Any parent out there will tell you; raising kids is no picnic and they don't come with an instruction manual.

However, despite the many challenges and battles that come with parenthood, many moms and dads will agree that there is no greater love or reward in this life than raising a child.

But one mom has written a blog post confessing that she regrets having her two children and that she believes her life would be better had they never been born.

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Writing for the parenting blog Kidspot.com.au, the mom opens her post by declaring: "I am a mother of two, but I wish I was a mother of none. Yes, I preferred my life without kids. I preferred it so much that I wish I'd never had them."

The unnamed mom then says that before she is the victim of judgment, she wants to make it clear that she does love her two sons with "all her heart".

She also adds that she is not "depressed", nor does she "have any sort of mental health condition that makes me a danger of any sort".

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In fact, she says with all honesty that her point is "quite simple and straightforward", but not one often spoken by many parents: "I wish I didn’t have my two children because I think my life would be much better without them."

Why? Because she was life was better without them.

The mom explains: "Before I had my two boys, my life was amazing. I absolutely adored my career and my husband and I were extremely happy together.

"We traveled, had an incredible social life, we were like some sort of rom-com montage of two people falling in love and living their best lives - but real.

"It wasn’t just a phase, we were like this for 10 years but then we decided to have children, and once our first child arrived, things changed and not for the better."

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After being initially excited by the prospect of having children, the mom says that upon her first son's arrival into this world, "the reality just didn’t meet the expectation".

Despite loving him and stressing that he was an "easy baby" to cope with, she just "didn't love anything" about being mom.

"I wasn’t and couldn’t be who I had been before," the mother writes.

But despite feeling "trapped and restricted" by her son, she and her husband decided to have a second child - another boy.

She explains: "We never wanted to have an only child for a variety of reasons, and although I had shared my feelings about motherhood with my husband, after discussing it, we thought maybe with a second child it would change.

"Needless to say, it didn’t."

Not feeling any better or worse with the arrival of her second son, the mother admits she still felt like she had "lost her identity".

"While none of these things are ‘gone’ completely, they are not how they once were - and how they once were is what I loved," she writes.

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Using her work as an example, the mom explains: "My career is now more of a job. While I still hold the same position, I am part-time and it means I just can’t fully invest the way I once had.

She also says that her "social life is lacking" and it is now usually based around the children or her friends who have children.

Despite once again stressing that her children are "truly loved", the mom says they simply are not part of her identity or how she ever wanted to life her life.

Preempting that many people who brand her "selfish" for her sharing her story, the mother claims that having children has seen her turn from a "confident, capable woman with a zest for life, to one who is uninspired, frustrated and who desperately yearns for the life she once had before she became a mother."

In summary, she writes:  "If I knew how I would feel after having kids, I never would have had them because, trust me, this is not how I want to live my life."

Is this something you can relate to? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Having a baby can change the entire trajectory of one's life.

What was once a free-for-all is now time dedicated to feeding, sleeping, and bathing a little one and that dedication goes on for at least a decade before things start to ease up a bit.

One mom recently opened up on the British parenting platform, Mumsnet, about regretting having her child because she misses having alone time.

"My baby is ten months old. I love her more than anything in the world," she said in a thread posted to the forum. "I constantly worry about something bad happening to her. She is a lovely, bright, happy, sweet, and quite an independent child."

A mom opened up about the setbacks of having a child. Credit: Damircudic/Getty

However, despite her child being a light in her life, the mom-of-one has some reservations about motherhood - in particular, her lack of free time.

"...I just can’t shake the feeling that I regret having her. I just want to go back to my old life. I had a quiet, peaceful, unexciting life, and that’s what I like," she continued. "I’m a very introverted, self-contained person and I was always happy just being by myself, working from home, watching Netflix in the evenings, enjoying nature, having dinner out now and again. Maybe a holiday once in a while."

The mom went on to state that she knows those privileges are "obviously all gone now" before adding that she "doesn't like it."

