Welcome to Gaia! ::

Despite their ick-factor (oh GAWD, they LEAK and OOZE and are always STICKY) , when it comes down to it, I'm actually really good with kids. They always seem to sort of gravitate to me and want to play in public places, and when I babysit they always have lots of fun and want me to watch them again. But I can't imagine myself wanting one of my own. I'd be comfortable being the "cool aunt" or something, even though I don't have siblings.

Mary~ I read a book once and they had 7 boys and it was a really good book. neutral

DAMNIT MEDIA.

Also I don't have a v****a what is that

When I was younger, didn't want kids. Now that I'm older, I'd love a kid. I know I want to graduate before I have any of my own, because then I might have a better chance of getting a good job. I'd love to teach them about the world and why this are this way or that, then watch them grow and make their own choices and decisions with those values. I can't think of a more rewarding experience.

Do you intend to have kids? Someday.
When? After college and i have a stable job.
Would you be a single mom? No thank you.
How many? i think two is wise
Do you want boys, girls, twins, ect? I'm almost guaranteed to have twins on the first go around. I'd like a boy and a girl.
And would you adopt? If I couldn't have children on my own, yes.

Xippy, I think John was responding to some of us calling raising children selfish. But I agree with your sentiment completely. There's a lot of social grief around adults without children; my aunt is 40 and perpetually single, but she loves it that way. I hate seeing my relatives hassle her about getting married and having children.

Anyway I don't think it's selfish to raise a child, I think it's selfish to want a biological child simply for the fact that it's 'your' child. Yes, it's biologically natural to want a biological child, but so is pooping on the ground, and I think we live in an age where we can, if we want, see past biological urges.

Raising a child, particularly but not exclusively an adopted one, to me sounds like one of the most selfless things you could do, and I have the greatest admiration for people who do so.

also sorry for being selfish and wanting my 'own' child. :<

It might be precisely because these aren't your children you feel this way. In fact, I imagine many women feel this way about all babies and toddlers until they have one of their own.

It's cliche, but it's like the Scrubs episode where Carla is given Dr. Cox's son to watch. She's pregnant, and she thought it would be a good test of her skills as a parent to do this. So what does she do? Pawn the kid off to the janitor and want to throw the kid out the window.

She thinks she's going to be a bad parent, and she asks Dr. Cox what would make her act differently to her own child? He says, "Because it'll be yours."

Also, Xip, no one has a handbook on how to be a parent - it's a learned thing, either from the way you were raised or something you improvise. It's a huge risk. There are books, seminars, and people that can always help - but it's not like people just know.

Not trying to convince you to have kids or anything, though.