Online Discussion Formats Help Support Women Who Choose To Be Childless

It is at the same time both the most personal decision a woman can make and yet one that can seem to be the one most judged by friends and strangers alike. This controversial decision is whether or not to have children.

One of the most controversial decisions a woman can make is whether or not she will have children. Many couples come together over the shared desire not to have a family for any number of reasons. Yet members of society choose to burden these couples with their own opinions as to why this is wrong even without the smallest amount of knowledge about the couple and their decision. Luckily, support can be found online through social media apps that help to bring like-minded women and couples together.

"In the past, a decision like this was mostly unheard of and rarely would the woman in question have anyone she could turn to for help or advice," recalls Katie Klabusich, who will be hosting an open forum discussion called "Let Me be Child-Free" on Tawkers.com with Dr. Leah Torres. "Part of what society expects of a woman is for her to be a mother. It is a dangerous double standard that a man can grow up and be a lifelong bachelor, but a woman is somehow incomplete if she never has a child."

Unfortunately, this belief is still prevalent in many parts of society, but now women and their husbands don't have to feel so alone. Interactive discussions let people from around the country talk about what brought them to their decision. Real-time commentary that is part of these conversations allow those who have experienced what it is like to make and live with that decision offer advice and guidance to young women who are just coming to that decision and how best to explain it to those people around them.

It is at the same time both the most personal decision a woman can make and yet one that can seem to be the one most judged by friends and strangers alike. Every child-less woman of a certain age, especially those that are married, has been asked at some point why she doesn't have children. This discussion on Tawkers.com, hosted by Ms. Klabusich and featuring Dr. Torres, will be just the kind of open forum to help women be proud of their decision and address the concerns that they might face going forward with their lives.

For more information on "Let Me be Child-Free" and to join the forum, visit www.tawkers.com


Jack Terry is a writer and blogger who writes extensively about social media and open forums.