Seth Rogen and his wife are ok not having kids, and that’s ok
If I were ever to meet Seth Rogen at some point in my life, I would thank him. Ironically, my gratitude has nothing to do with his movies or impressive body of work. (Though I certainly appreciate all that he does) It has to do with having kids, or not having kids, as it were. Rogen recently appeared on Sirius XM’s The Howard Stern Show and made it clear that he’s totally fine not having kids, and so is his wife.
The prolific actor shared his thoughts about having kids with Stern, noting that there’s a big reason he’s able to stay so busy. “I wouldn’t be able to do all this work that I like. People are always like — it’s something I think I was uncomfortable answering this before — but they were like, ‘How do you do so much?’ The answer is I don’t have kids. … I have nothing else to do.”
Rogen notes that his wife Lauren Miller is not only on board with not having kids, but that she might be more resolute than he is. “I would say she wants kids less than I do. I could probably be talked into it; she’s like no.”
Seth Rogen reasoning for not wanting kids is actually very relatable
As a female, I’ve always been bombarded with questions about settling down and having kids. I’ve always been clear that having kids wasn’t for me, for a number of personal reasons. But every time I expressed that sentiment I was met with a pat on the head (sometimes figurative, and sometimes literal) and the dreaded “Oh, you’ll change your mind when you’re older.”
I don’t dislike kids. I’m just not familiar with them. I don’t have any cousins, so the only real experience I have of little kids growing up comes from my sister (who is six years younger than me) and other people’s siblings. Even now, when babies are passed around at social functions I tend to find a reason to have my hands full. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I didn’t grow up with babies.
Perhaps it’s a holdover from longstanding gender roles that state that a woman’s place is in the home raising a family. My mom was a stay-at-home mom and she was amazing. I know many working moms who are amazing mothers. We live in a world where women can have families and hold positions of power and that’s great. I’ve always been career driven but kids were never in my plan.
The problem with not wanting kids is that whenever you express that sentiment, especially as a woman, you’re either immediately dismissed (“you’ll change your mind someday”) or you’re shunned by those who believe that every woman is supposed to be a mother.
Rogen said things in his interview that I could never imagine admitting. When Stern points out that you have to make your kids the center of attention in your world when you become a parent, Rogen says with absolute honesty that “it does not sound fun” to him.
I get that. I’m not a selfish person, but I’ve cared for the people around me for so long that I know I’m not in a place emotionally to give myself over to a child in the way that the child deserves, and that I would want to do as a mom. (If I was a mom, I’d model my mom-ness after my mom and that’s a pretty hard act to follow, but I’d attempt to follow it as best I could because as a parent that’s what you do.)
The great tragedy is that there are so many people who cannot have children, and there are so many people with children who should never be parents. Becoming a parent is a big deal and requires absolute dedication. It’s not something to be done out of a sense of obligation. It should be done by people looking to bring a child into the world with love and devotion.
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As someone who has never felt the compulsion to become a parent, I truly appreciate Rogen’s honesty and candor. There are lots of people who feel the way he does, and as I do, and it’s hard to express those feelings. Rogen opened the door and hopefully paved a path for people to discuss their thoughts openly and honestly without fear from people who don’t understand.