Dear Javier,

Is having kids the ultimate goal of life? Will they fulfil my needs and emptiness?

No, I don’t think it’s the ultimate goal of life. I myself don’t have children, due to various circumstances, but mostly because for a long time I didn’t feel ready to be a mother (because my upbringing left me incapacitated and with very low self-esteem and no self-love). Due to all that, I didn’t have a desire to have a child, and I still don’t. But I don’t feel less worthy because of that, or that my life doesn’t have a meaning. In any case, I don’t believe having children is the ultimate goal of life, although for many people it’s incredibly rewarding and gives meaning and purpose to their lives. It’s very individual.

What’s for sure is that children cannot fulfill our needs – it is the parents who need to fulfill the children’s needs, not vice versa. If you feel empty, you won’t have anything to give to your children either. If you feel depressed, your children will be depressed too. They may spend their whole lives trying to cheer you up and then feel bad about themselves for never succeeding. And so on.

If you have children to feel better about yourself, it’s a lost case from the start and will also have a bad effect on your children. If we use children for our own unmet needs, we will see them as functions, instead of unique individuals that they really are.