Comments on: When Is The Right Time To Have Children?

By: TStrump

TStrump — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:23:56 +0000

I think the best time to have kids is when you’re financially stable AND have the time to spend with them.
Many people have kids but don’t have time because they both have to work to pay the bills.
In my experience, though, I find that most people don’t plan that well because the urge is so great … it’s that ticking-of-the-clock thing.
Let’s face it, they’re also cute!

By: unexplained infertility @ 26

unexplained infertility @ 26 — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:03:24 +0000

1 in 6 couples (across the age spectrum) have trouble conceiving. On the flip side, nearly half of all prenancies in the U.S. are unplanned.

Many people make a plan and have a baby. For others, it’s not so easy or it’s just too easy.

By: kathy

kathy — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:25:09 +0000

Eighteen to twenty seven is probably ideal, at least healthwise, but depending on one’s individual circumstances.

I was Baby #5, and my dad was 39 and my mother was 33 when I was born. I think they were tired of raising children during my school years, they seemed to lose interest in parenting me as I became a teenager.

Therefore, I think younger is probably better, but who knows for sure?

By: JC

JC — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:37:50 +0000

This reminds me a lot of work done by Garth
Sundem.

He came up with mathematical models that answer these questions:

What are the chances my marriage will last?
Should we get married??
How many kids should you have?

http://www.scientificblogging.com/geek_logik/geek_logik_answers_all_your_relationship_questions

By: kitty

kitty — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:59:18 +0000

I like how that this post mentioned woman’s age and fertility and not just concentrated on finances.
One thing that I’d like to add is that not only having a baby after the age of 35 is more difficult, the fertility treatments become less successful as well.

There are other health issues. The risk of having a baby with Dawn goes up exponentially with mother’s age. So do risks to mother’s health. Another often overlooked issue is how the mother’s age at having the first baby affects her risk of breast cancer later in life. If you have your baby before you are 25, your risk is smaller than average. Between 25 and 30 it is close to that of a woman who has never had children. After the age of 30, it is higher than that of a childless woman and it continues to go up with the age of the first birth. This increase may be small if you look at absolute risk rather than relative risk, but it is much more dramatic increase than for example HRT, and remember the uproar it causes. Having kids early is the single most effective thing a woman can do to reduce her chances of having breast cancer. Now – you can say “oh, I know this person who had children early and still got breast cancer”. Reducing risk is not the same as eliminating risk, it just means that if you take a 1000 women who had the first child early and a 1000 women who had the first child late, there’ll be more cases of post menopausal breast cancer in the latter group.

Additionally, the older you get the less energy you have. This may not be apparent at 35, but it is at 50. Kids require a lot of energy. At the age of 50 you may just no be up to dealing with teenagers.

“I heard some good advice that you should wait until you can’t wait any longer – cause once you have them, you can’t give ‘em back!”
The problem is – you don’t know for sure that you can’t wait any longer until it’s too late. Each woman is different and you can only rely on general statistics. Some women can have children at 47 others can’t at 35…

By: ChristianPF

ChristianPF — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:15:49 +0000

I heard some good advice that you should wait until you can’t wait any longer – cause once you have them, you can’t give ‘em back!

By: Cathy @ Chief Family Officer

Cathy @ Chief Family Officer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:13:08 +0000

There’s definitely no perfect time! But, all things being equal, why not make it as easy as possible? Of course, kids are a blessing no matter when they arrive

By: Spudder07

Spudder07 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:44:44 +0000

I agree totally. Some couples are much too selfish. Having a child is a gift and if you are worried about all the ways it is going to cramp your style just do not have one.

Having your finances in order before having a child does not prevent you from losing your job or going broke after you have a child. Kids are resilient anyways. I grew up totally broke but never knew it; I was loved by parents who knew that their bank accounts did not adequately measure success.

By: Travis

Travis — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:20:36 +0000

Never a good time money wise to do it, there is always things to do and buy. But you can never understand how amazing sharing life with kids is until you have one of your own.

By: Jason Unger

Jason Unger — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:46:53 +0000

Same thing here. We had a baby, my wife left her job, and we are in the process of buying a house — all in 3 months!

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:00:52 +0000

Wait, so you aren’t supposed to cram major life events together? I started a new job, bought a new house, and in a 6 month period. I figured if I’m going to be stressed out, I might as well go for the trifecta!

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:58:37 +0000

Hahaha nope.

By: Todd @ The Personal Finance Playbook

Todd @ The Personal Finance Playbook — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:40:34 +0000

Cute kid in the photo. Yours?

By: DebtGoal

DebtGoal — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:01:30 +0000

When deciding on children, financial planning one of the most important factors to consider. Someone with large amounts of non-mortgage debt to be paid off can have children, but a clear budget and spending controls need to be put in place.

By: Baker @ Man Vs. Debt

Baker @ Man Vs. Debt — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:45:11 +0000

This is very solid advice. The only thing I would add is that there is no perfect time to have children. If you spend your time worrying too much about preparation you will might miss the boat altogether!