Can a married couple with no kids be still considered a family?

@hippyjoe1955 I dread the idea of being a mom.

@WendyLopez43 Not sure why. Being a parent is a wonderful experience/time of life.

@hippyjoe1955 So people are only allowed to be in a couple (and if the want to - get married) under religious law if they agree to have one or more children?

@zonavar68 Did I say that?

@hippyjoe1955 "I have no idea why anyone would want to be in a marriage without them" implying that people shouldn't be permitted to be married if they don't want to have children.

@zonavar68 You are making all kinds of assumptions including religion. Yes I think that a marriage without children is barren in more ways than one. I do not view marriage as a religious event. I view it as a spiritual event. The two becoming one flesh. (special bond) and children the joy that comes from that bond.

@hippyjoe1955 I don't wanna take the time to do it, my husband and I just wanna focus on ourselves. We'd be too selfish to be parents.

@WendyLopez43 Obviously. Funny thing is that your 'selfishness' is so short sighted as to be cruel. In the near future you will regret the 'selfish' decision you are making now.

@hippyjoe1955 I really don't wanna be a mother.

@WendyLopez43 And when you are a little older in the near future and you are all alone and you would love to have someone surprise you and pop in unexpectedly..... My mother in law married her job. She put her kids in child care as she climbed the bureaucratic ladder to success. She became the top bureaucrat in her department. She ignored her kids. My mom was a farmer's wife. She would put a baby on her back and go help her husband do the chores or field work. Her kids grew up loving her and her wisdom. The day came for them to die. My mom spent her last few days surrounded by Sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters and great grandchildren. Love was poured out in the room. My mother in law was attended by me and my wife. Her children and grandchildren didn't care that the poor old lady was passing. Her son couldn't bother to drive across the city to see her. Yes her selfishness paid dividends.

@hippyjoe1955 If I didn't have my husband, I would rather die alone than have a kid I have no business having and would be terrible at taking care of.

@WendyLopez43 If you say so. Your loss.