I'm 40. My son was born when I was 34. I didn't see the appeal until pretty much when he was born and I held him for the first time. What happened was that my resistance had softened to the point where I was willing to have a child because my wife badly wanted one. The moment I held him for the first time that all changed, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.

I'm a cynic, and very conscious that it's down to my brain getting flooded with drugs. But they're oh, so very efficient drugs.

I'm not the OP, but I'm 33, and also don't see the appeal of having children.

45yo here, no ex's, kids or even pets. It is a completely different life from my families', friends' and peers' lives. Many envy my choices, some feel sorry for me* but most are indifferent. Mom has come to appreciate my stance only recently: *alone is not necessarily lonely. I have respect & admiration for those who commit to marriage/parentage, and I empathise with the many who fail... most empathy reserved for the innocents who grow up amidst, and as a direct result of, such failures. I was the parentless, feral kid amidst a dysfunctional divorce, went to 9 different schools from k-12 and used my own monies & a fake ID to get snipped when I was 17. I won't be repeating that mistake. I am an idealist, I have refused to curtail or abandon my lofty goals for an enlightened humankind and my finances/quality of life have suffered for it. I do not HAVE to do anything, nobody is reliant on me beyond my reponsibilities as a service provider and I can afford such luxuries as true independence.