"I don’t like parenting. I think it’s mainly the constant sense of responsibility, constantly having to entertain a baby, never being able to just sit and relax and do nothing all day, always having to be on alert," she wrote. "I know having an older child will bring its own difficulties, but I’m wondering if I’ll enjoy it more once I can reason with her a bit and she can entertain herself more? Or will I always regret the loss of my old life?"

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She then asked for advice from other parents who had gone through the same thing.

Hundreds of people took to the comments to offer some kind words of support.

"It's all part of parenting, you learn to take it in your stride as they get older that said they do get better at entertaining themselves," wrote one user while another added: "It gets better! I found the baby age mind numbing because you are constantly on alert but =never really doing anything you want to."

They continued: "Once you don't have to watch every single thing they do, and they actually want to do quite fun things with you, it definitely gets better. Don't get me wrong, long boozy brunches are a thing of the past, but you get much more of yourself back once they get to school age."

A third also echoed a similar response: "Someone told me once they hit two it suddenly becomes easier and I have definitely found that."

One user also pointed out that it might just be a natural process of grieving.

"I don't think it's so much the baby as the grieving for your old life. I felt all those things you do and I was an older mum who liked my lazy ass ways. When I had my second, my baby was just as tricky on paper, but I was no longer grieving my old life so it's way easier."

What do you think?

Featured Image Credit: Goodboy Picture Company/Getty

A group of childfree people have revealed the brutally honest reasons why they never want to have children.

They made the revelations on Reddit after user 'an_iconoclast' posted the following question in AskReddit: "To those who NEVER want to have a child, what are your reasons?"

One Reddit user explained that they simply didn't want to make the financial investment of raising a child, writing: "I'm stingy. I don't want something that takes up the majority of my life for the foreseeable future."

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Reacting to this reasoning, another Reddit user explained in more detail why it's okay to be selfish in this way.

They wrote: "And there is nothing wrong with that mentality. I am the same way, and I refuse to call myself selfish for wanting my life to myself.

"Choosing not to have kids is not selfish, and I refuse to let anyone tell me otherwise. It's taking care of yourself first, and that has value of its own."

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A second Reddit user explained that the idea of raising another human has simply never appealed to them.

They wrote: "I have never seen a person with children and thought to myself 'I want that life'.

Another user added: "I've been to plenty of family gatherings where kids are screaming and running wild basically, and all I can see is how tired the moms are. I’ve never left thinking 'yeah, that's the life I want' either."

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A third explained that they don't have the patience required to be a good parent:

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A fourth, on the other hand, explained that they struggle to look after a cat, and therefore can't see themselves ever being able to take care of a tiny person.

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One Reddit user simply responded: "I love peace and quiet."

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On a much more serious note, a sixth Reddit user explained that they have psychical and mental illnesses that would make parenting difficult.

They wrote: "Too mentally ill from childhood trauma and have various autoimmune diseases. Wouldn't be fair to have a child when I'm not completely present for them. Love kids but not for me."

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A seventh explained: "I understand the immense responsibility & sacrifice they are and choose instead to work on myself and continue to nurture my own experiences and growth through the one life I have."

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Another added: "I don't want to go through birth, I don’t like the baby stage, children and toddlers are fun and can be adorable but not 24/7, I like money and the piece of mind that I won’t do anything to screw up their lives, everyone I have said I don't want kids to will say I told you so.

"And finally I'm not responsible or mature enough."

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A ninth explained that they love their life as it is and hates "mess and noise" - two things that can't really be avoided with children around. They also explained that the planet is overpopulated and they don't want to add to the problem.

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Meanwhile, a tenth wrote: "I don't want kids. There's literally no other reason."

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What do you think of these responses? Have you also decided to be childfree? Let us know in the comments section!

