In August 2013, Time magazine chose The Childfree Life as its cover story, featuring a photo of a happy couple lounging on a beach, with what some described as self-satisfied, smug smiles (Sandler, 2013). If Time chose this photo with the aim of sparking some controversy, it did indeed achieve its objectives. Unsurprisingly, the coverage touched a lot of raw nerves, leading to numerous comment posts and blog rants, both for and against the decision not to have children. The following essay does not advocate that more individuals should be childless. Instead, it attempts to better understand the decision to forgo parenthood by addressing common myths and presenting statistics about childless women. Finally, it addresses childless women's desire to be accepted as normal, without the common assumptions of a deviant, unhappy, unfulfilled, unfulfilled, or abnormal life. But what exactly does “childfree” mean? The word childless is a term that has become preferred by those who have intentionally chosen not to have children. This is of course very different from the term childless, which has historically been used to describe people who want children, but are unable to conceive them (Gold, 2013; DeLyser, 2012). In the United States, a growing number of women are choosing not to have children (DeLyser, 2012). This movement has been called “one of the most remarkable changes to occur in the modern family in recent decades” (Gold, 2013, p. 224). However, despite the increasing number of women choosing not to have children, current trends in cultural attitudes and socio-political practices continue to promote the importance of traditional parenting, while rejecting and often criticizing.... . middle of paper ...... expected. People are different and need different things. For some, raising children is a formidable challenge; for others it seems unappealing or even impossible. The normalization of not having children is a win for all of us, whether we choose to have children or not. It reminds us that children are people who deserve to be raised and nurtured by adults who proactively want to have them. In summary, most childless women simply want to be accepted as normal and that childless women are not necessarily deviant, unhappy, dissatisfied, dissatisfied or abnormal. Others are asked to be aware and willing to challenge the conventional wisdom that women choose to forgo childhood, and that women who make this choice come from all types of family systems. A final hope is that others can recognize that there may be legitimate, compelling, selfless reasons not to have children..