YOU ASSUMED WRONG.

VOLUNTARY childlessness; FAMILIES; CANADA -- Social conditions -- 1991-; CANADIANS

This article presents the opinion of the author about her choice to not have children. When I answer that my husband, Darrin, and I have decided not to have children, the statement is usually met with bewilderment, silence, even disapproval. I don't lie any more. There is a certain empowerment and freedom that comes from being child-free (note I didn't say childless). According to the latest census, more and more Canadians are choosing not to have children. Discrimination in the workplace is also a significant issue for the child-free. There are many child-free people like my husband and me out there, and we live our lives just as other people do. We go to work. We go to the movies. We have friends and family who care about us and whom we care about. I feel strong in the knowledge that I have made a decision that is right for me and for my marriage. Searching the Internet one day we came across the site for No Kidding! (www.nokidding.net), a not-for-profit social club for couples and singles who are not parents, for whatever reason. We thought it would be fun to start our own Burlington, Ont., chapter, and in 2001 we had our first get-together. Since then, we've held monthly meetings and organized more extensive activities: we've gone camping, for instance, and, most recently, held a fundraiser for breast cancer research. We help one another move. We count on each other. It feels like family.