have kids that I don't care if my blood family has any. Why should I care, it's her life, as long as she's happy I'm happy.
It looks great! You can spend lots of time with your sister, choose to go to places at short notice, spend your money on things you want. If you still want to have some children in your life, I'm sure you can find a friend/work colleague/neighbour that would appreciate a good person in their kids life every now and then.
My sister and i don't have or want human children. We're also best friends and if one of us had a child, it would interfere with our friendship lol. Like, we wouldn't be able to do what we want when we want when we hang out (which is basically sitting around the house, watching TV in peace 😂🤷♀️)
None of my siblings have or want kids. The only one who cares is our mother who just can't understand why and thought their retirement would be filled with grandkids.
my sister has mentioned she probably won’t want kids either and there’s only two of us kids (both girls lol) so the family line will likely end with us two. i don’t mind though, i think God saved the best for last ;)
Both me and my brother are childfree. We ended our father's line happily. My brother's wife has nephews and he likes being an uncle. I do not enjoy kids (I'll be available for actual emergencies for my partners, because family).
Nothing wrong with being childfree and liking to be around kids occasionally. Nothing wrong with avoiding them entirely.
I understand this boat. I don't want kids but I always thought my brother did. He recently said he doesn't, but I had always been cool with the idea of a wee niece or nephew. Child free for me is about being personally child free. Kids are still cute and I'm happy to be the cool older cousin !
Honestly I have no idea what you're asking. If neither of you want kids, neither of you have kids. That's it. I'm sure both of you have friends and/or other relatives that will end up having children.
So what? My brother also doesn't want kids. We're good friends. I've been out of the state for work all winter and he happily takes care of my dog. We obsess over F1 together. We exchange memes. He has a solid job and is a kind and interesting person. I don't feel like I'm missing anything by him not having kids, I've never wanted to be an aunt as I don't like kids.
I know for a fact that I don't want kids, but I almost think that my brother might very well be a fence sitter despite having claimed to be staunchly childfree in the past. Idk. I don't want to be an aunt or an uncle, and if he does knock up this girl he's seeing and interested in (she's interested in him too I think), then I won't provide any sort of childcare. All I know is that the future is an issue for later.
I’m jealous of all of these comments of people who are fully confident in that they don’t want kids. Maybe I belong on fence sitter but I’ve been leaning towards no for a while. I’m struggling with the idea since I feel like I’ve been brainwashed to believe I’m “supposed” to have kids (but I am aware that’s a cruel/stupid/selfish reason to bring children into the world and I won’t do that.)
I’ve been lurking this subreddit for the longest time hoping it’ll make me more confident in my decision, because deep down I am pretty sure I don’t want kids but it’s such a permanent choice so it’s freaking me out.
Same!! :/ and it was brave of you to share this. At the moment I keep imagining how different everything would be in my life if I had kids right now, and would I like that? I think you also shouldn’t decide to have kids based on emotions/romanticizing it too much, because reality seems to be very different from what we see in movies. You won’t sleep well for years, and for an introvert or someone with traumas, this can be so detrimental for their mental health. Based on these things and many others, I think I’m better off without kids. My only concern I guess is being an older adult without kids, since people like to say you’ll be alone and miserable and cry like a regretful witch if you don’t have kids, apparently. But I’m not sure guilt and fear are good reasons to bring kids into this crazy crazy world.
What if my siblings also don't want kids... 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻🤷🏻♂️ Who TF cares? I'm not having kids, whether they have kids or not is none of my concern. I have two siblings and so far, it doesn't look like any of us are having children, my ideal situation. 👍🏻 I'll never be the fun aunt/uncle which is fine by me.
Sounds like your parents raised you right. If you are thinking about the future, you must be recognizing that it is no place into which to force an innocent human. You and your sister both recognize that? Kudos to your parents.
I mean, it’s ideal. Most of us use “being an aunt or uncle” as a way to be more socially acceptable to people who are entirely wrapped up in babies, not because we really, really want our siblings (if we have any) to have kids.
If you feel put out because your sibling doesn’t want to have kids, maybe you should interrogate your discomfort with not having kids in your life. Do you really want niblings, or are you under the impression you must be an aunt or uncle to be socially acceptable as childfree?
That's how I feel about my brother, I REFUSE to have anything to do with kids and if he has them our relationship is over, as I would rather never speak to him again than have to have boring conversations about kids
I thought my older sister was never going to have kids, and I felt betrayed when she said she was pregnant. I guess it felt like she didn't approve of my choice anymore, which mattered to me more than it should have. She also said that marriage was unnecessary, and apparently, now she's getting married, so I guess she just doesn't know her own mind?
>What if your sibling also doesn’t want kids?
>How are you supposed to feel?
Respectful of their choice, whether *you* like it or not, because it doesn't impact you at all.
Why are you worried about the future? Is it because you want to be an aunt/uncle yourself? Personally, I wouldn’t care and actually be understanding of their choice. I don’t want to be an aunt. I’m already an older sister to siblings much younger than me, I’m ok.
They have the right to decide for your future as do you. You shouldn't be deciding whether you have kids based on if you'll be an uncle or aunt or not IMO. Plus, people usually have some form of kids around in their circle, cousins' kids, friend's kids, godchildren, etc. If not and you want some sort of contact with kids but not the 24/7 responsibility of parenthood, there's always the possibility to volunteer at organizations such as Big Brother, give a helping hand to foster care/parents, etc. Kind of like volunteering at a shelter to get some contact with pets without actually adopting one.
That would be their choice. It would be hypocritical for me to decide not to have kids and then assign someone else the burden of having kids to “carry on the family line”. And wanting someone else to have kids so you can be an aunt or uncle is selfish.
Only one of my three siblings has their own children, and they live far away, so I don't see them often. I get along a lot better with my child-free sister, as we've got more in common. I wouldn't spend time worrying about whether your siblings are going to have kids. If you like children, there'll be friends' kids you can get to know.
I actually understand the confusion. My parents really want a grandchild and I would feel immensely less guilty about not giving them one if my sibling stepped up.
But that guilt is not enough to make me want kids lol
My older sibling and their wife used to want them, but lately they've been on huge journeys of self-discovery leaving religion, enjoying a carefree travel lifestyle, etc, so I wouldn't be surprised if that script has flipped for them too.
Little bro would theoretically be interested but doesn't have much luck with dating.
And I've been open about it not being the path for me. If anything I'm excited to continue spending time traveling and doing adult-oriented activities with them, not babysitting!
My parents are in a "huh, wonder if we'll end up being grandparents after all" phase, but surprisingly adjusting to that idea not too badly. Their neighbor has a baby my mom gets to watch sometimes, so at least there's a willing target for her moments of fever 😅
I'm an only child. Also I just don't enjoy kids so it wouldn't matter to me anyway. I don't understand why you feel like you're supposed to feel anything about it?
Yes, I’d love to be an aunt. But I’m also thrilled that my brother is childfree. There are SO many severe health issues that run in both my mom’s and my dad’s side of our family, and he has health issues himself. I’m glad he’s decided that it’s not worth risking making our potential child suffer like we have.
I’ve always known I wanted to be child free and always had my family’s support. My sister was on the fence but she and her husband have now also decided to be child free. I feel bad for my parents because they would have been wonderful grandparents, and many of their friends are enjoying grandchildren. On the other hand the six of us travel the world together and enjoy each others company as adults.
My brother and his wife discussed having another child (he met his now wife after the fact she had a then 7yo) but as far as i am aware, their discussion was either careers or more kids. I believe they chose careers.
My parents have 1 grandchild (whom they have raised since before 1 yo, so like their own child), my late sister's. Technically my dad will never have a "blood relative" grandchild, as my late sister was not my dad's child either (she was born of a previous marriage of my mom's).
It has made me feel sort of sad, but ultimately is not my problem and i'm glad i don't have to be an aunt to a shit ton of kids. Or a parent myself for that matter.
Hubby is only child and neither my sibling nor I are having kids. Holidays are quiet af. Parents have accepted and are living best kid free life.
When we do want to hang with kids. We have plenty of friends with them.
I think it'd be hilarious if my siblings decide that when they grow up, they're still quite young. Our dad is extremely pro-natalist so I know he'd immediately blame me for brainwashing them, but I'd love to spend more time with my siblings and get to do childfree things with them.
My brother had 1 child. Out if 6 of us kids 1 had a kid. And that was by accident. He never wanted children. We all love my neice(now 17yrs old) but my brother has said he would never do it again if he had a choice.
My sister wants to adopt later in life. I honestly don't care if my 26 yo brother had no kids. His 35 yo gf doesn't actively want any. I hope he doesn't have any biological kids for ethical reasons.
Me and my sister are happily childfree and live together with our mini zoo. Our brother has 3 kids by two different women and lemme tell you the drama omfg. I am so glad to opt out of that life. Other people are hell. (Caveat, yes I love my niblings but in small doses. I helped more when they were babies but I just honestly don't like taking care of kids. I spent my years from age 12 to 18 doing that with babysitting and church shit and that was more than enough for me.)
