Choosing to be Childfree

Lots of people who are childfree by choice were not fence sitters. Many of them never felt the desire to have kids or don’t identify with being a fence sitter in the past. Keltie is different, and remembers vividly what the decision was like.

"I didn't have enough desire to feel good about having a child," Keltie shared in our conversation about her decision to remain child-free after years on the fence.

In this episode of Fence Sitter, I speak with Keltie Maguire, the 42-year-old host of the "Kids or Child-Free" podcast, who has been "affirmatively child-free by choice" for about four years now. Despite growing up assuming she would have children someday (like many of us do), Keltie's path led her to a different conclusion.

Some compelling highlights from our conversation:

• How Keltie navigated the challenge of having an ambivalent partner, which made her decision process feel "very lonely"

• Why she kept postponing her decision until age 35, hoping clarity would arrive (it didn't)

• Her personal reckoning with questions like "Can I be a person who chooses not to have kids? Who does that make me?"

• The peace she found by asking herself, "Do I believe I can be fulfilled and joyful without kids?" and realizing the answer was yes

• Her rich life now in Munich, filled with travel, outdoor adventures, deep relationships, and meaningful work

I'm particularly excited to share this episode because it highlights someone who genuinely was on the fence and ultimately chose to be child-free. While we often hear stories that end with having children, Keltie's perspective offers valuable balance to the conversation.

Perhaps most powerfully, Keltie reminds us that "if you're on the fence, that means there's a part of you who wants to have kids and there's a part of you that doesn't want to have kids... it is a totally bizarre assumption to think that that just is magically going to go away."

Want to hear Keltie's full story, including her practical advice for handling potential regret and building a fulfilling child-free life? Upgrade to a paid subscription to access the complete episode and join a community of others navigating this significant life decision.

This was such a great episode because Keltie also specializes in helping individuals decide if they want to have kids or not, so we were able to dig really deep into this convo!

The Fence Sitter podcast brings you authentic conversations with real individuals who were unsure about having kids and finally made their choice - one way or another. These podcast episodes are available for paid subscribers only.