SunlitSorceressPeople in their 40s and 50s with no children, how does it feel?
You could really ask this question of anyone about anything. There will always be substantial differences between one person’s life and another. Having had children doesn’t necessarily denote that difference, even less so for men and some fathers don’t stick around and go live their own lives seemingly uninterrupted.
Think of how many things people sink great amounts of time and effort into; gambling, becoming a practicing doctor, hedge fund trading, starting a charity, programming… Those people will probably all have large amounts of time devoted to those things.
Of course there’ll be many things that don’t compare, and some that do… Then you must alsi factor in that it’s a trauma for some people. Some people end up not liking their children, kicking them out, disconnecting.
Human nature is hugely variable. What’s it like being a good person? What’s it like being rich? What’s it like being homeless and a drug addict? What’s it like in prison? What’s it like as mayor? Or psychiatrist? Or teacher?
What’s it like not doing any of the things mentioned here? Well, that question, your post, is really about you, isn’t it? It’s about you asking others “what would my life be if I didn’t/don’t have kids?”
So, why are you asking?
Because it’s not a bad thing to ask another person about their experiences in life. And putting it within the context of a particular life choice adds a layer of focus to the conversation.
Given your logic, no one should ever ask anyone else any question about heir personal experiences other than to retrieve information.
putting it within the context of a particular life choice adds a layer of focus to the conversation.
It won’t create a very interesting debate though, because OP already excluded most people who followed through on the opposing view in the question itself.
This extra layer of focus really functions as a filter, which can only result in a hall of mirrors.
It’s perfectly fine if OP just wanted to confirm an existing bias and need arguments for that, but it’s absolutely not a very interesting conversation.