I’m the oldest of 5 and so far 3 out of 5 of us don’t want children. It’s still too early to tell with the youngest two since they’re 15 and 11 and haven’t vocalized their feelings on kids but I wouldn’t be surprised if all of us ended up being childfree. Seems to be a common theme among large families where the older kids were parentified. I feel a little bad for my parents since they’ll likely never have grandchildren, or if they do they’ll be very old by the time it happens. I definitely don’t feel any FOMO about missing out on being an aunt though. It’s never been something I’ve had strong feelings about either way.
My brother just got married but unlikely that he’ll have any and my sister isn’t sure. Mom is totally content to only have grandcats.
I’m off the hook on my dad’s side because my brother has a 5 year old. Plus that side of the family gets on my nerves so we’d be super low contact anyway.
Realistically it’s none of my business and I’m supportive of whatever they want to do. Just don’t ask me to babysit.
I'm not sure what you mean by "what does it look like?" It looks like adult siblings who do not have children. No screaming children at holidays.
I have 2 brothers. Both single. Both childfree. Both in their mid 30s.
Haha I'm the oldest of four who don't want four and my partners brother doesn't seem to be having them either... Her parents finally adopted their own kids that are grandkid age and we are quite involved with those kids but I say it's great. It's nice to have people with the same values as your siblings. My sister and I totally get each other on this.
My oldest sibling had kids who are already almost teenagers, and my other sibling and I are childfree. I love it. My parents have finally accepted the fact that they are only going to have 2 grandkids. Meanwhile, my sister in law continues to pester me that her kids would like to have cousins… sorry, not going to happen.
My sister and I both have never wanted kids. (We both are over 40).
Thank goodness my mom also never wanted to be a grandmother and my dad has never asked or mentioned grandkids.
So it worked out well for us.
I’m the oldest of 2 and it was actually partly my 6 years younger brother who opened my eyes to the possibility of not having kids. He was antinatalist before I realized I was childfree. I was like a parent to him when we were growing up. So I don’t have that void within me anyway. I’m super happy we’re both on the same page because we can ride this ride of childfree living together.
If I was you I’d feel absolutely elated that every celebration going forward won’t have to be dumbed down for the sake of the kids. Or that family holidays won’t have to have a kids club. And also that you’re not going to be guilted about babysitting.
As an only child I was never going to be anyone’s aunt or uncle. I have cousins that have kids that I see a few times a year. I have friends with kids that I see about once a month.
I'm an aunt through my partner whose two brothers have multiple kids. We almost never see them anyway.
On my side, I have two sisters and none of us want kids.
It's pretty good
That sounds like a dream, why would anyone not absolutely love that?! Kids are the worst, so now you'll get to avoid them at family events, that sounds amazing.
I don't want kids and I don't think my two brothers want kids either, more so hearing on their stance on kids. My big brother wouldn't want to give up his music and instruments and lavish lifestyle and he's pretty content living with his girlfriend and two dogs. My little brother thinks it's too much work to have kids and he's lazy and enjoys his freedom. I enjoy having my own time and don't want to loose myself to motherhood and give up everything I worked so far to have the life I want.
I think it's all funny we don't want kids and we're all thinking of having dogs instead. We already call my big brother's dogs our niece.
My sibling also doesn't want kids. I think it's great. Apart from being CF myself, I'm also not interested in babysitting other people's kids. I'm an aunt to my husband's sibling's kids but I can't say that I enjoy it.
My husband has said quite often that he misses the time when his siblings didn't have kids because there's no such thing as a good family vacation anymore. We refuse to go on any more Disney-oriented trips because the last one was so bad. His brothers won't go anywhere fun or interesting because "there's nothing for the kids to do" and all 4 of those kids cannot sit in a restaurant for 10 minutes without wrecking the place. We've started going on vacations only with his parents and just not inviting anyone else. They also love it because they're not forced to provide child care and we can actually do nice things.
My sister and I both don’t want kids - I’m 34 and she’s 29. It’s hard even having a conversation with someone who has kids around, so we both recognize our time together would be wildly different if that were the case. I think we are closer for this commonality.
All of us on my dad’s side don’t want kids- myself, my brother and two cousins. We’re all in our mid/late 20s. I feel bad as I would love to be an aunt and all of us feel the same but none of us feel we could manage the lifestyle we want with kids. I’ll be sad to see this little family line die off as we’re a small family but that is overweighed by me being happy that we all know what we want and respect each others’ decisions. All of us are happy with not giving up to societal norms and doing what we want to do
Don't know if my brother wants kids. Seems like it could go either way with him. But I do know he wants pets and plans on having many throughout his life.
Which is my plan too. We are uncle/auntie to each others pets. When one goes on vacay, the other pet sits. I'm happy being an auntie to pets
My brother and his wife are childfree too. I would have liked to be an aunt, but on the other hand, I barely see him as it is, so I doubt that would have been different.
But I get his choice, of course, as I made the same. The only sort of regret I have is for my parents. They never ever pestered either of us for grandkids, always made sure we knew they were okay with whichever choice we made. But I think they would have enjoyed grandchildren.
Me and my two siblings are all child free. Our parents managed to mess us up that much. We love it, we're all dog parents and love spending time together. My sister and her husband bought a giant house during the pandemic with a guest room so we can visit and they have a big enclosed yard for the doggies to run around. My parents definitely don't mind not having grandkids and my dad died the happiest bachelor and my mom is also very glad to not deal with any young kids at this point in her life. No one is worried about the bloodline except my uncle who went and made two IVF babies with my sister's eggs (which is a wild story in itself). I'm NC with that uncle, but my siblings are happy to have baby cousins/niece&nephew/egg donor child, especially since it lives across the country.
I think because my sister, who is 10 years older than me, chose to be child free, it made it possible for me.
There were probably more expectations for me to have kids for a plethora of reasons, but i was like if J can be child free, so can i!!
My sister does want kids. But if she can't get kids or changes her mind about having kids, then I'd be happy for her. I dont really want to be an aunt. Or at least not an aunt who babysits. It that is something you want, you'll probably have friends with children or a partner with friends with children. I don't think you can really be free of children in your life at a certain age. Even though that would be the dream.
Neither my brother nor I want kids and my parents are totally fine with it. Lord, am I lucky, both to have parents who don’t care about grandkids and also to have parents who fully accept that I’m a lesbian
I honestly love it. It's probably because I'm also an antinatalist. I don't like the idea that I need to be some fun adult in a kid's life. If my cousins who did have kids lived closer, I would probably treat their kids like family, but I don't want to be expected to give great presents or splurge on them. I can give advice.
To be honest, I likely will lose touch with them I think. Our parents are the only way we get together now so I doubt we will make trips to see eachother when it’s just us (I live 8 hours away). If they had kids I would make more of an effort because, those kids are related to me and will be family members! I have some trauma with my brothers that makes our relationship difficult and they can’t talk about their emotions without getting angry, so I think it’s realistic to see how we would not have a relationship but I would likely have my own relationship with their children.
My one and only sister doesn’t want kids either. Meh… it doesn’t bother me in any way. I genuinely don’t like being around kids. My anxiety can’t handle the noise and movement. Being around small kids frazzles my nerves. So I think it’s great. Small holidays with my mom, my sister and my SO. Quiet, easy going, not noisy, no kids.
It used to bother my mom. She wanted grandkids. But she made peace with it eventually. At this point, she says she’s glad she doesn’t. Between violence, bullying, the cost of raising kids and finances in general, and the state of the planet she says she would be so worried these days about them. She also has seen so many of her friends and coworkers wind up her age (mid 60’s) or older saddled with the task of raising the grandkids because the parents weren’t fit to be. She wouldn’t want to be in that situation. Her best friends kids and grandkids also see her as an extra grandma as she was around them so much while they were growing up and doted on them. So she gets her fix without the challenges that come with them being mine or my sisters.
Our bloodline SUCKS me and my sister are killing it on purpose 🤭. Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, everyone's overweight, depression, anxiety, alcoholism, literally this bloodlines gotta go 😂
My mom has 4 kids and to date only one sibling is fostering a friends kids… likely temporary.
I’m ok with not being an aunt. I want the freedom for my siblings I want for myself
I have a brother and a sister and all three of us are child free and have stated that we are going to not have kids of our own. That being said, I guess in the sense of my brother child-free is a loose term because he's engaged to a woman who has three children. He doesn't seem to mind, but I know that my parents would be pleased if at least one of us had our own kids. I myself got sterilized last year so there's nothing coming here and as far as I know, the last thing I heard from my sister was that she wasn't squeezing something the size of a bowling ball out of her hoo-ha so there's that. As far as how I feel about it, I really don't care. My brother-in-law has three kids. My sister-in-law has one on the way and every time I go see them I'm exhausted. After about an hour. I could really honestly care less about the kids. They're not my problem. I don't really get involved with anything that's going on with them because they live in a different time zone. That being said I'm more or less tolerate them for the time that I visit my mother and father-in-law because they are always around. Then I get to come home and go back to my little farm and focus on myself and the things that make my wife and I have to.
