"The past can serve as a reminder that other forms of mothering are important, too."

 

Anya Jabour has written a terrific piece for The Conversation about how the proverbial childless cat ladies "have long contributed to the welfare of American children — and the nation."

Jabour, a historian of women, families, and children in the U.S., documents a long history of childfree women across cultures who have viewed themselves as "mothers of all children" and have "used their identity as public mothers to shape American politics." 

We have all benefitted from childfree women who have leveraged their freedom to the benefit of the public good. And most of us who attended public school probably had at least one, and probably more, childfree female educators, many of whom regarded and referred to their students as "their kids."

If you're like me, your life was also rich with childfree aunties — biological and/or family of choice — whose love and care figured prominently in your formative years and whose influence extended beyond modeling a life that looked different from the norm but right for them.

Many of these aunties, who affect us from a distance via their activism or play an intimate role in our lives, could not have made the impact they did if they had been parents themselves. It takes a village to raise a child, and that village needs its childfree aunties.

That alone is reason to respect women's decision to remain childfree.

Children need their childfree aunties.

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