Featured image credit: Alamy / Iakov Filimonov

[caption id="attachment_3008" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] Every expectant mother has a very clear image in her head of what family life with her brand new bundle of joy will look like. She'll spend months planning every little detail in the hope that absolutely nothing goes wrong. However, for an unfortunate few, this is an unrealistic pipe dream, especially if their husband turns out to be just as selfish and unreliable as she'd always suspected her own husband to be. This is a story about a woman who had gone through hell for years. The sequence of events that occurred before her pregnancy were enough to totally crush her, but she remained stoic. Then when she found out she was pregnant for the first time, she thought she'd finally found a light at the end of the dark, seemingly never-ending tunnel... until her husband brutally revealed that he'd given up on her and her "delusional" image of a "perfect family". In fact, he ended up leaving her just weeks before she was due to give birth... [post_page_title]The Surprise Of A Lifetime[/post_page_title] Having a baby is a life-changing experience; especially if, by no fault of your own, you're left to fend for yourself and your newborn. [caption id="attachment_3012" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] The excitement this woman felt about the impending birth of her child was replaced with feelings of fear and regret. Just when her life appeared to be falling apart, two strangers invaded her home and told her that something was hiding in the oven... [post_page_title]Infertility Trouble[/post_page_title] Before the unexpected oven incident, this mom-to-be from Sydney, Australia was having a terrible time at home with her husband. They both wanted kids, but it just wasn't happening for them which only served to damage their relationship even further. [caption id="attachment_2986" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: PA Images[/caption] Infertility can often cause problems in relationships, especially if one or both partners feels like their relationship won't be complete if they don't have a child together. That's exactly what happened to Amanda and her husband. [post_page_title]Trouble In Their Marriage[/post_page_title] The thing is, having a baby was never going to make all the troubles they'd had in their marriage immediately disappear. And the sad truth was, Amanda's struggle to conceive meant that the couple began to have even more marriage problems. [caption id="attachment_2987" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] It hadn't always been this difficult - in the first couple of years into their marriage, there were no arguments, no jealousy, no accusations. [post_page_title]The Cracks In The Relationship[/post_page_title] They were, by most people's standards, the ideal couple, all they were missing was a child to complete their family. However, when they realized that having a baby wasn't going to be as easy as they thought, they turned on each other. [caption id="attachment_3011" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: Pexels[/caption] While they continued to try for a baby, they came up with what they thought was an ingenious plan to help keep their relationship alive... [post_page_title]Their Project[/post_page_title] While Amanda and her husband continued to try for a baby, the couple bought their dream home. And you'd have thought this would help matters, that this would be a nice little distraction from their infertility problems, but... [caption id="attachment_2988" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] Although they now had a renovation project to look forward to, the disagreements became more and more frequent. Making a house a home is a time-consuming task. [post_page_title]They Couldn't Work Together[/post_page_title] It gave the couple a chance to bond, but instead of taking the chance to do just that, they spent as much time apart from each other as possible. [caption id="attachment_3013" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: Pexels[/caption] Secretly both of them wondered whether it was even worth trying for a child when on most days, they couldn't even stand to be in the same room as each other. [post_page_title]It Was Going To Be Their Year[/post_page_title] Unfortunately, this story is about to become a whole lot more tragic and was even enough to spark media interest in Amanda's home life. [caption id="attachment_2989" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] "We’d been renovating the house for the last two years," Amanda revealed in a highly-anticipated radio interview in Sydney Australia. "We put all our money into that and the idea was that [2015] would be a good year [for us]." [post_page_title]Amanda's Pregnancy[/post_page_title] Then the unexpected happened... Amanda finally fell pregnant! You'd think the couple would be over the moon after they'd waited so long for a baby. [caption id="attachment_2990" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: Pexels[/caption] Their dream home was now complete too. It was the last piece of the jigsaw for Amanda and her husband... [post_page_title]The Reaction Of Amanda's Husband[/post_page_title] Amanda and her husband had been trying to get pregnant for three years, and then it FINALLY happened... [caption id="attachment_2991" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] Because it had been such a long time coming, finding out she was pregnant was the very last thing Amanda was expecting. Of course, her very first instinct was that of joy and relief, and she was expecting her husband to have the same reaction. She couldn't wait to tell him, but when she did, she was sure she noticed that although he was excited, there was an aura of uncertainty in the way in which he reacted to the news. She then made the mistake of trying to convince herself that she was just "imagining" it... [post_page_title]The Couple Moved In[/post_page_title] The couple had been living elsewhere while they were renovating their dream home. They hoped (well, Amanda hoped) that now they'd finally be moving into their new home, they could make a new start in their relationship, especially as they now had a baby to look forward to... [caption id="attachment_2992" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: Pexels[/caption] Amanda and her husband moved into their dream home! Truth be told, they did feel that initial spark of