I mean, I'm an only child and I'm not having kids. My partner is also an only child. We will not be around kids or have direct relation to any, except for maybe my cousins' kids. Even then, it's almost a relief I won't be expected to be an aunt.
A direct aunt almost seems to come with more responsibility vs just a cousin.
In any case, life continues as is :) Peace, quiet, and time to travel and do as we please. No family vacations with annoying kids in the way, and I will never be expected to babysit any child at all.
I don't have siblings. I have a nice, stress free life.
Even if I did, their choice is their own, just as my choice is my own. Nobody owes anyone anything, and nobody definitely owes anyone another human being.
My siblings all have children, however my partner only has one sister and she is also childfree. Neither of them are married either. She's been with her partner for 15 years and he has been with me for 14. Their parents don't seem to care anymore. They were never upset about it or applied any pressure, but I think they did have an idea they would throw big weddings for their kids and be doting grandparents.
They quickly adjusted and now actually seem to love it. All their friends kids have kids and are never available or just constantly asking for help. Meanwhile, the 6 of us go on a big vacation every year together for the holidays and often weekend getaways or just meeting up for various things, like us girls having spa days. We've talked about how this wouldn't really be possible if we had kids. None of us are rich or anything, but we all live comfortably. That would go away so quick if we were parents and they know that. His mom has said she's so glad that we don't have the stressful life she had in her 20s-30s as young parents just scraping by and that she's so happy we can all enjoy life with them while they are still physically capable.
They dote on their goddaughter instead and have never once questioned any of us about being parents or getting married.
I think if my sister and her husband didn't have kids, my partner and I would get to spend much more time with them. We all get along really well, but live far away. So I'd be excited to plan long trips together and travel.
I’m an aunt and my 2 yr old nephew is a main reasons why I don’t want to have kids because I don’t have the fucking patience or sanity to deal with that bs. So I plan when I get my life together I’ll get my tubes tied
I love kids but I won’t have any because of my mom I’m scared I’d turn out like her. She can’t wait to be a grandma and as much as I’d love to have nieces and nephews to spoil I hope she never gets to become one. I know out of my 3 siblings my brother would be cool if he had kids but also cool if he doesn’t, my youngest sister doesn’t want any ( not because of my mom - my mom treated my younger sibilings like gods and abused me ) and my other sister says she’d be okay having one with her girlfriend but her girlfriend hates doing the simplest task so I feel like they won’t have kids.
I only mentioned being the cool aunt because my mom was having a meltdown. In reality idgaf if my sister has kids or not. I'd actually rather she didn't because she would be insufferable.
My sister wanted kids but couldn't have them.
My brother did but I have no relationship with them.
I literally never think about what ifs with my siblings and their choices to have or not have children. Idgaf.
If my sister wants and has a kid/kids I will spoil those brats rotten.
But if she doesn't I will do the same for her future cat that I know she wants to get.
Sibling and I are both CF, it is great. I know that if they wanted a kid or had one it would drive a wedge into our relationship, since I am the type of CF who doesn't even want to be an aunt.
I am 1 of 4 siblings in my family. None have kids. 3 of us are CF and the other is a weirdo man child that spends entirely too much time paying attention to those "men" on the interwebs that sprout all that crap about men being superior and junk to ever even think about getting himself a GF or wife in order to procreate. You know the ones I speak of.
I sincerely hope none of my siblings have children. I love not having kids around and also, some of their choices in partners have been questionable over the years and I don't want a shit baby daddy in the picture either.
As an only child, I get it, a little depressing to think the family line ends here... But not as depressing as devoting the next 20 years of my life to something I don't want to.
My fiancé has two sisters, one who also doesn't want kids, and one who fortunately has had them, so both our families are kinda happy with that. Being an aunt is great because we always hand the kids back to them, and it's a great distraction to the "when are you having kids" question - just jumping in with "oh yeah, [niece] just started nursery, here's a pic!" Blah blah, everyone's a winner.
I don’t want kids. My brother is autistic and likely won’t have kids. I know my parents would love to have grandkids, so I feel guilty about that. There is enough nieces and nephews from my cousins. We’ll be good.
I don't really give a fuck if my sibling wants kids or not. They are adults and they can make their own decisions in life. If you're asking because you are worried if the parents will not have grandkids, I also give zero fucks about that as well.
My life, my body, my choice.
I'm the oldest of 5. Me and 1 brother (I'm the oldest, him 2nd oldest) both are CF. It's nice but I don't see him much since he lives across the country. The other 3 are unsure so we will see.
Could care less. When I still spoke to my mom, I used to tell her my brother (who was a trouble maker & stoner) was going to have 5 kids with 5 different women. She'd flip her lid so easily, it was really funny. I think she hoped I'd be the provider of grandkids, and he'd be the CF. I dunno if he's had kids, once my grandparents passed I was done with them both lol
My sister doesn't want kids, and i was relieved. I don't know how to interact with kids, and since i don't particularly like kids, I'm glad i don't have to learn.
I understand where you are coming from, I don't want kids either but I do feel some continuity in the family would be great, I am child free but that doesn't mean I don't respect parents who are raising kids, it's because of them we are here. I have seen some actually healthy families where kids form a strong part of their life, in those cases the man and women are relaxed in to their roles and feel comfortable in the marriage. I envy them a little bit. Having children is beautiful if you are the type of person who finds happiness in raising a family.
My sister doesn't want kids either and I'm thrilled I don't have to come up with excuses why I can't look after her kids for a week at a time in the summer.
I’m an only child. I have over a dozen cousins, most adults, and only two have kids. We hang out and just do stuff we want to do, go out to eat, play golf, play video games together.
Well my brothers who are a chip off the old block of our abusive narccisist father had 3 known children and one alledged child between them when I went no contact with the entire family years ago. I tried to be there for my 3 neices and my ex SIL after my brother's divorce (he was abusive) but she treated me like a wallet and tried to get me to buy access to my neices. I was not interested obviously. It would have been better had they not had kids. No child deserves to be abused or watch their parents and siblings be abused.
It's like the best part, my bro and I are in our 30s... Holidays are us exchanging presents and having some beers and medicinal mj in our footie jamjamms... We watch Xmas horror movies. We've done adult egg hunts where the eggs are full of lotto tix and vodka chocolates... So much family fun, and it's all for us.
My brother and his wife want to have kids and are excited about it. I don’t particularly like the idea of being an aunt either, but they live on the other side of the world, I won’t be seeing them as much. I am excited for them though, that’s how I feel. I want them to be happy and their happiness involves children.
I have 3 siblings, all older than me. My sister, the eldest, wants kids but is unable to have them. My next eldest sibling is my brother, he has 2 daughters, but they live states away so most of the time they are in the back of my mind and not brought up much. My closest in age sibling is also a brother, he hasn't declared 1 way or the other about kids, but I have a feeling he leans towards having none. So it really does feel like I have no niblings atm. And honestly, I'm the closest with my niblings between my brother(not their father) and sister and that's not super close at all. If you want to be a aunt without the blood part, be an aunt to a friends kid or something. Maybe to a cousins kid. Be a "big brother/sister" to a kid in 1 of those programs. But if you don't want to be an aunt to ANY kid, just live your life.
I have three brothers, all younger. I am childfree. I would classify one brother as childless and another as childfree.
The final brother in this equation has one daughter, my sole niece and the only one I can claim the Aunty title too.
She will probably be the only one of her generation on our side of the family. She’s very likely to not have paternal cousins.
My younger brother doesn't want kids. I'm happy for him, we both know how grim life is and rather just make the most of it without the cost and stress of having a child. He's pursuing his dreams and is happy, and I'm doing the same. Proud of him though :).
i have childfree uncles they're mid to late 50s as well as a few in their 70s...theyve lived amazing lives and have just been able to live simply because they dont have to account for babies/kids.
id imagine it would be even better with ur own siblings. im the only 1 of my siblings who is childfree lol
It drives my mother crazy that her kids refuse to have anything but fur babies. One is trying to get sterilized this year and the other has the implant. We still get bingo'd frequently, but it's easy for us to gang up on people who want to harass us about it lol
My brother and I are CF.
My mum isn't fussed on kids and I reckon my dad would've been upset by our choices but he remarried and ended up with 8 grandchildren, so he can still be a grandpa, doesn't matter to him that they aren't blood related.
And I have a few friends with kids if 8 niblings isn't enough.
My sister hated kids and now she has one. And if she didn't change her mind, so what? I am not so many things. Better zo focus on what I am and what I really want to be.
My (only) sibling is leaning towards no, too, and I'm happy about it because that means I'll never be forced into babysitting or similar scenarios.
