&gt; Does anyone ever say, &#x27;my life would have been so much better if I didn&#x27;t have Billy&#x2F;Marie&#x27;?<p>The hard part is that parenthood changes people in ways that go beyond life experience. There are actual, measurable physiological changes that happen to parents. In many ways, children are like a drug to their parents. Just like addicts will sacrifice much of their lives to their habits, so too will parents sacrifice much of their lives to their children.<p>So asking your question is like asking whether a drug addicts wants another hit. That person will undoubtedly want one, but the person that person was before their addiction might look at the reality of the situation and decide they didn&#x27;t want to start the habit in the first place. Likewise, someone not &#x27;under the influence&#x27; of their parenthood might look on the situation differently.<p>But, in both cases, it&#x27;s impossible for someone to understand both sides of the choice simultaneously.