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Do you regret having children?

Adrienne Beaumont
2 min readJun 24, 2023

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My kids and me — a rare family shot — photo by Stacey Mulcahy

Believe it or not, I was just talking to Stacey in general terms about my life and the men (I use the term loosely) I married — one of whom is her father and her two older brothers’ too. How can I regret that marriage when I have three wonderful children from it? Her quip, “But are they?” Well, yes they are. They all have their idiosyncrasies but don’t we all? The same goes for my second marriage which she thinks was a big mistake since my second husband is 11 years younger than me. I’d have no Keeley, Rowan or Lexi in my life and by extension, no Carl or Caelin. I can’t even imagine life with no children now. But as a university student, marriage and children were far from my career-oriented life. I never wanted either.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t love all of my six children but sometimes I don’t particularly like them. Doesn’t every parent feel the same? When they’re taking drugs, they are different people but as a parent, I have to be there for them when they need me for support — financial or emotional.

Isn’t it ironic that I, the woman who never wanted children, had six! I occasionally think about how different my life may have been. I also wonder if I would have stayed married if I had married a different man. But regrets? I don’t regret having my children, but I sometimes regret I didn’t continue with my education after I married my second husband. I gave…

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Adrienne Beaumont
Adrienne Beaumont

Written by Adrienne Beaumont

I’m Australian. I love to travel and write about my adventures.I write about my daily life as a mother and grandmother as well as my past experiences.

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