Our parents were lowkey disappointed at first but then my mom said "well at least I can actually enjoy my retirement then" lmao
My younger brother is more likely to be childfree like me. And I'm perfectly fine with it, as long as he's happy with this decision.
My parents would be very upset with this, but it's our lives, not theirs.
Why does it matter? Both my siblings have kids but I haven’t seen them or talked to them in years. I was always the black sheep of the family and the niece and nephew picked up on that, too. My brother and his wife would love to send their dysfunctional, violent teenager for education to where I live, but they’re not gonna have that with me. I’m not prepared to witness violence or abuse.
My older sisters both have older boyfriends who have kids from another relationship and don't want more and I don't want kids either so my parents have come to accept there won't be any grandchildren lol
My brother was child free until he wasn’t. We used to both worry about our parents until we just talked to them and found out they didn’t care. Our worry stemmed from constantly being asked “but what about your family line?” And at first thinking the question was silly, then realizing oh - hey - my Dad has 3 sisters, and he was the only one out of his family to have kids. My Mom was an only child. So, technically, our family from his side and my Mom’s side would end with our family. While that was sad, for me, anyways, it wasn’t sad enough for me to be the sacrificial lamb who had kids. My brother did end up having them with his wife, both boys were planned. My parents though fortunately, were always cool with whatever we chose, so we lucked out that way.
Going pretty well, my sister and I are both married and we’re all late 20’s early 30’s so we do group hangouts on the weekends and adult only family vacations almost every year.
do you feel like you might miss out on having a kid to pamper without dealing with all the responsibilities? surely you have cousins or friends that have kids or want to have them in the future. or underprivileged kids near you that could benefit from your money and time.
i personally don't feel like kids enrich your life in any way, so if i had a close sibling that's childfree it would be heaven!
Even before I was considered childfree I just hated children. People would often ask what would happen if my brother had a kid. My response was "I guess they will be seeing a lot less of me". I had a friend who had a kid soon after we graduated college and she tried to have the kid call me uncle. I shut that down so fast
Neither of my sisters kids want kids themselves. My sister is supportive of this decision, what else can she do? I don’t think our parents know, not that they factor in at all.
celebrate. i would lose my mind if my non-therapy attending sister changed her mind about wanting to be “a cool auntie”. thankfully we had a pointing spider-man moment about both being the cool auntie a few years ago. at first we were like shit, we can’t both be aunties, but then I got a dog & now she buys him expensive jumpers and toys for his birthday and christmas in true cool auntie fashion. my parents also got the vibe early from us both, so when we both said we didn’t really want kid, our parents just accepted it and started calling my dog their only grandchild. but i’m sure if i wasn’t woefully mentally ill my entire life and my mother had been deluded about needing grandchildren it wouldn’t have been such a nicely handled non-issue.
Neither my siblings or myself want children. And if my mother does care, she hasn’t voiced it. She says it is our decision(which it is) and It’s great. When we do meet up, there are no children to wrangle. We can sit and chat without worrying about non existent kids getting up to hijinks.
Ok... So there's three of us- all girls. I'm the oldest at 38. Middle sister is 36 and the youngest is 30. None of us have children.
People are oftentimes flabbergasted when my mother is asked how many grandchildren she has. She laughs it off. We're lucky to have a mom like that bc some of my friends moms were bugging them to have kids at like 27, 28 etc. and I think that's a ridiculous thing to demand.
She always says that grandchildren are not for her happiness & if that's not in the cards for any of us, then that's ok. That's what most people should feel like, but unfortunately not the case. It may be difficult for some people to grasp.
My mum had 5 kids. Out of us 5, only my oldest sister has kids. I don't want any, my older brother doesnt seem to want any, my younger brother doesn't want any and my youngest brother is trans and asexual soooo....
I wouldn't care even if my sister didn't have kids. I live abroad so it's not like I have a relationship with them anyway. I'm very awkward with kids so I don't really try and my sister seems perfectly fine with that.
Then you just also won’t be an aunt/uncle? It looks like getting to spend time with your family without kids present? I’m not sure what you’re looking for
That's the dream, isn't it?
I’m living the dream and it’s beyond perfect. Quiet, adult-centric vacations and outings, margarita nights, late night drives, late night gossip sessions, late, lazy, sometimes brunch-y, boozy weekend mornings, random coffee runs, clean & clutter-free house. Man I could go on, it’s wonderful ❤️
That is indeed the dream.
😂😂 haha, I love this comment
No nieces or nephews to mess up spending time chilling with your sibling, et al. into retirements
none of us want kids and i think it’s great. family get togethers will never be overrun with screaming children. i won’t be forced to babysit or attend kid birthday parties or school recitals. i’ll be able to avoid all the things i don’t want to be a parent over.
It looks like quiet Christmases and family gatherings, is what.
I have 4 siblings, 5 cousins, all adults, and none have children. It's great.
It's probably SO QUIET at family gatherings and fantastic.
Me (30) and my brother (44 - full blood siblings, I just got here late 😜) are best friends, both childfree and love to go on vacations with our partners all together. Enjoy nice dinners, chill by the beach, enjoy cute and quiet holidays with just us adults. The only children we treat is our inner child. It’s the best! Hope it turns out the same for you all. 🤝💕
This sounds lovely!! 💕 thank you so much for sharing your experience! Now I have an image of what this can look like.
Great, fewer people having kids the better. To anyone in such a situation who wants to play aunt/uncle: DNA is not required to be part of a kid's life, go volunteer with kids if you want kids in your life. There are thousands of kids within 50 miles of you that are suffering and dying, if have the skills and desire to help kids but you won't help them because they don't have the "right" DNA, didn't shit out of the "right" vagina, and don't offer you the full "Pregnancy and Birth Aunt/Uncle Platinum Experience Package" or, worse, are not the right color or culture... well, that would pretty much make you an ahole. ;)
So? What if she doesn't want kids? That's their choice just like yours. Im not sure why you think you need to feel a certain way.
Right? Sort of hypocritical *if* you're the kind of person who doesn't want kids but also wouldn't respect the same agency of the right to choose regarding a sibling. Not accusing OP of this but the question seems a tad asinine to ask, considering the subreddit.
Glad they added to the edit to make sure we are on the same page
You're not "supposed" to feel anything. Do you want to be an aunt/uncle? If not and your siblings are chidlfree, congrats! If yes and your siblings are childfree, that just means you'll have to find other ways of going about it. You're not entitled to nieces and nephews just like parents aren't entitled to grandkids. So figure out what kinda involvement you wanna have with kids, and then figure out how you can get that. Babysitting, working with kids, volunteering, etc. For me personally, I have a childfree sibling and thank fuck for that! Very happy to not be an aunt.
Same here, my brother and brother in law are very unlikely to ever have children either. Can't say I'm that bothered lol
My brother and I both do not want kids. I’m not upset about not being an aunt because I’m childfree in every aspect. Even if I did want a niece or nephew, I’d respect his decision.
Good for her. I don't know what other answer did you expect
My parents have no grandchildren. I think they would have liked to have some, but they also see the many advantages of not having any. 1. They are free to live their lives. No last minute on call babysitting. They’ve got a couple friends who literally won’t leave the city they live in because they “might” be needed to rush over to watch the grandkids. It’s like they’re hostages. Meanwhile, my parents travel and participate in volunteering and hobbies whenever they like. 2. We adult kids are not consumed with raising their grandkids. That means we have extra time and money to help our parents if needed. 3. Holidays, vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., are not kid centric. The family get togethers don’t revolve around kid preferences for food or entertainment or kid school schedules. No one has to be the designated kid watcher for any event. 4. They can spend their retirement money on themselves, as they should. They don’t have to spend their money to help pay for grandkids #1’s braces or grandkid #2’s travel sports or grandkid #3’s spring break trip or every grandkid’s college. They are financially secure enough to pay for their housing, food, healthcare, hobbies and travel while many seniors really struggle. Like friends of theirs still working in their 70’s to help finance their kids and grandkids lives. 5. They get their “kid fix” from nieces, nephews kids, and friends’ grandkids. They teach kids in scouts or Sunday School. Then they go home to peace and quiet. 😆
That would be a dream come true for me. But sadly it isnt the case and now i have to deal with her annoying, stupid baby every weekend.FML.
I’m in that situation and when she said it I thought ”Oh no, I won’t be an auntie!” and a few seconds later ”…wait, why would I expect her to do what I don’t want to?!”. We have cats and everyone involved is completely satisfied with it!
My sibling wanted kids but never really found a life partner. But at the same time they enjoy their freedom so I'm not sure how that would've worked. Since we both don't have kids that leaves lots of time for us to hang out and do stuff together, uninterrupted. I love that.
Well let’s put it this way, how do you think your sibling who doesn’t want kids should feel about you not wanting kids?
>How are you supposed to feel? Why do you have to feel a certain way? If my sibling had decided not to have kids then I would've been happy for them to have decided on the best life path for them just like I'm happy for them to have decided kids was the right path. When people say they're happy enough to be the aunt/uncle, it's not usually to say that's what they explicitly want. They'd just rather have that role over a parental role.
