No Children Please
28/04/2010 3:43:00 p.m.
PEOPLE WHO don’t have children are a lost tribe, says Graeme Browne.
The Wellingtonian and his wife realised that conversations with friends and workmates often steered towards children stuff, and that was something they had no experience with.
Browne found this was a common problem for people who’d chosen not to have kids, or were unable to have them.
“It’s either alienating, or for some people who really want them but can’t, it can be quite uncomfortable,” he says.
After hearing a radio interview with No Kidding, a social group of like-minded childless people from Christchurch, Browne found his solution.
“My wife and I thought there’s a real need in Wellington for this, so I said ‘right, I’ll do it’,” he laughs.
So Browne started the Capital leg of No Kidding in February, and it already has 18 members.
No Kidding is not a New Zealand invention. It started in Canada in 1984, and now has 47 chapters around the world. The Christchurch team was the first in the Southern Hemisphere.
“It’s really easy to start. There’s a mothership website that you join for a small fee, and then they help you the whole way,” says Browne.
To view parts of the Wellington No Kidding website, such as activities coming up, you have to login as a member. There’s a good reason for this.
“In North America groups have got hate mail because some people think that child-free is anti-children. People have turned up [at meetings] to make a nuisance of themselves,” Browne says.
Thankfully, neither of the New Zealand groups has ever experienced this reaction.
Browne says there are many political arguments surrounding the business of children. Some people think it’s selfish not to have kids, while others think it’s selfish to have kids from an ecological perspective.
“But we don’t go into that. This is purely social and fun. We think we’re a bit of a lost tribe who have a lot in common having not gone through child-rearing,” he laughs.
Wellington’s No Kidding members, who are aged between 25 to 56, meet every two to four weeks for activities such as hiking, ten pin bowling, pizza, plays, picnics and comedy shows.
There’s only one rule to join No Kidding – you can’t have had a child.
“You can be a member if you’re going to be a parent in the future, but you’re just not ready right now,” says Browne.
To find out more information visit www.nokidding.co.nz.
The Wellingtonian and his wife realised that conversations with friends and workmates often steered towards children stuff, and that was something they had no experience with.
Browne found this was a common problem for people who’d chosen not to have kids, or were unable to have them.
“It’s either alienating, or for some people who really want them but can’t, it can be quite uncomfortable,” he says.
After hearing a radio interview with No Kidding, a social group of like-minded childless people from Christchurch, Browne found his solution.
“My wife and I thought there’s a real need in Wellington for this, so I said ‘right, I’ll do it’,” he laughs.
So Browne started the Capital leg of No Kidding in February, and it already has 18 members.
No Kidding is not a New Zealand invention. It started in Canada in 1984, and now has 47 chapters around the world. The Christchurch team was the first in the Southern Hemisphere.
“It’s really easy to start. There’s a mothership website that you join for a small fee, and then they help you the whole way,” says Browne.
To view parts of the Wellington No Kidding website, such as activities coming up, you have to login as a member. There’s a good reason for this.
“In North America groups have got hate mail because some people think that child-free is anti-children. People have turned up [at meetings] to make a nuisance of themselves,” Browne says.
Thankfully, neither of the New Zealand groups has ever experienced this reaction.
Browne says there are many political arguments surrounding the business of children. Some people think it’s selfish not to have kids, while others think it’s selfish to have kids from an ecological perspective.
“But we don’t go into that. This is purely social and fun. We think we’re a bit of a lost tribe who have a lot in common having not gone through child-rearing,” he laughs.
Wellington’s No Kidding members, who are aged between 25 to 56, meet every two to four weeks for activities such as hiking, ten pin bowling, pizza, plays, picnics and comedy shows.
There’s only one rule to join No Kidding – you can’t have had a child.
“You can be a member if you’re going to be a parent in the future, but you’re just not ready right now,” says Browne.
To find out more information visit www.nokidding.co.nz.
