Boomer Yells at 42-Year-Old Coworker After She Said She Never Wanted to Have Children: 'How dare you! I have kids and I love them!'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Nov 7, 2026 10:30 AM EST

Why is it so bothersome to baby boomers and parents when an adult chooses not to have kids? Are they angry that they had kids and want to see others go through the same difficulties they experienced? Were their kids so wonderful that they think anybody who chooses not to have kids is making a horrible mistake? 

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    Senior adult woman moody casual studio portrait
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    Baby boomer coworker

    Picture does not depict real parties.

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    Boomer coworker got mad I didn’t want kids

    We got a new, over sensitive Boomer at work and we were talking about kids. I'm 42, and don't have kids (just didn't work out) and at this stage in my life I really am not interested in having them.
    via u/MySmellyRacoon
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    She asked if I was going to have some and I jokingly reply "f having kids." To this, her jaw drops, and her face goes red and goes "how dare you! I have kids and I love them!" I replied, "that's great but that's not relevant to my situation. Im getting older and it doesn't make sense to me."
    via u/MySmellyRacoon
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    She says "you should think about it" to which I said "you should mind your own business" which flustered her but she shut up after that.
    via u/MySmellyRacoon

    There is a time limit, especially for women, on deciding whether to have a kid. If someone is unsure whether they want to have kids at twenty, they have at least 15 more years to think about it. But if they are 42 and still don't want to have kids, the time for thinking about it is over. That is the age when the only people who have kids are those who have oops babies, and those who have been trying to have a baby for years and years and are giving it one last try. 

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    ElectroPurist Years ago, after I had gotten engaged, I was explaining to a boomer co-worker our untraditional wedding plans. She was stunned that we weren't getting married in a church or by a rel gious officiant. She was appalled that no one was changing their last name, 'what last name will your children have?'. And then I told her we weren't having children and she just threw up her hands and said "why even get married!?" I just laughed at her. What else can you do?
    via u/ElectroPurist

    The people who view marriage as something intrinsically tied to child-rearing do not have great marriages. Either that, or they had kids almost immediately after getting married and didn't have much time to be a married couple before becoming parents. You shouldn't get married to somebody just so you can get the kids that you want so desperately. Kids deserve parents who have a healthy relationship. If you would not be happy being with your partner for the rest of your life if children did not (or could not) result from your marriage, then you have no business being married to them. 

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    After_Preference_885 My boomer mom was shocked and appalled that I didn't know whether my partner of 25 years needed any socks when she asked. With wide eyes she asked "but don't you notice when you do his laundry???" And I laughed and laughed before being able to say "mom, he does MY laundry, I haven't done laundry in years" Her flabbers were ghasted.
    via u/After_Preference_885
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    Proud Accident_5873 I'm single and have received a laundry comment too. A boomer lady in my family said something where she assumed that my mom did my laundry, as if that was a given thing for her to do. I was probably 28 or so and lived on my own. I can't remember my mom ever doing my laundry in my adult or even teen life.
    via u/Proud_Accident_5873

    It is extremely common for people to infantilize childless people and act like they are incapable of being functioning adults because they never had children. This belief is much more common among boomers and other older people who never lived on their own. They went from living with their parents to living with their husband and can't imagine any intermediary stage. 

    There is something so empowering about being able to take care of yourself and all your needs without relying on a partner, a parent, or anybody else. It's totally okay if you don't want to do that forever, but doing it for a season is really good for personal growth. 

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    OddDragonfruit7993 GenX, have been YELLED at by many older women for not wanting kids. I'm a blonde haired and blue-eyed male. MANY old white women have been noticeably angry with me for saying I didn't want kids. Some have told me it's my "duty" to have "the right kind" of kids.
    via u/OddDragonfruit7993
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    Soft Construction793 I've had men and women tell me that I'm selfish or that I would regret not having children when I'm old because who will take care of me. I had a married guy who had 4 kids tell me that I should have kids, even though I was single and told him that I had no interest in children. He became OUTRAGED when I said I never wanted kids. He said that I should have kids so that I could understand how hard it was for parents, basically.
    via u/Soft_Construction793
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    Distinct_Cry_3779 > He said that I should have kids so that I could understand how hard it was for parents, basically. "I do understand how hard it is. That's why I'm not going to do it."
    via u/Distinct_Cry_3779
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    Lumunix Had this happen with an old boss. She hyper fixated on me when she found out I was a gay guy and I didn't have any interest in traditional family dynamics and didn't care about kids (I grew up with siblings that were triplets, changing diapers at 5 years old causes you to see how much work kids are). She took this personally and kept making swipes at me in the workplace. Eventually she realized her tactics were not working and she claimed to a Hr executive she thought I was stalking her
    via u/Lumunix
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    Ok_Arachnid1089 How ironic because no generation has hated their own children as much as the boomers
    via u/Ok_Arachnid1089
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    rsneary129 I think there's a significant portion of them that didn't want kids either but never questioned the expectation and just went with it. But now younger generations have started pushing back against this societal expectation and the boomers and Gen x are mad that they didn't think of it
    via u/rsneary129
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    1Sluggo I'm a boomer; when I was in my 40's and met women through work the question was always: kids? When I replied no nearly all said they wished they hadn't. Twenty years later and I still feel bad for their kids.
    via u/1Sluggo
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    Glittering-Alps-3573 why do you have a new boomer? HIRING a boomer in 2026?!
    via u/Glittering-Alps-3573
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    imateasnob My job only seems to hire boomers and gen X. I'm second youngest. I'm 41.
    via u/imateasnob
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    exotics I'm 61 so technically at the age of boomer years. I had one kid and one only and don't understand why anyone thinks this is any of their business. We need to normalize that it's okay to have one kid only or none
    via u/exotics
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    Hikaru1024 I get you, I'm late forties - I've run into a few angry boomers over the years insisting I'm wasting my life because I didn't want to have children. Like the one you dealt with, they seem to always take it as a personal insult that I'm doing anything differently from them, as if the very idea that someone could choose differently is insulting. I just don't get it, one of the things I stopped trying to understand years ago.
    via u/Hikaru1024
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    Sensitive_Note1139 I'm 53. When I got married my husband told me he wanted at least one child. I told him- no. He got upset. I asked him which one of us was quitting out jobs to be with our child. We both worked retail. He insisted we live local to his parents and sabotaged every job interview he went to that was out of the area. I asked him if he was planning on his mom being our full-time sitter. He said no. I asked him if one of us was going to basically pay for daycare. He said we can't affo
    via u/Sensitive_Note1139
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    He would have wanted me to be the SAHM. He never applied himself to get a better job. So we never had kids. When my Boomer mom kept pushing it, I asked her when she was quitting her job, divorcing my step- father, and buying a house where I live to babysit for free full-time. She never asked again.
    via u/Sensitive_Note1139
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    Money-Giraffe2521 I'm a man so I don't get these kinds of comments like women do, but I'm perfectly content to be childless. I'm an uncle to three kids and that's good enough for me. That's 18 years' worth of money that can get spent on me instead.
    via u/Money-Giraffe2521

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kids coworkers childless baby boomers entitled people
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