A mom has sparked a debate between childfree people and parents after insisting that one group has it a bit harder than the other. In a TikTok video, a content creator and mom named Danielle Ekwerekwu said she thinks childfree people have no idea what it’s like to truly be tired because they have so much free time, it’s like being “on vacation” 24/7.

Ekwerekwu argued that childfree people may not even realize how time-consuming it is to raise kids. Her take, however, didn’t sit well with childfree people and even some parents, who were quick to point out the holes in her logic.

A mom argued that childfree people are pretty much ‘on vacation’ 24/7.

“I don’t think people without kids realize how much free time they actually have,” Ekwerekwu theorized. “They are practically on vacation 24/7. And you don’t realize that until you have kids and you have no free time ever.”

Ekwerekwu admitted that while she enjoys spending time with her kids, she doesn’t ever get much time to herself. Despite that, it’s something she knew would happen when she decided to become a parent, which is why she finds it “funny” when she hears her friends without kids complain about how they’re “so tired” or “so busy.” 

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She acknowledged that while she doesn’t like to be the kind of person who tries to make it seem as if someone else has it harder because everyone is usually struggling with something, it’s also different when you become a parent. Issuing an announcement to childfree people, she insisted that those who don’t have to take care of kids all the time should cherish the free time they supposedly have. 

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Childfree people didn’t let the mom get away with her assumption about their lives, expressing why they chose not to have kids in the first place.

A plethora of people responded to Ekwerekwu’s video, none too happy with her hot take. One of those creators was a woman named Amanda, who pointed out that having “free time” is one of the reasons why she, and other childfree people, chose not to become parents.

“If we want to talk about demographics that don’t know something, let’s talk about parents,” Amanda argued. “I don’t think parents know just how insufferable they are. I don’t think parents, specifically mothers, know that they are the biggest deterrence for people who are childfree from making the decision to have children.”

Amanda insisted that Ekwerekwu shouldn’t be trying to compare a parent’s tiredness to a childfree person’s tiredness because it’s just not the same thing. She pointed out that people who are childfree have responsibilities too; it’s just not raising a child, but that doesn’t make their goals and productivity unimportant.

Sure, parents are stressed out beyond imagination right now. Former United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory in September 2024 about the current state of parenting and the stress and mental health concerns that parents are experiencing. 

Raising a child is no joke. But childfree people shouldn’t get the short end of the stick because they are choosing not to have kids. We all live different and complex lives with our own hardships. One way is not better than another in this instance. It’s just different. A parent’s free time, or lack thereof, is not any more valuable than a childfree person’s.

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.