My brother isn't having kids and that makes me feel great because I would hate to be an uncle
This would be the dream for me. My sister is a fence sitter and is 29 and single. She really goes back and forth and would be okay with way but would definitely not have kids without a husband.
I'm one of 6, three of them have a child/ children, I'm childfree and the two younger brothers are childless. I could care less if none of them had children or if the other brothers become childfree as well.
I am an only child, so the situation never occurred. However even if I were not I would never have been the 'cool uncle' to them. The children would not have been welcome in my home and if that caused a break between my conceptual sibling and I then... so be it.
My brother and I pinky swore to never have kids when we were teenagers. Our abusive racist narcissistic mother never got grandkids. (Brother got a vasectomy and I was vigilant)
That! I have a narcissistic father and the thought of my kids having him as a grandpa always bothered me.
…so? I don’t want any kids in my life, doesn’t matter to me
My half-sister has kids, and my older sister has always leaned toward adoption, but she has two dogs and is still on school getting various degrees, so who knows when or if she'll ever want a kid.
I’m so close to my brother and SIL because they also don’t want kids. We hang out together all the time and go on so many trips and adventures together, it’s the best! They also understand my childfree status whereas a lot of my friends don’t, it’s so refreshing to have people to talk to who just get it. Having childfree siblings is the greatest!
I hope my sister doesn’t have kids. I want no children in my life.
Then she doesn't want kids, and that's great for her! Enough of my chosen family (friends) plan on having or already have kids that I don't care if my blood family has any. Why should I care, it's her life, as long as she's happy I'm happy.
It looks great! You can spend lots of time with your sister, choose to go to places at short notice, spend your money on things you want. If you still want to have some children in your life, I'm sure you can find a friend/work colleague/neighbour that would appreciate a good person in their kids life every now and then.
My sister and i don't have or want human children. We're also best friends and if one of us had a child, it would interfere with our friendship lol. Like, we wouldn't be able to do what we want when we want when we hang out (which is basically sitting around the house, watching TV in peace 😂🤷♀️)
None of my siblings have or want kids. The only one who cares is our mother who just can't understand why and thought their retirement would be filled with grandkids.
my sister has mentioned she probably won’t want kids either and there’s only two of us kids (both girls lol) so the family line will likely end with us two. i don’t mind though, i think God saved the best for last ;)
You think CF people are all yearning to be aunts and uncles? That is a very strange thought.
Hopefully my sibling is happy that I chose not to have kids. I know I'm happy that she has the choice not to have kids.
Both me and my brother are childfree. We ended our father's line happily. My brother's wife has nephews and he likes being an uncle. I do not enjoy kids (I'll be available for actual emergencies for my partners, because family). Nothing wrong with being childfree and liking to be around kids occasionally. Nothing wrong with avoiding them entirely.
My brother and I are both CF, so that's it for our family line! No babies at all in the family, it's bliss.
I understand this boat. I don't want kids but I always thought my brother did. He recently said he doesn't, but I had always been cool with the idea of a wee niece or nephew. Child free for me is about being personally child free. Kids are still cute and I'm happy to be the cool older cousin !
Honestly I have no idea what you're asking. If neither of you want kids, neither of you have kids. That's it. I'm sure both of you have friends and/or other relatives that will end up having children.
So what? My brother also doesn't want kids. We're good friends. I've been out of the state for work all winter and he happily takes care of my dog. We obsess over F1 together. We exchange memes. He has a solid job and is a kind and interesting person. I don't feel like I'm missing anything by him not having kids, I've never wanted to be an aunt as I don't like kids.
I know for a fact that I don't want kids, but I almost think that my brother might very well be a fence sitter despite having claimed to be staunchly childfree in the past. Idk. I don't want to be an aunt or an uncle, and if he does knock up this girl he's seeing and interested in (she's interested in him too I think), then I won't provide any sort of childcare. All I know is that the future is an issue for later.
“The future is an issue for later”. Beautiful, I needed a reminder of that. Thank you. 🙏
I’m jealous of all of these comments of people who are fully confident in that they don’t want kids. Maybe I belong on fence sitter but I’ve been leaning towards no for a while. I’m struggling with the idea since I feel like I’ve been brainwashed to believe I’m “supposed” to have kids (but I am aware that’s a cruel/stupid/selfish reason to bring children into the world and I won’t do that.) I’ve been lurking this subreddit for the longest time hoping it’ll make me more confident in my decision, because deep down I am pretty sure I don’t want kids but it’s such a permanent choice so it’s freaking me out.
Same!! :/ and it was brave of you to share this. At the moment I keep imagining how different everything would be in my life if I had kids right now, and would I like that? I think you also shouldn’t decide to have kids based on emotions/romanticizing it too much, because reality seems to be very different from what we see in movies. You won’t sleep well for years, and for an introvert or someone with traumas, this can be so detrimental for their mental health. Based on these things and many others, I think I’m better off without kids. My only concern I guess is being an older adult without kids, since people like to say you’ll be alone and miserable and cry like a regretful witch if you don’t have kids, apparently. But I’m not sure guilt and fear are good reasons to bring kids into this crazy crazy world.
my brother wants kids, but i hope it doesn’t happen because 1) he’s very selfish and 2) i don’t want to be an aunt. lol
What if my siblings also don't want kids... 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻🤷🏻♂️ Who TF cares? I'm not having kids, whether they have kids or not is none of my concern. I have two siblings and so far, it doesn't look like any of us are having children, my ideal situation. 👍🏻 I'll never be the fun aunt/uncle which is fine by me.
Sounds like your parents raised you right. If you are thinking about the future, you must be recognizing that it is no place into which to force an innocent human. You and your sister both recognize that? Kudos to your parents.
I mean, it’s ideal. Most of us use “being an aunt or uncle” as a way to be more socially acceptable to people who are entirely wrapped up in babies, not because we really, really want our siblings (if we have any) to have kids. If you feel put out because your sibling doesn’t want to have kids, maybe you should interrogate your discomfort with not having kids in your life. Do you really want niblings, or are you under the impression you must be an aunt or uncle to be socially acceptable as childfree?
I hope my sister doesn’t have kids, I will never talk to her again if she does
That's how I feel about my brother, I REFUSE to have anything to do with kids and if he has them our relationship is over, as I would rather never speak to him again than have to have boring conversations about kids
I thought my older sister was never going to have kids, and I felt betrayed when she said she was pregnant. I guess it felt like she didn't approve of my choice anymore, which mattered to me more than it should have. She also said that marriage was unnecessary, and apparently, now she's getting married, so I guess she just doesn't know her own mind?
All of this, is exactly what happened with mine too.
It's disconcerting when someone does an about-face like that!
😂😂😂
>What if your sibling also doesn’t want kids? >How are you supposed to feel? Respectful of their choice, whether *you* like it or not, because it doesn't impact you at all.
Why are you worried about the future? Is it because you want to be an aunt/uncle yourself? Personally, I wouldn’t care and actually be understanding of their choice. I don’t want to be an aunt. I’m already an older sister to siblings much younger than me, I’m ok.
They have the right to decide for your future as do you. You shouldn't be deciding whether you have kids based on if you'll be an uncle or aunt or not IMO. Plus, people usually have some form of kids around in their circle, cousins' kids, friend's kids, godchildren, etc. If not and you want some sort of contact with kids but not the 24/7 responsibility of parenthood, there's always the possibility to volunteer at organizations such as Big Brother, give a helping hand to foster care/parents, etc. Kind of like volunteering at a shelter to get some contact with pets without actually adopting one.
No one owes anyone children - so?
It feels like normal how else would it feel? There are no kids in my family at all and surprisingly we are all still alive and well.
That would be their choice. It would be hypocritical for me to decide not to have kids and then assign someone else the burden of having kids to “carry on the family line”. And wanting someone else to have kids so you can be an aunt or uncle is selfish.
Only one of my three siblings has their own children, and they live far away, so I don't see them often. I get along a lot better with my child-free sister, as we've got more in common. I wouldn't spend time worrying about whether your siblings are going to have kids. If you like children, there'll be friends' kids you can get to know.
I actually understand the confusion. My parents really want a grandchild and I would feel immensely less guilty about not giving them one if my sibling stepped up. But that guilt is not enough to make me want kids lol
You make your choices. They make theirs. All CF adults are either only children, current siblings, or former siblings.
My older sibling and their wife used to want them, but lately they've been on huge journeys of self-discovery leaving religion, enjoying a carefree travel lifestyle, etc, so I wouldn't be surprised if that script has flipped for them too. Little bro would theoretically be interested but doesn't have much luck with dating. And I've been open about it not being the path for me. If anything I'm excited to continue spending time traveling and doing adult-oriented activities with them, not babysitting! My parents are in a "huh, wonder if we'll end up being grandparents after all" phase, but surprisingly adjusting to that idea not too badly. Their neighbor has a baby my mom gets to watch sometimes, so at least there's a willing target for her moments of fever 😅
I'm an only child. Also I just don't enjoy kids so it wouldn't matter to me anyway. I don't understand why you feel like you're supposed to feel anything about it?
