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Topics: Parenting, Celebrity, Entertainment
Ella Scott
Topics: Parenting, Celebrity, Entertainment
A debate has ensued online over whether it is ‘selfish’ to choose not to have children amid resurfaced comments made by Seth Rogen.
According to the Pew Research Center, a growing share of couples aged 25 to 44 in America are choosing not to start a family, citing that they ‘just don’t want to’.
Over in the UK, birth rates are falling as part of what the United Nations has called a ‘global fertility slump’.
According to the UN, in a summary of its Population Fund's State of World Population report, people in Britain aren’t necessarily ‘turning their backs on parenthood’, but are instead being ‘denied the freedom to start families due to skyrocketing living costs, persistent gender inequality and deepening uncertainty about the future’.
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Despite the discourse, people are still choosing to have kids, with the total fertility rate (TFR) being 1.41 children per woman for England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics.
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2023, Seth Rogen discussed why he and his wife, Lauren Miller, have continued choosing to remain a child-free American couple.
“It just doesn’t seem that fun,” the 43-year-old candidly admitted.
“Most of my friends who are parents, God bless them, spend a lot of their time talking about how much they don’t like having kids.
“And what me and my wife spend a lot of time talking about is how much fun stuff we can do because we don’t have kids,” he laughed.
After hearing how Clarkson, 43, thought it was ‘rad’ that he and his 44-year-old wife were on the same page, The Studio favourite continued: “A lot of people have kids and they don’t even think about it.
“Or they think the next thing you do in life is you have kids and then they look back and they were like ‘I didn’t have to have kids?’. No.”
“Who looks at all the kids out there and thinks ‘I wish there were more kids’. Yeah, not me.”
A clip from the Pam & Tommy star’s discussion has been doing the rounds again on social media, prompting Redditors to discuss whether his decision to go child-free is ‘selfish’ or not.
Defending Rogen, one fan said: “If anything, having kids is the selfish choice.
“People choose to have kids because they themselves want them and think it'll enrich their own lives.”
A second echoed: “I don't think it's selfish. I'm a parent but I really respect people who are childfree by choice - it's always a decision they've made with thought and self-knowledge.
“IMO it's more selfish to have a child ‘just because you want one’, or to fill an emotional void. Or thinking you will somehow magically change when the baby arrives. In my experience most people don't change, the kid just amplifies what's already there.”
However, some people believed that Rogen’s estimated $80 million net worth, per Celebrity Net Worth, would put him in a unique position if he were to have children.
“Thing is, Seth Rogen is rich af. He would definitely be able to do most of the things he said he won't be able to when having kids,” the Reddit user alleged.
“Having enough money makes all the difference when it comes to raising a family.”
Another child-free fan commented: “I love my life without children. I indeed all the freedom I have to do what I want, when I want. But I'm sure that I probably would've also loved my life with children. If I had had them with the right partner that is.”
Others have used the clip’s resurgence to thank Rogen for being open and honest about his lack of desire to start a family.
“This was refreshing to hear! I feel exactly the same way,” penned one.
Another wrote: “I love the way he put it and I agree. Some people might call me selfish but I get overstimulated crazy easily. And when I’m overstimulated I’m mean. Why shouldn’t every moment be ‘me time’ if that’s the case?
“In addition to the many other reasons why having kids isn’t in the cards for me. Good for Seth and his wife for living life on their terms!”
Rogen’s friend and co-star Dave Franco is another celebrity who has chosen not to have kids.
The 40-year-old’s wife, actress Alison Brie, said in an interview with The New York Times in 2019 that their cats Harry and Aturo are their children.
“I don’t really want to have kids… It’s great, because I don’t worry about when should I get pregnant, between seasons, while we’re shooting the show, I don’t think about it every day.
“It would be nice, but I think of all the things that would be so stressful,” she confessed.
“I think about how much we’re involved in our cats’ lives. Oh my god, if it was a child.”