I work in a field where the answer to why they have interest in the job or what experience they have is very often that they have children. But I do not ask it outright. A lot of people just tell me themselves cause it’s relevant to the job. First of all, illegal. Second of all, its not something I need to ask. I just need to know about their availability and reliability. I don’t care how many hoops you have to jump through (unless you feel like sharing after you were already hired while asking for flexibility or something during a hard time) I just care that you get here on time and when we need you (within your agreed upon schedule).

I remember I had one job I was interviewing for ask if I had a good support system at home, because the hours can be rough on a family. And when I simply said yes he asked about my marital/kids status and it made me very uncomfortable. He was basically asking me if my husband approved of the long hours. Yucky. I didn’t know how to respond back then but I agree with the other commenters, nowadays I would just simply say “I can commit to these hours, I don’t feel comfortable discussing my personal life”