Sir, – Bernadette Fallon writes about being childless in Saturday's Magazine (December 14th), and I am sorry that she never had children if that was actually what she wanted in her life.
However, she overlooks a whole section of us who are not child less, but child free by choice, making a conscious, joyful decision to forgo the experience of procreating in favour of doing whatever it is we want to do instead. I am 38 years old and I choose not to have children. Many of my friends, both male and female, choose the same thing. I found the tone of the whole article underlayed with sadness that the women interviewed could not have what they wanted in life. No happy childfree person was interviewed.
Also, the focus on women and not on men is a sign of the backward attitude that still prevails on this issue. Please interview some happily childfree people and ask them what they are planning to do with their “one wild life”. . . There’s so many things one can do with the next 30 years when kids are taken out of the equation... The thought of it takes my breath away with excitement and exhilaration! – Yours etc
RAYNE BOOTH,
Lisbon.