- Eliminate the cultural and media bias against non-parents;
- Challenge the social tendency to glorify and romanticise parenthood;
- Call for responsible parenthood by dispelling myths and emphasising the realities involved in child-raising;
- Provide social contacts and activities for its members and produce a newsletter.
'A study has shown that among old people in homes, those with children have less contact with the outside world than those without children. The sons and daughters rarely visited, while the childless people, who had spent their lives pursuing busy careers and cultivating friendships and interests outside the family were visited by a wide range of friends, ex-colleagues and ex-neighbours.'
Their main assertion is that 'there is nothing wrong in honestly stating that having children is not your ideal way of life. There is, however, something very wrong in having a child you don't really want.'
BON, BM Box 5866, London WC1N 3XX (tel 031 554 2731).