Childfree by choice

"So how old are you now honey?"

"Just turned 25 a couple of months ago."

"Ohhhhh," the lady answers with that deer caught in headlights look on her face as the drivel continues,  "You must be hearing that biological clock just ticking away.  Don't wait too long, your prime days for motherhood are running out with time."

"That's funny the only clock I have is a digital alarm clock."

Countless times I've come across that scenario with various women.

All of who shudder when I inform them that I've opted for a childfree life.  Most often women are horrified by my choice, think it's selfish and assure me that it will a change the first time I hold my "bundle of joy."

My decision to remain childfree started when I was 13.

My mother, who was strong believer in visual learning, decided that witnessing a live birth was the best visual lesson on birth control.

I'll never forget that day the mother-to-be was only a couple years older then me.

The sights, the sounds and especially the smell affected me strongly as I realized the impact of a new life.

Later, observations made throughout my life showed me the responsibility accompanied with children, diapers, clothes, sports financing and college tuition.

Nicola Chadwick

There was never enough money, patience or time but an abundance of childcare.

Growing up I watched some of my friends get pregnant, have abortions or have the baby and watched the fathers become phantoms.  Among my friends pregnancy was considered worse then AIDS.

Just because I prefer a childfree life doesn't mean that I'm a lesbian or hate children.

Being female doesn't automatically decide a maternal destiny.

At the risk of sounding cliché, there are stricter guidelines for owning a dog, getting a fishing license and so forth but parenting is considered a God-given right.

Raising a child is not something to be taken lightly.

Too many are having children for reasons such as, it's the natural course of life, to prevent loneliness when becoming older and insuring their mortality.

Reasons which seem just as selfish as the reasons not to have a child such as, pursuing a career, less marital pressure and more financial freedom.

Chances are slim that with a journalism degree I'll ever have enough money to cover the cost of childcare, college and my retirement.

There are plenty of abandoned children without a home should I ever change my mind.

Nicola Chadwick is the Opinion editor of the Daily Forty-Niner.

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