Impatient mum complains son won’t have children

Some say the joy of becoming a grandmother is the best is one of the best feelings in the world, however, one eager woman might have gone too far. 

An anonymous mother wrote to ‘Dear Prudence’, an advice column on Slate, seeking advice on how to convince her son to have kids, claiming she just wants the children “to be happy”. 

The mother wrote, “We are concerned our only son isn’t having children. Every time we bring it up with him, he seems to have a new excuse.”

The impatient mother went on to explain how she even discussed the concerning issue with her daughter-in-law, who works full-time. 

“Recently when we tried to discuss this with our daughter-in-law directly, she said her high-powered career would be severely impacted if she didn’t plan child-bearing carefully because she doesn’t get paid parental leave at her workplace,” she wrote. 

“We tried to encourage her by saying that she doesn’t even need to work since our son is very successful and we have considerable means. This seems to have offended her greatly. How do we convince them that we only want them to be happy?”

Obviously, not impressed by the mother’s letter, Prudence replied: “A great way to convince your children that you want them to be happy is to stop directly contributing to their unhappiness by repeatedly badgering them about their life choices and assuming you know what will make them happy better than they do.”

Prudence advised the impatient mother to apologise to her son and daughter-in-law, and to drop the subject completely. 

“You have forfeited the right to ask innocently about whether or not they’re planning on having children because you have repeatedly failed to do so politely, respectfully, and appropriately.”

People have weighed in on the issue by relating to and agreeing with Prudence’s advice. 

One user wrote, “Why do parents do this? It’s arrogant and antiquated to think your kids want or need to have kids of their own,” while another said, “I have been married for 15 years and my parents have never asked us when we’re having kids,” and a third added, “If older people want their children to reproduce then they should start supporting things like paid parental leave.”

While majority of parents would love to see their children have kids, it’s might be best to leave it up to them! 

What do you think? Did this mother go too far, or is a child obligated to have children for their parents?