I don’t think I can ever let my parents know I’m an atheist and with that seems to go my chance of having kids.
Which got me curious: can any irreligious people on here who have kids while having religious parents share what thats like?
Would love to hear your stories or thoughts on this in general.
If I have kids I won’t raise them by a religion or put them through the expected rituals, and my parents will notice that. Which would then force me to come out. So not ruining my relationship with them means not having kids.
If you want to entertain having kids, you need to be ready for a radical shift in your life priorities. Your kids will take priority over just about everything – often even yourself. They’ll take priority over your parents entirely, let alone your personal relationship with them.
First, are the practical and logistical aspects of your life at all dependent on your parents? I.e. are you fully independent? You will need to be and then some, you’re going to entertain having kids.
Once you’re fully independent and additionally have resources to spare (time, effort, money, space, etc, usually b/c you’re with a partner you can trust and rely on), then choosing to have kids means starting your own family – not your parents’ family.
If the grandparents are supportive and helpful, that’s great! They’re extremely welcome to contribute to your kids’ lives (and lighten some of your parenting load!)
However, if they’re negatively impacting you or esp your kids, then they can lose that privilege. Again, your priority will be your kids. If this is a real concern for you, you’ll need to factor it into your “ready to have a kid” considerations.
I guess you just live in a very different world than me. I would never let my parents dictate my life like that. They either accept me for who I am or they don’t get to be part of my life. I would also never try to dictate life for my own kids like that when they are adult human beings.