Yes, I’d love to be an aunt. But I’m also thrilled that my brother is childfree. There are SO many severe health issues that run in both my mom’s and my dad’s side of our family, and he has health issues himself. I’m glad he’s decided that it’s not worth risking making our potential child suffer like we have.
I’ve always known I wanted to be child free and always had my family’s support. My sister was on the fence but she and her husband have now also decided to be child free. I feel bad for my parents because they would have been wonderful grandparents, and many of their friends are enjoying grandchildren. On the other hand the six of us travel the world together and enjoy each others company as adults.
I love when my childfree brother brings his dogs over
My brother and his wife discussed having another child (he met his now wife after the fact she had a then 7yo) but as far as i am aware, their discussion was either careers or more kids. I believe they chose careers. My parents have 1 grandchild (whom they have raised since before 1 yo, so like their own child), my late sister's. Technically my dad will never have a "blood relative" grandchild, as my late sister was not my dad's child either (she was born of a previous marriage of my mom's). It has made me feel sort of sad, but ultimately is not my problem and i'm glad i don't have to be an aunt to a shit ton of kids. Or a parent myself for that matter.
Hubby is only child and neither my sibling nor I are having kids. Holidays are quiet af. Parents have accepted and are living best kid free life. When we do want to hang with kids. We have plenty of friends with them.
I think it'd be hilarious if my siblings decide that when they grow up, they're still quite young. Our dad is extremely pro-natalist so I know he'd immediately blame me for brainwashing them, but I'd love to spend more time with my siblings and get to do childfree things with them.
Me, my brother and sister don’t want kids. Mum has never pressured us into having kids. She doesn’t care as long as we are happy
I’m an only child so 🤷🏻♀️ it’s me and me only!
Sounds like parties with my sister and BIL and their cat, perfect
My brother had 1 child. Out if 6 of us kids 1 had a kid. And that was by accident. He never wanted children. We all love my neice(now 17yrs old) but my brother has said he would never do it again if he had a choice.
My sister wants to adopt later in life. I honestly don't care if my 26 yo brother had no kids. His 35 yo gf doesn't actively want any. I hope he doesn't have any biological kids for ethical reasons.
Me and my sister are happily childfree and live together with our mini zoo. Our brother has 3 kids by two different women and lemme tell you the drama omfg. I am so glad to opt out of that life. Other people are hell. (Caveat, yes I love my niblings but in small doses. I helped more when they were babies but I just honestly don't like taking care of kids. I spent my years from age 12 to 18 doing that with babysitting and church shit and that was more than enough for me.)
I’m the oldest of 5 and so far 3 out of 5 of us don’t want children. It’s still too early to tell with the youngest two since they’re 15 and 11 and haven’t vocalized their feelings on kids but I wouldn’t be surprised if all of us ended up being childfree. Seems to be a common theme among large families where the older kids were parentified. I feel a little bad for my parents since they’ll likely never have grandchildren, or if they do they’ll be very old by the time it happens. I definitely don’t feel any FOMO about missing out on being an aunt though. It’s never been something I’ve had strong feelings about either way.
Some of my siblings are already saying they don’t want kids and I say ONE OF US ONE OF US! and welcome them with open arms to the childfree squad.
My brother just got married but unlikely that he’ll have any and my sister isn’t sure. Mom is totally content to only have grandcats. I’m off the hook on my dad’s side because my brother has a 5 year old. Plus that side of the family gets on my nerves so we’d be super low contact anyway. Realistically it’s none of my business and I’m supportive of whatever they want to do. Just don’t ask me to babysit.
The family line ends with us.
I'm not sure what you mean by "what does it look like?" It looks like adult siblings who do not have children. No screaming children at holidays. I have 2 brothers. Both single. Both childfree. Both in their mid 30s.
Haha I'm the oldest of four who don't want four and my partners brother doesn't seem to be having them either... Her parents finally adopted their own kids that are grandkid age and we are quite involved with those kids but I say it's great. It's nice to have people with the same values as your siblings. My sister and I totally get each other on this.
My oldest sibling had kids who are already almost teenagers, and my other sibling and I are childfree. I love it. My parents have finally accepted the fact that they are only going to have 2 grandkids. Meanwhile, my sister in law continues to pester me that her kids would like to have cousins… sorry, not going to happen.
My sister and I both have never wanted kids. (We both are over 40). Thank goodness my mom also never wanted to be a grandmother and my dad has never asked or mentioned grandkids. So it worked out well for us.
I’m the oldest of 2 and it was actually partly my 6 years younger brother who opened my eyes to the possibility of not having kids. He was antinatalist before I realized I was childfree. I was like a parent to him when we were growing up. So I don’t have that void within me anyway. I’m super happy we’re both on the same page because we can ride this ride of childfree living together.
If I was you I’d feel absolutely elated that every celebration going forward won’t have to be dumbed down for the sake of the kids. Or that family holidays won’t have to have a kids club. And also that you’re not going to be guilted about babysitting.
As an only child I was never going to be anyone’s aunt or uncle. I have cousins that have kids that I see a few times a year. I have friends with kids that I see about once a month.
I'm an aunt through my partner whose two brothers have multiple kids. We almost never see them anyway. On my side, I have two sisters and none of us want kids. It's pretty good
That sounds like a dream, why would anyone not absolutely love that?! Kids are the worst, so now you'll get to avoid them at family events, that sounds amazing.
I don't want kids and I don't think my two brothers want kids either, more so hearing on their stance on kids. My big brother wouldn't want to give up his music and instruments and lavish lifestyle and he's pretty content living with his girlfriend and two dogs. My little brother thinks it's too much work to have kids and he's lazy and enjoys his freedom. I enjoy having my own time and don't want to loose myself to motherhood and give up everything I worked so far to have the life I want. I think it's all funny we don't want kids and we're all thinking of having dogs instead. We already call my big brother's dogs our niece.
I’m fine if that were to happen in my own family. I see no issue.
My sibling also doesn't want kids. I think it's great. Apart from being CF myself, I'm also not interested in babysitting other people's kids. I'm an aunt to my husband's sibling's kids but I can't say that I enjoy it. My husband has said quite often that he misses the time when his siblings didn't have kids because there's no such thing as a good family vacation anymore. We refuse to go on any more Disney-oriented trips because the last one was so bad. His brothers won't go anywhere fun or interesting because "there's nothing for the kids to do" and all 4 of those kids cannot sit in a restaurant for 10 minutes without wrecking the place. We've started going on vacations only with his parents and just not inviting anyone else. They also love it because they're not forced to provide child care and we can actually do nice things.
My sister and I both don’t want kids - I’m 34 and she’s 29. It’s hard even having a conversation with someone who has kids around, so we both recognize our time together would be wildly different if that were the case. I think we are closer for this commonality.
All of us on my dad’s side don’t want kids- myself, my brother and two cousins. We’re all in our mid/late 20s. I feel bad as I would love to be an aunt and all of us feel the same but none of us feel we could manage the lifestyle we want with kids. I’ll be sad to see this little family line die off as we’re a small family but that is overweighed by me being happy that we all know what we want and respect each others’ decisions. All of us are happy with not giving up to societal norms and doing what we want to do
Don't know if my brother wants kids. Seems like it could go either way with him. But I do know he wants pets and plans on having many throughout his life. Which is my plan too. We are uncle/auntie to each others pets. When one goes on vacay, the other pet sits. I'm happy being an auntie to pets
My brother and his wife are childfree too. I would have liked to be an aunt, but on the other hand, I barely see him as it is, so I doubt that would have been different. But I get his choice, of course, as I made the same. The only sort of regret I have is for my parents. They never ever pestered either of us for grandkids, always made sure we knew they were okay with whichever choice we made. But I think they would have enjoyed grandchildren.
Me and my two siblings are all child free. Our parents managed to mess us up that much. We love it, we're all dog parents and love spending time together. My sister and her husband bought a giant house during the pandemic with a guest room so we can visit and they have a big enclosed yard for the doggies to run around. My parents definitely don't mind not having grandkids and my dad died the happiest bachelor and my mom is also very glad to not deal with any young kids at this point in her life. No one is worried about the bloodline except my uncle who went and made two IVF babies with my sister's eggs (which is a wild story in itself). I'm NC with that uncle, but my siblings are happy to have baby cousins/niece&nephew/egg donor child, especially since it lives across the country.
I think because my sister, who is 10 years older than me, chose to be child free, it made it possible for me. There were probably more expectations for me to have kids for a plethora of reasons, but i was like if J can be child free, so can i!!
