If I Am Happy Being Parent To A Single Child, Why Does Society Have A Problem

In the operation theatre when the doctor said it’s a girl, I somehow felt relieved.

My daughter is 5 years old now and I still get to hear the question of ‘When will we hear the good news?’

I’m too tempted to say never.

Reasons why I am happy being a parent to a single child

So below are the reasons that stand strong and enough for me to remain a parent to a single child:

1. I’m not emotionally, physically, or financially ready to be a mother again.
2. I cannot imagine the dependency I need to endure if I get pregnant again. I do not want to rely on my husband or my mother or my mother-in-law or my father-in-law or for that matter even a maid or nanny to help me out however small the task may be.
3. I had a traumatic first pregnancy, delivery and survived postpartum depression. And the next time, I may not be tough enough to pull myself up.
4. Growing up I realized that every parent has a favorite child. I have decided I shall not have one. And I think it’s very difficult to not have an opinion with more than one roaming around you.
5. In this fast-growing era, I came to digest the fact that not everyone gets or needs a shoulder to cry on. So, she’s gonna be just fine whichever corridor she falls into.
6. In the Indian scenario, it is a son’s responsibility to take care of his parents. Trust me I have seen parents being shared among kids. It’s never an issue if you have just one child irrespective of gender.
7. If I had a son, I might have tried for a daughter though it’s a little risky. And I’m tempted to say I couldn’t do the vice versa.
8. I can’t imagine investing another 5 years of my life into bringing up a child-that too mediocrely and to constantly think/worry about their safety/ future.
9. I cannot burden myself, my mother, and my MIL to take care of the baby solely as the parenting job lands heavily on women’s shoulders.

It’s such a blessing that I have been chosen to bring life into this world, but the world is such today that I am putting a limitation on that blessing too. And I can proudly say this is not #mychoice but #ourchoice.

Image Source: Canva Pro

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