No Kids No Pain

Being child-free means potentially having a lot of spare time. Romina and Luca in this episode try to give tips on how to make the most of this possibility. It’s time to organise our time or, even better, it is time to be spontaneous because we don’t have kids depending on us!

Romina and Luca discuss choosing the right word: childless or child-free? They opt for "child-free" because there is nothing “less” in a life without kids and because the idea of freedom that is implied in "child-free" reminds us that we have agency and the right to make choices.

Romina and Luca talk about regrets. When you are childfree, a common objection is “What if you have regrets in future?”. But the same things might apply to parents: will they ever admit regrets about parenting? And generally speaking, how can you deal with this whole fear of having regrets?

Romina and Luca talk about the importance of reminding ourselves about the choice of being child-free. Luckily, sometimes in the newspapers you read some news that makes you think that it isn’t too bad not being a parent…

Romina and Luca talk about the different techniques that can be used to split the bill at the restaurant. What to do if there are kids? Should their parents pay for them or should the kids' menu cost be shared among the grown-ups, even those who don’t have kids?

Romina and Luca talk about the joys of hotels and resorts that are child-free. Would you pay more for a flight ticket if that gave you the option to fly without kids on the plane? And moving from planes to buses, Romina has something to say about the eternal fight between prams ad wheelchair users.

When is the right moment to let your partner know that you don’t want to have kids? As Romina and Luca talk about it, we get to know something more about Romina’s family and Luca’s second date. Is it important for a couple to be on the same page about having or not having kids? Are kids a good way to fix a relationship?

Romina and Luca talk about inheritance. What happens after you depart from this planet if you don’t have kids? Who’s gonna get the beloved possession that you cannot bring with you to the grave? At the moment they don’t have much to leave anyway, but success may be just around the corner (and death too…).

Romina and Luca talk about a great invention that allows people without kids to be happy and not lonely: friends! Sure, there are wonderful families out there, but even if your family is great you could really use a few good friends.

Romina and Luca talk about family and legacy. Is a family that important? And can we really control the outcome of our legacy? Also, the royal family gets some unsolicited advice about how to deal with heirs. Disclaimer: Romina doesn’t seem too impressed with being alive, but please rest assured that she is not planning to leave this world anytime soon.

Romina and Luca talk about boarding schools: in Italy is a punishment, a threat that parents use to scare their kids (“If you don’t behave, I’ll send you to a boarding school”). In the UK, it seems a great way to outsource parenting: if you have kids but still want a child-free lifestyle, boarding school seems the perfect solution.

Romina and Luca chat about increasingly common advice that women are given: if they say that they don’t want to have kids, sooner or later someone will suggest to them “Why don’t you freeze your eggs? You might change your mind later”.

Watching the TV series Maternal, Romina finds some inspiration to talk with Luca about careers that aren’t parents-friendly (or rather, mother-friendly) and the pressure women face with unsolicited advice if they don’t have kids.

Romina and Luca talk about a possible collateral effect of not having kids. Usually, parents learn from their kids, as they grow up: is it difficult for a couple without kids to be up to date with the latest trends?

In this episode, Romina and Luca chat about celebrities who are open about their choice of being child-free (like Seth Rogen ad his wife Laure Miller) and about parents who should have probably been child-free…

In this episode, Romina and Luca disagree with the Pope, who has said that choosing pets over kids is selfish. To be fair, Romina, Luca and Pope Francis have at least one thing in common: they are all childless by choice (although Romina is the proud “mother” of a cat).

Romina and Luca in this episode talk about their childhood (disclaimer: Romina’s childhood may contain some distressing images of a broken wooden spoon): is there any chance that their childhood may have affected their decision to not have kids?

In this episode, Romina and Luca talk about your answers when people ask you why you don’t have kids. It turns out that there is usually an official answer and a more honest answer…

Both Romina and Luca (and their partners, of course) have chosen not to have kids and in this episode, they talk about the pros and cons of being childless by choice. Needless to say, they struggle to find any cons…

No Kids No Pain is a brand new podcast by comedians Romina Puma and Luca Cupani about being childless by choice.   Music by Alex_Kizenkov from pixabay.com