No Kids: 40 Good Reasons Not to Have Children

XXXXX "This little book is intended to further discourage those potential parents everywhere who are beginning to wonder if having children is really worth the trouble. Of course, they can't share their doubts with anyone: raising the question is simply not done, because HAVING CHILDREN IS GOOD. However, there are a multitude of excellent reasons not to have children, at least forty of them--reasons that are far more rational than the ones we usually come up with for having kids." The above is found in the introduction of this intriguing book by Corinne Maier (and translated from the French by Patrick Watson). Maier is a psychoanalyst that has two children, one a pre-teen, the other a teenager. Within the pages of this book lie truths, truths a mother is never supposed to utter, let alone write down and publish in a book. The way this book is structured is that Maier gives a reason for not having kids and then briefly elaborates on her reason. She follows this format for all forty of her reasons. Personally, I admired and was impressed by Maier's honesty throughout the book. Her brief explanations for each reason she gives for not having children are not just her opinions but include, for example, insights from history, child psychology, and even politics. Other than English, this book has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Brazilian, German, Swedish, Czech, Polish, and Korean. Finally, in many cases, much of the information given in this book is properly footnoted. However, in some cases I wondered where the author had acquired her non-opinionated information. I think in a book of this type that the author should have paid more attention to proper footnoting. In conclusion, I think this book will impress whether you are a parent or childfree. I leave you with this interesting comment by comedian Rita Rudner: "My husband and I are either going to buy a dog or have a child. We can't decide whether to ruin our rugs or ruin our lives." (first English translation published 2009; prologue; introduction; 40 good reasons not to have children; conclusion; main narrative 125 pages) XXXXX

Whether you have children or not, this is a good read. Despites its humor, it gives a couple enough to think about before plunging into parenthood. The fact that the author herself is a mother only gives the book more crediblity. The moral of this book is look before you leap because afterwards your in for a long twenty year+ sentence.

For those struggling with the decision about whether or not to have children, a major piece of advice that is missing is that no one from the "other side" (someone who has kids) will ever tell you anything other than how great being a parent is. It's refreshing to hear from someone who has kids speaking frankly and realistically about the challenges of raising them from the unique perspective of an honest Mom.

This book is a must. People should read this. It may save them from parenthood and therefore save the planet