A very thorny issue Clipclop! I'm 49 and I've never had children - and I'm so pleased I didn't. I know if I'd had children I would have loved them and done as much as I could for them and if I'd lost them I'd have been devastated. However, they never came along and looking back I'm pleased they didn't.
I've gone through life working with, and knowing, many people with children and others like me who never had them. I would say the one single word that sums up the difference between the two groups is - freedom. I've always been able to do exactly what I want, when I want to do it. I've never had a boss or supervisor as such and when I wanted to leave the council years ago I just got up from my desk and went home! I was able to start my business which needed my full 24-hour, 7-day attention for several years which I wouldn't have done with a family. I have always been able to buy things like cars whenever I see something. I've moved around the country without having to think of schools and when I've wanted to go away for a week or two I've often gone straight to the travel agent and been on a plane a day or two later.
People I've known with children never seem to have that freedom. Quite rightly, their children come first in every thing they do. However, that means if they want to buy something like a car they have to work out where the money will come from, they can't move as they have to think about schools, they can't just jump on a plane and go on holiday. If they do go away they are limited to school holidays and then pay twice the price my wife and I do when we go off-peak.
It seems that people with children are also locked into the type of life of having to work for an employer, pay a mortgage and wait for the next pay cheque to go in the bank. It was only by not having children that I was able to walk out of the council and start my own business. I'm sure that if I'd had children I would still be working for an employer somewhere, and I remember how unhappy and soul-destroying that was. I always struggled for money and I remember being skint by the end of every month.
I hope that doesn't cause any upset with anyone as I haven't intended to do that. All I've done is answer Clipclop's post from my perspective as never having had children. I'm sure people with children would never change and are pleased they had them. I know I would have done the best for mine - but they just never came along so my life went down that route of having personal freedom in life.
That's just what worked for me as a man though. It seems women want children far more than men and many consider it a disaster if they can't have them. Most men love their own kids when they come along, but they aren't fussed about kids in general. I fit into that typical group I think.
That's just me though Clipclop. If you want children don't listen to me for Heaven's sake! But if you're asking this question I've just answered it for you from my side of the fence. Good luck.