[ordu]

Experience is irreproducible. It depends on too many factors, we even don't know the full list of them, and some of them change irreversibly with time passing. You will not be 10 years old anymore. It is not a good reason for a depression, you can experience world now like you couldn't being a 10 year old boy.

[Loughla]

Actually one of the absolute best things about having kids, that is not reproducible for no-child lifestyles, is seeing everything for the first time through their eyes.

All the other stuff people say about parenting can be reproduced via service or volunteering or something else. But that experience absolutely is unique.

Magic is real. The world is wild and exciting, and it's all there for that kid. It's amazing to watch and be a part of.

So, while you can never go back to being at 10 year old boy, you absolutely can get a taste of what that's like via adoption or having your own. In my opinion, that is.

[bravetraveler]

> not reproducible for no-child lifestyles

I see what you did there, heh!

Just here to both support and counter this a bit. Kids are absolutely a great way to see joy in the world again!

... but they don't have to be yours. I've supervised those for my peers, played temporary dad, all of it.

Sure, it's time-boxed, but that may be the goal. Trading seeing "everything" new, for "plenty"

[ordu]

Ahh yes, empathy can give us experiences we are unable to get ourselves.