excitement went they walked into their newly-renovated home for the first time. Things were finally starting to fall back into place, but just how long would this feeling of optimism last? [post_page_title]The Silent Treatment[/post_page_title] Despite staying together throughout their infertility struggle, when Amanda finally fell pregnant, her husband must have realized that a baby couldn't fix the trouble they'd been having in their marriage... [caption id="attachment_2993" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] Amanda's husband began being hostile to his heavily pregnant wife, and then he just stopped talking to her completely, knowing all the while that it could no longer go on like this. He'd have to do something to end the toxic direction their relationship was going in once and for all... [post_page_title]Amanda's Husband Left Her[/post_page_title] Tragically, Amanda's husband left her when she was thirty weeks pregnant. Less than a month after they had moved into the house they had spent two years renovating together. [caption id="attachment_2995" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] Pregnancy is an emotional time for any woman, so it's hard to imagine how devastated Amanda must have felt when she realized he was gone. He'd left her and her unborn baby without a second thought, and she was now a broken woman... [post_page_title]Amanda Had Bills To Pay[/post_page_title] On top of the inevitable nerves that any first-time mom would be experiencing, Amanda had a broken heart and a newly-renovated house that she was determined to still make into a home for her and her baby... [caption id="attachment_2996" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: Pexels[/caption] But the mom-to-be was fraught with worry about how she was going to support herself and her baby as a single mom, especially as she now had a mortgage to pay off single-handedly without her husband... [post_page_title]Amanda's Shock[/post_page_title] Sudden life changes are always hard to deal with. Amanda must have been feeling so many different emotions when her husband left her. Her world had, quite literally, been turned upside down... [caption id="attachment_2997" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: PA Images[/caption] "It's been probably about five weeks since it all happened," Amanda said in a radio interview with the hosts pictured above. The interview attracted millions of listeners and an outpouring of calls from members of the Australian public. "The biggest thing was just the shock, I guess. It wasn't really what we'd planned or what I planned."  [post_page_title]Amanda's Fiercely Loyal Friend[/post_page_title] It's often said that good friends are worth their weight in gold and that was certainly the case for Amanda. Amanda's friend Anna was determined to do something amazing to support her in her time of need... [caption id="attachment_2998" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] Ana arranged for some people who were essentially strangers, to help her friend out of the desperate situation she was in. What happened next will restore your faith in humanity. Amanda was finally going to catch a much-needed break... [post_page_title]The Surprise[/post_page_title] Sydney radio station KISS 1065 is hosted by two energetic and sympathetic hosts Kyle and Jackie O. After hearing about Amanda's story from her friend Ana, they arranged an incredible surprise that helped her put her life back together... [caption id="attachment_2999" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] She had no idea why she was even there, and after all that had happened to her, was literally trembling... and not with excitement. That is, until Jackie had this to say: "We would love for you to be able to have this baby and not worry about the financial side of things." [post_page_title]Amanda Was Overwhelmed[/post_page_title] Jackie's words were a Godsend to Amanda, who had suffered such a horrible trauma so late in her pregnancy. She was now on the show's GiveBack section which helps out deserving people in need... [caption id="attachment_3000" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] "I really wanna keep the place and raise my child there, but..." Amanda had said. The 'but' was her indicating to the hosts that she wouldn't be able to afford the house on her own, but the show was about to help. But would it be enough to make all her financial worries disappear? [post_page_title]What Had Been Done?[/post_page_title] The radio hosts then point to a TV screen in the studio and Amanda began to giggle. "What do you see?" Jackie asked. Kyle added, "Whose place is that?" It was Amanda's newly-renovated house! [caption id="attachment_3003" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] A large piece of tarpaulin had been placed over Amanda's front door. Something had obviously been going on inside! "Let's take a tour inside your house," Jackie said. Amanda was in a state of complete shock - how had this even gone on without her realizing? [post_page_title]Cleaning Services[/post_page_title] Whilst I'm not a parent myself, I can imagine how difficult a newborn would make everyday tasks. That's why this thoughtful gift was the first thing left for Amanda. She'd be able to relax when her baby was born... [caption id="attachment_3004" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] The show had arranged for Amanda's house to be cleaned for the foreseeable future. That must have been a huge weight off of the mom-to-be's shoulders. "[Scrub Online Cleaning Service] are going to be cleaning your house for the next six months so that you don't have to worry about the cleaning side of things," Jackie said. [post_page_title]Ito The Hallway[/post_page_title] The camera then moved into Amanda's hallway, and at this point, Amanda was so overwhelmed that her head fell into her hands... [caption id="attachment_3005" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] "The mattress is up against the wall. You haven't unpacked yet!" Jackie joked. Looking up at the screen, Kyle added, "What's that there?!" Where was the next surprise hidden?! The camera moved into an important room... [post_page_title]Prepared Meals[/post_page_title] Aside from cleaning, another challenge faced by new moms is cooking. It is very important that moms eat properly so that they have enough energy to properly care for their kids. [caption id="attachment_3006" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption]

