A real mum's book about why we should remain childless has become an unlikely bestseller in France.
A mother of two has become the surprise hit of France's literary world with her book on why not to have children. Corinne Maier's book "No Kid: 40 Reasons Not to Have Children" shot to the top of the bestsellers list in France. Maier, who has two children, daughter Laure, 13 and son Cyrille, 10 argues that; ' Children are just too much work. They just aren't worth the hassle. Parents today are put under so much pressure to bring up perfect children, but what's the point? They are just walking problems to which you constantly have to find solutions.'
The author says her top 10 reasons not to have children are:
1. Yes, we all know giving birth is a nightmare, but no one ever warns you that breastfeeding is agony.
2. You never get to lie in again because you have to get up at 7am every day to get your children off to school. And even the weekends are ruined because life loses all its spontaneity when you have to book a babysitter before you can do anything.
3. Children cost a fortune. Have you seen how much a pram costs, let alone nappies, bottles and clothes?
4. You have to spend your weekends in plastic theme parks or gawping at bored animals in a zoo.
5. You can never go to a grownup restaurant. Instead you have to eat in wipe-clean, fast food joints.
6. Looking after toddlers is boring and unrewarding.
7. You spend your life cleaning up after your children and helping them with their school work. And all you get in return is being treated like a maid by your family.
8. Your career is put on hold as you choose jobs based on whether you can fit them around your family or not.
9. Babies break up close couples and kill off your sex life.
10. There are already too many children in the world, so why add to the problem?
August 2007
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Why Not To Have Kids
