When people have children they become
monsters. Demanding, irrational,
clinging,
needy, violent, monsters with
unreasonable expectations and
unrealistic requirements of their
offspring.
A child born into this world of small family units and longevity is signed to the worst kind of bonding contract in the negotiations of which it has no say. It is expected to love, respect, obey and satisfy its parents, as well as allow them to take care of it the best (or worst) they can and take care of them in return when they grow old and dependant.
And that's even before the specific complexes of the parents in question come into play - the vicarious triumphs, the need to have their children make amends for their own mistakes, the use of them as weapons against their own parents or partners in case of divorce...
I don't know a single child who hasn't somehow failed to comply with these terms. I don't know a single parent of a fully grown child who are satisfied with what their child has grown up to be. Either professionally, religiously, personally, in their choice of partner, in their choice of place to live, in their choice of friends and hobbies, in their relationship with themselves - all parents are somehow dissapointed by their children. And they put the blame squarely at the door of these people whom they saddled with expectations without ever asking, without truly considering their needs and preferences.
I don't want to be that kind of monster. I would rather coo (and I do) over other people's children than traumatize my own. I love my unborn children too much to subject them to what it means to be part of a family in this day and age, in this society.
No, my biological clock isn't ticking. If it were, it would be the ominous ticking of a bomb.