I understand the strains of parenting, and we all do and say things we’re ashamed of while raising our kids. That’s inevitable. But this article lacks key perspective, as I imagine do most of its subjects. I believe what the writer is too emotionally immature to understand is that none of these people are really saying they regret the lives of their children. Ultimately they are admitting they’ve made parenting about themselves rather than their kids. It’s hard to see the gains when all you can think about are your personal losses. 

And while I’m loathe to judge most parents too harshly, myself having been on this journey for 22 years now, I feel pretty confident in judging the selfishness of these people; because even if I personally hated parenting, even if I felt regret for taking on the task, there is no way I could look at my children and say the world would be a better place if they weren’t in it. 

That is the hallmark of selfishness I see here. These people aren’t just saying they regret being parents, they’re (consciously or unconsciously) saying they don’t think their children have added any value to the world around them, and probably never will. They don’t see their families in terms of what they add to their communities and the future. If you can’t at least say, “I hate being a parent but at least they’re good members of society” then you are the problem, not the children.