Am I being weird?

Nameless King

Purple Belt
@purple
Joined
Jun 19, 2019
Messages
1,705
Reaction score
1,542
So I started working recently for that big company, office with 1000+ people at different grades.

Very often I meet new people and after working with them for 1-2 hours they asking me this particular question.

'do you have kids?'

To be honest I find it a very personal question and I'm not really comfortable answering it although I do answer it because if I said something along the lines of 'this matter is private to me I would rather not to discuss it' then I could possibly sent some negative 'vibes' and work wouldn't be as pleasant going forward.

So yeah, what's your take on this. I don't really know what to do about this, it's uncomfortable.
 
It's a pretty normal question and would have a big impact on all things of your life, so it seems reasonable to ask if you're making small talk.
People are going to talk about their own kids, so they'd naturally want to know if you had any.

If people start trying to dig deeper as to maybe why you don't have any, I think that could cross some lines if you're not open to talk about that.
But "Do you have kids?" is on the same level as "Are you married?" to me.
 
So I started working recently for that big company, office with 1000+ people at different grades.

Very often I meet new people and after working with them for 1-2 hours they asking me this particular question.

'do you have kids?'

To be honest I find it a very personal question and I'm not really comfortable answering it although I do answer it because if I said something along the lines of 'this matter is private to me I would rather not to discuss it' then I could possibly sent some negative 'vibes' and work wouldn't be as pleasant going forward.

So yeah, what's your take on this. I don't really know what to do about this, it's uncomfortable.
I don't like sharing personal information at work. But, I share the right amount so that people don't ask questions.
 
People ask me all the time if I have kids. It’s not weird or personal. They’re probably just trying to find someone who has kids their children’s age so they can dump theirs off in you for a while while the kids play.
I don’t have kids. So I just tell them.
 
I also agree you are being weird. It's small talk. You work for a company where people just have to come up with a question to pass time or stare at you blankly.

I do not have kids but if anyone asked I have no problem saying I do not. Then they just go into their story about their kid and we chat for a little about it then go about our business.

Don't be weird.
 
So I started working recently for that big company, office with 1000+ people at different grades.

Very often I meet new people and after working with them for 1-2 hours they asking me this particular question.

'do you have kids?'

To be honest I find it a very personal question and I'm not really comfortable answering it although I do answer it because if I said something along the lines of 'this matter is private to me I would rather not to discuss it' then I could possibly sent some negative 'vibes' and work wouldn't be as pleasant going forward.

So yeah, what's your take on this. I don't really know what to do about this, it's uncomfortable.
They'll also ask you if you have a girlfriend and if you are married and have you ever been divorced and how old you are. Bunch of first grade questions. .
 
Back
Top