Taken from a comment I left elsewhere...
I have never wanted kids.
I knew this as a kid, I know it now at the age of (almost) twenty-eight. I am often frustrated by married parents (or soon-to-be parents) who feel it necessary to suggest that I'm less of a person for willingly remaining child free.
Maybe it's selfishness, I don't know, but I don't see it that way. I "know" me. I know what I can and can't tolerate. I don't buy the notion that I'd magically feel different if they were my kids. The fact is, children require a long commitment that is as much emotional (if not more so) than it is physical and financial. I am not prepared for that and I'm honest enough to admit it.
I think some people genuinely want to be and love being parents. Some people make great parents and I see genuine happiness in their faces when their kids are around or when they recount stories of their children. By contrast, I also believe that some people aren't all that happy about the burden of parenting (see Corinne Maier's "No Kids") but many people are too afraid to admit it.
One woman I know who has been married for several years and who has two young kids remarked to me recently (while at a wedding) that she thought it was great that I knew I didn't want children. She said that more people need to be honest with themselves and not cave to societal or familial pressure to "do the normal thing".
I wholeheartedly agree.
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