Quote Originally Posted by catnapper
...and nobody has ever regretted having a child no matter the age they were when they had them.
Not trying to pick on you here Kim , but I disagree with this sentiment although I think I understand how you mean it.. However some people DO have regrets about having a child at a bad point in their life. They may not regret the child itself but they regret having it at a time when they were unable to provide for him/her the way a child needs to be provided for. There are so, so many children who are born to parents who have no support at all, have no home even and have to stay in a shelter, and the parent(s) have to watch their child grow up without the opportunities many other children have.

Mental illness can also be a huge factor. Someone in a horrible depression having to deal with an unplanned child and without support may feel horrible regret and devastation over it, it can even interfere with bonding with the child. My mother worked for many years in child support enforcement, so she saw a lot of the not so happy sides of having unplanned children.

Very very sadly, not all parents love their children. I believe MOST do but there are those out there who treat their children horribly or blame them for their troubles, telling them horrible things like what a mistake they were. I can't imagine the tormented life these kids are brought up with, when they have parents who don't show love for them, parents who blame them for their lot in life. For the people who are like this, the children pay dearly for being born of an "oops".