cross-posted from: https://radiation.party/post/98607
[ comments | sourced from HackerNews ]
There is very little research into men who have not had children, although that is beginning to change. Research by Dr Robin Hadley has found that 25% of men over 42 do not have children – 5% more than women of the same age group.
Half of the men who are not fathers but wanted to be describe a huge grief and isolation from society. Almost 40% have experienced depression and a quarter feel a deep anger.
My oldest best friend came up to me and said that he always saw that I liked kids and got on well with them but he never really got it. However, his wife wanted one so he went along with it, then the moment he held his daughter in his arms it all clicked. Given that he doesn’t talk much and says even less about his feelings this was very touching and it’s great for him but there are, presumably, other people who didn’t have that Damascene conversion and that would be a nightmare.
So, yes, I fully appreciate where you are coming from there.