Top products from r/truechildfree

We've got a ton of toys for our (4) nieces, and for when we hold BBQs or other parties where everyone's kids are welcome. It's hard to plan for all ages of kids, so we've accumulated stuff along the years -- we always have books and paper for drawing, and bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Last year for our Memorial Day BBQ I grabbed a piñata at Target for $10 and it was a big (literal) hit.

One of our most popular toys for almost everyone is the Fisher-Price Wonder Woman Invisible Plane. I also have two giant mesh laundry bags that hold soft foam blocks and another one full of fabric remnants for superhero capes and dress-up (I include clothespins instead of safety pins so I know nobody is stabbing themselves). After the party is over, I can just throw the bag into the washing machine and give it a rinse.

Thanks for the kind words! :-)

I read Daum's book "Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids". Don't judge the book by it's cover or the title. It's actually a very thoughtful and thought-provoking read. I found it to be an accessible book, full of personal testimonies. It goes beyond the myopic views about starting a family.

Really helped me to put things in perspective.

These are the earplugs I use. I find them to be comfortable and I can't say I've ever experienced soreness from wearing them.

Off-brand Rumba.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D78Y5TN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My poetry book about the various things I’ve gone through in terms of being childfree (breakups, mother in laws, sterilization, birth control failing, unsupportive therapists, etc., plus 16 poems about fur babies) is less than half price on amazon right now.

Not sure if anyone is interested but here is the link:

https://www.amazon.com/T-Gondii-Nina-Belen-Robins/dp/098322756X

That is how children learn about the world, if I'm not mistaken. :)


> I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there. --Richard Feynman

(From this lovely book)

Amazon! These are the ones I got, but there are plenty more options available as well. The only thing is they are strips, so you have to pee in a cup and then dip the strips in the cup (I have a designated cup for this under my sink lmao). I got the 25 pack but they offer up to 100!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VT30C8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1v

I'm so sorry you had to deal with all of that. I completely understand how you feel, a baby would 150% ruin my life.

My in-laws are both extremely Catholic, so my choice didn't go over well.

Admittedly, we're childfree because I pushed for it. He was apathetic about children, so it wasn't like it took much convincing, but I'm pretty sure if he'd married a traditional woman, he would have given her children if she'd wanted them.

At any rate, when it came up, mother-in-law had a panic attack. It was uncomfortable, but I endured it. She didn't bingo me a whole lot, just before we were married. Afterward, if he went over to her place by himself, she would needle him for progress updates. She called it "that little project".

His father just straight up got us a book written by the at-the-time-current Pope about children. We threw it away.

What's funny is that his elder brother had five children in a row. They'd told his wife that she probably wouldn't be able to have any, so best to do so early. She'd had one when I met my husband and was pregnant almost constantly the first seven years I was part of the family. She ended up torn up, breasts destroyed, confidence shattered. They were both promising musicians in college and now they live in the middle of nowhere and make no money.

His younger brother seems childfree. He's mentioned having a child named Rocket Launcher or something in the past, but I'm pretty sure he's not going to be a father any time soon.

The worst was when I had fibroids. My abdomen was swollen as if I were pregnant and I remember going over there one time, in excruciating pain, having torrential periods and generally feeling depressed, and his aunt and mom both walk up to us with sparkling eyes.

"When are you due?" his aunt asked. I wanted to die on the spot.

A few months later, I had a partial hysterectomy, which put all of the agonizing to bed forever.