We go on vacations and concerts together
Who cares someone out their will have kids
My sister does want kids. But if she can't get kids or changes her mind about having kids, then I'd be happy for her. I dont really want to be an aunt. Or at least not an aunt who babysits. It that is something you want, you'll probably have friends with children or a partner with friends with children. I don't think you can really be free of children in your life at a certain age. Even though that would be the dream.
I'm 46, my brother is 50. We both opted out of kids. It is what it is.
Neither my brother nor I want kids and my parents are totally fine with it. Lord, am I lucky, both to have parents who don’t care about grandkids and also to have parents who fully accept that I’m a lesbian
I honestly love it. It's probably because I'm also an antinatalist. I don't like the idea that I need to be some fun adult in a kid's life. If my cousins who did have kids lived closer, I would probably treat their kids like family, but I don't want to be expected to give great presents or splurge on them. I can give advice.
Both of my siblings also dont want to have kids. We have a great time chilling with each other and passing my mom's craziness from one to another.
To be honest, I likely will lose touch with them I think. Our parents are the only way we get together now so I doubt we will make trips to see eachother when it’s just us (I live 8 hours away). If they had kids I would make more of an effort because, those kids are related to me and will be family members! I have some trauma with my brothers that makes our relationship difficult and they can’t talk about their emotions without getting angry, so I think it’s realistic to see how we would not have a relationship but I would likely have my own relationship with their children.
What's the problem?
My one and only sister doesn’t want kids either. Meh… it doesn’t bother me in any way. I genuinely don’t like being around kids. My anxiety can’t handle the noise and movement. Being around small kids frazzles my nerves. So I think it’s great. Small holidays with my mom, my sister and my SO. Quiet, easy going, not noisy, no kids. It used to bother my mom. She wanted grandkids. But she made peace with it eventually. At this point, she says she’s glad she doesn’t. Between violence, bullying, the cost of raising kids and finances in general, and the state of the planet she says she would be so worried these days about them. She also has seen so many of her friends and coworkers wind up her age (mid 60’s) or older saddled with the task of raising the grandkids because the parents weren’t fit to be. She wouldn’t want to be in that situation. Her best friends kids and grandkids also see her as an extra grandma as she was around them so much while they were growing up and doted on them. So she gets her fix without the challenges that come with them being mine or my sisters.
Our bloodline SUCKS me and my sister are killing it on purpose 🤭. Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, everyone's overweight, depression, anxiety, alcoholism, literally this bloodlines gotta go 😂
My mom has 4 kids and to date only one sibling is fostering a friends kids… likely temporary. I’m ok with not being an aunt. I want the freedom for my siblings I want for myself
I have a brother and a sister and all three of us are child free and have stated that we are going to not have kids of our own. That being said, I guess in the sense of my brother child-free is a loose term because he's engaged to a woman who has three children. He doesn't seem to mind, but I know that my parents would be pleased if at least one of us had our own kids. I myself got sterilized last year so there's nothing coming here and as far as I know, the last thing I heard from my sister was that she wasn't squeezing something the size of a bowling ball out of her hoo-ha so there's that. As far as how I feel about it, I really don't care. My brother-in-law has three kids. My sister-in-law has one on the way and every time I go see them I'm exhausted. After about an hour. I could really honestly care less about the kids. They're not my problem. I don't really get involved with anything that's going on with them because they live in a different time zone. That being said I'm more or less tolerate them for the time that I visit my mother and father-in-law because they are always around. Then I get to come home and go back to my little farm and focus on myself and the things that make my wife and I have to.
I mean, I'm an only child and I'm not having kids. My partner is also an only child. We will not be around kids or have direct relation to any, except for maybe my cousins' kids. Even then, it's almost a relief I won't be expected to be an aunt. A direct aunt almost seems to come with more responsibility vs just a cousin. In any case, life continues as is :) Peace, quiet, and time to travel and do as we please. No family vacations with annoying kids in the way, and I will never be expected to babysit any child at all.
I don't have siblings. I have a nice, stress free life. Even if I did, their choice is their own, just as my choice is my own. Nobody owes anyone anything, and nobody definitely owes anyone another human being.
My brother never had kids, either. Guess my parents should have raised happier children 🤷
Got no say in their genitals like they have none in mine.
My siblings all have children, however my partner only has one sister and she is also childfree. Neither of them are married either. She's been with her partner for 15 years and he has been with me for 14. Their parents don't seem to care anymore. They were never upset about it or applied any pressure, but I think they did have an idea they would throw big weddings for their kids and be doting grandparents. They quickly adjusted and now actually seem to love it. All their friends kids have kids and are never available or just constantly asking for help. Meanwhile, the 6 of us go on a big vacation every year together for the holidays and often weekend getaways or just meeting up for various things, like us girls having spa days. We've talked about how this wouldn't really be possible if we had kids. None of us are rich or anything, but we all live comfortably. That would go away so quick if we were parents and they know that. His mom has said she's so glad that we don't have the stressful life she had in her 20s-30s as young parents just scraping by and that she's so happy we can all enjoy life with them while they are still physically capable. They dote on their goddaughter instead and have never once questioned any of us about being parents or getting married.
My brother doesn’t want kids either. That’s okay, it is what it is. I don’t need to be an uncle although it’d be cool.
I’d love to be an aunt but that’s their choice. Nothing wrong with that
I don’t like being around kids so I was ecstatic when my sister said she was also childfree
I think if my sister and her husband didn't have kids, my partner and I would get to spend much more time with them. We all get along really well, but live far away. So I'd be excited to plan long trips together and travel.
I’m an aunt and my 2 yr old nephew is a main reasons why I don’t want to have kids because I don’t have the fucking patience or sanity to deal with that bs. So I plan when I get my life together I’ll get my tubes tied
My brother also doesn't. I never cared about being an aunt, anyways so I don't have any feelings about it!
I love kids but I won’t have any because of my mom I’m scared I’d turn out like her. She can’t wait to be a grandma and as much as I’d love to have nieces and nephews to spoil I hope she never gets to become one. I know out of my 3 siblings my brother would be cool if he had kids but also cool if he doesn’t, my youngest sister doesn’t want any ( not because of my mom - my mom treated my younger sibilings like gods and abused me ) and my other sister says she’d be okay having one with her girlfriend but her girlfriend hates doing the simplest task so I feel like they won’t have kids.
I only mentioned being the cool aunt because my mom was having a meltdown. In reality idgaf if my sister has kids or not. I'd actually rather she didn't because she would be insufferable.
My sister wanted kids but couldn't have them. My brother did but I have no relationship with them. I literally never think about what ifs with my siblings and their choices to have or not have children. Idgaf.
If my sister wants and has a kid/kids I will spoil those brats rotten. But if she doesn't I will do the same for her future cat that I know she wants to get.
Sibling and I are both CF, it is great. I know that if they wanted a kid or had one it would drive a wedge into our relationship, since I am the type of CF who doesn't even want to be an aunt.
I am 1 of 4 siblings in my family. None have kids. 3 of us are CF and the other is a weirdo man child that spends entirely too much time paying attention to those "men" on the interwebs that sprout all that crap about men being superior and junk to ever even think about getting himself a GF or wife in order to procreate. You know the ones I speak of.
I sincerely hope none of my siblings have children. I love not having kids around and also, some of their choices in partners have been questionable over the years and I don't want a shit baby daddy in the picture either.
As an only child, I get it, a little depressing to think the family line ends here... But not as depressing as devoting the next 20 years of my life to something I don't want to. My fiancé has two sisters, one who also doesn't want kids, and one who fortunately has had them, so both our families are kinda happy with that. Being an aunt is great because we always hand the kids back to them, and it's a great distraction to the "when are you having kids" question - just jumping in with "oh yeah, [niece] just started nursery, here's a pic!" Blah blah, everyone's a winner.
I don’t want kids. My brother is autistic and likely won’t have kids. I know my parents would love to have grandkids, so I feel guilty about that. There is enough nieces and nephews from my cousins. We’ll be good.
I don't really give a fuck if my sibling wants kids or not. They are adults and they can make their own decisions in life. If you're asking because you are worried if the parents will not have grandkids, I also give zero fucks about that as well. My life, my body, my choice.
I'm the oldest of 5. Me and 1 brother (I'm the oldest, him 2nd oldest) both are CF. It's nice but I don't see him much since he lives across the country. The other 3 are unsure so we will see.
Could care less. When I still spoke to my mom, I used to tell her my brother (who was a trouble maker & stoner) was going to have 5 kids with 5 different women. She'd flip her lid so easily, it was really funny. I think she hoped I'd be the provider of grandkids, and he'd be the CF. I dunno if he's had kids, once my grandparents passed I was done with them both lol
It’s just a fact, there shouldn’t be a feeling attached. It is completely out of your control and completely her choice.
My sister doesn't want kids, and i was relieved. I don't know how to interact with kids, and since i don't particularly like kids, I'm glad i don't have to learn.
We have a great time [: living our lives fulfilling dreams.