The camera moved into Amanda's fridge and Jackie said, "See all that food? You're going to be supplied with Eat Fit Food every day. They're going to be delivering your meals for the next three months."

[post_page_title]Baby Supplies[/post_page_title] When you're expecting a baby, there's a lot of things that need to be bought in advance, especially if you're a first-time mom and don't already have a stroller, but the show had Amanda covered... [caption id="attachment_3007" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065 [/caption] "[There's] whole bunch of baby gear. $4,00 worth of baby gear from baby village," Jackie said. "Oh wow," Amanda replied. "They're even throwing in a $1,00 baby photography voucher!" Things were finally looking up! [post_page_title]Something In The Oven[/post_page_title] After the baby supplies were revealed to Amanda, the camera moved over to her oven. Surely there wouldn't be another surprise in there? After all, Amanda had her meals covered for the next three months! [caption id="attachment_3008" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] But the camera continued to focus on the oven. "Is there anything else left?" Jackie said, then added, "Let's check the oven!" I wonder what could be inside it! More food? It was slowly opened in front of the camera... [post_page_title]Thousands Of Dollars[/post_page_title] The show had hidden the last thing you'd expect to find in Amanda's oven. Can you hazard a guess about what it might be? Amanda's worries were going to be over when she received this last surprise... [caption id="attachment_3009" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: Pexels[/caption] The contents of the oven came into focus and Jackie said, "That is a big wad of cash. We will be helping you out with your mortgage. That is $10,000 right there, in cash." Kyle added, "There's another stress taken away. [post_page_title]Everything Was Going To Be Okay[/post_page_title] "I can't tell you," Amanda stammers, overwhelmed by the cash gift she has just received. "That means don't have to move." Kyle jokes, "It wouldn't kill you to move that mattress out of the hall though!" [caption id="attachment_3010" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Credit: KIIS 1065[/caption] There's no doubt that Amanda would still have been shaken up by her husband leaving her, but she could now relax in the knowledge that she had everything she needed for her baby's arrival into the world. Who would have thought that such a life-changing surprise would be hidden somewhere as unexpected as an oven?!