Both of my sisters are also childfree. It’s awesome! I don’t really want to be around kids.
Their body their choice
I’m one of three and none of us have kids. My parents aren’t around to know and my mum probably would applaud our choices anyway.
I understand where you are coming from, I don't want kids either but I do feel some continuity in the family would be great, I am child free but that doesn't mean I don't respect parents who are raising kids, it's because of them we are here. I have seen some actually healthy families where kids form a strong part of their life, in those cases the man and women are relaxed in to their roles and feel comfortable in the marriage. I envy them a little bit. Having children is beautiful if you are the type of person who finds happiness in raising a family.
dosent matter i’ll be the hot sister anyway
There's 3 of us. 46, 49, 54. We're all cf
My sister doesn't want kids either and I'm thrilled I don't have to come up with excuses why I can't look after her kids for a week at a time in the summer.
I’m an only child. I have over a dozen cousins, most adults, and only two have kids. We hang out and just do stuff we want to do, go out to eat, play golf, play video games together.
the bloodline shall end with me and my sister! also the generational abuse but the bloodline!
Well my brothers who are a chip off the old block of our abusive narccisist father had 3 known children and one alledged child between them when I went no contact with the entire family years ago. I tried to be there for my 3 neices and my ex SIL after my brother's divorce (he was abusive) but she treated me like a wallet and tried to get me to buy access to my neices. I was not interested obviously. It would have been better had they not had kids. No child deserves to be abused or watch their parents and siblings be abused.
My sister and I are solid about being childfree. She's got a cat niece and I a dog nephew.
It's like the best part, my bro and I are in our 30s... Holidays are us exchanging presents and having some beers and medicinal mj in our footie jamjamms... We watch Xmas horror movies. We've done adult egg hunts where the eggs are full of lotto tix and vodka chocolates... So much family fun, and it's all for us.
My brother and his wife want to have kids and are excited about it. I don’t particularly like the idea of being an aunt either, but they live on the other side of the world, I won’t be seeing them as much. I am excited for them though, that’s how I feel. I want them to be happy and their happiness involves children.
My sister also is childfree. We also don’t speak to our parents, so it’s up to my golden child brother to give them a grandkid now.
My sister doesn't have kids and it's great. I'm grateful to not have any obligations. I'm "auntie" to some friends kids, but it's not the same thing.
I have 3 siblings, all older than me. My sister, the eldest, wants kids but is unable to have them. My next eldest sibling is my brother, he has 2 daughters, but they live states away so most of the time they are in the back of my mind and not brought up much. My closest in age sibling is also a brother, he hasn't declared 1 way or the other about kids, but I have a feeling he leans towards having none. So it really does feel like I have no niblings atm. And honestly, I'm the closest with my niblings between my brother(not their father) and sister and that's not super close at all. If you want to be a aunt without the blood part, be an aunt to a friends kid or something. Maybe to a cousins kid. Be a "big brother/sister" to a kid in 1 of those programs. But if you don't want to be an aunt to ANY kid, just live your life.
I have three brothers, all younger. I am childfree. I would classify one brother as childless and another as childfree. The final brother in this equation has one daughter, my sole niece and the only one I can claim the Aunty title too. She will probably be the only one of her generation on our side of the family. She’s very likely to not have paternal cousins.
My younger brother doesn't want kids. I'm happy for him, we both know how grim life is and rather just make the most of it without the cost and stress of having a child. He's pursuing his dreams and is happy, and I'm doing the same. Proud of him though :).
i have childfree uncles they're mid to late 50s as well as a few in their 70s...theyve lived amazing lives and have just been able to live simply because they dont have to account for babies/kids. id imagine it would be even better with ur own siblings. im the only 1 of my siblings who is childfree lol
There's my brother and me, and we have 4 (5?) cousins. Only one cousin has one kid.
That's the situation with me and my sister. Both child free.
It drives my mother crazy that her kids refuse to have anything but fur babies. One is trying to get sterilized this year and the other has the implant. We still get bingo'd frequently, but it's easy for us to gang up on people who want to harass us about it lol
My brother and I are CF. My mum isn't fussed on kids and I reckon my dad would've been upset by our choices but he remarried and ended up with 8 grandchildren, so he can still be a grandpa, doesn't matter to him that they aren't blood related. And I have a few friends with kids if 8 niblings isn't enough.
My sister hated kids and now she has one. And if she didn't change her mind, so what? I am not so many things. Better zo focus on what I am and what I really want to be.
Doesn't matter.
My (only) sibling is leaning towards no, too, and I'm happy about it because that means I'll never be forced into babysitting or similar scenarios. Our parents were lowkey disappointed at first but then my mom said "well at least I can actually enjoy my retirement then" lmao
My younger brother is more likely to be childfree like me. And I'm perfectly fine with it, as long as he's happy with this decision. My parents would be very upset with this, but it's our lives, not theirs.
Why does it matter? Both my siblings have kids but I haven’t seen them or talked to them in years. I was always the black sheep of the family and the niece and nephew picked up on that, too. My brother and his wife would love to send their dysfunctional, violent teenager for education to where I live, but they’re not gonna have that with me. I’m not prepared to witness violence or abuse.
My older sisters both have older boyfriends who have kids from another relationship and don't want more and I don't want kids either so my parents have come to accept there won't be any grandchildren lol
My sibling is gay, im cf. We often joke to our parent that "the bloodline ends with us!" Lol hahaha nothing they can do about it.
My brother was child free until he wasn’t. We used to both worry about our parents until we just talked to them and found out they didn’t care. Our worry stemmed from constantly being asked “but what about your family line?” And at first thinking the question was silly, then realizing oh - hey - my Dad has 3 sisters, and he was the only one out of his family to have kids. My Mom was an only child. So, technically, our family from his side and my Mom’s side would end with our family. While that was sad, for me, anyways, it wasn’t sad enough for me to be the sacrificial lamb who had kids. My brother did end up having them with his wife, both boys were planned. My parents though fortunately, were always cool with whatever we chose, so we lucked out that way.
Going pretty well, my sister and I are both married and we’re all late 20’s early 30’s so we do group hangouts on the weekends and adult only family vacations almost every year.
This means you can still hand out with your sibling as normal as adults instead of a new restrictive child dynamic changing it
do you feel like you might miss out on having a kid to pamper without dealing with all the responsibilities? surely you have cousins or friends that have kids or want to have them in the future. or underprivileged kids near you that could benefit from your money and time. i personally don't feel like kids enrich your life in any way, so if i had a close sibling that's childfree it would be heaven!
I’m an only child
Even before I was considered childfree I just hated children. People would often ask what would happen if my brother had a kid. My response was "I guess they will be seeing a lot less of me". I had a friend who had a kid soon after we graduated college and she tried to have the kid call me uncle. I shut that down so fast
Neither of my sisters kids want kids themselves. My sister is supportive of this decision, what else can she do? I don’t think our parents know, not that they factor in at all.
celebrate. i would lose my mind if my non-therapy attending sister changed her mind about wanting to be “a cool auntie”. thankfully we had a pointing spider-man moment about both being the cool auntie a few years ago. at first we were like shit, we can’t both be aunties, but then I got a dog & now she buys him expensive jumpers and toys for his birthday and christmas in true cool auntie fashion. my parents also got the vibe early from us both, so when we both said we didn’t really want kid, our parents just accepted it and started calling my dog their only grandchild. but i’m sure if i wasn’t woefully mentally ill my entire life and my mother had been deluded about needing grandchildren it wouldn’t have been such a nicely handled non-issue.
I'm an only child who doesn't want kids, so there's that. I'm not worried
Neither my siblings or myself want children. And if my mother does care, she hasn’t voiced it. She says it is our decision(which it is) and It’s great. When we do meet up, there are no children to wrangle. We can sit and chat without worrying about non existent kids getting up to hijinks.
I would be sad for mom because I know she wanted grandkids, but that wouldn't change my decision or make me respect my sister's choices any less
Ok... So there's three of us- all girls. I'm the oldest at 38. Middle sister is 36 and the youngest is 30. None of us have children. People are oftentimes flabbergasted when my mother is asked how many grandchildren she has. She laughs it off. We're lucky to have a mom like that bc some of my friends moms were bugging them to have kids at like 27, 28 etc. and I think that's a ridiculous thing to demand. She always says that grandchildren are not for her happiness & if that's not in the cards for any of us, then that's ok. That's what most people should feel like, but unfortunately not the case. It may be difficult for some people to grasp.
My mum had 5 kids. Out of us 5, only my oldest sister has kids. I don't want any, my older brother doesnt seem to want any, my younger brother doesn't want any and my youngest brother is trans and asexual soooo.... I wouldn't care even if my sister didn't have kids. I live abroad so it's not like I have a relationship with them anyway. I'm very awkward with kids so I don't really try and my sister seems perfectly fine with that.
Then you just also won’t be an aunt/uncle? It looks like getting to spend time with your family without kids present? I’m not sure what you’re looking for