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What's the right age to start having children?

Study sees downward trend in age of mothers

by BettyConfidential.com | 4308 views | 4 comments | Rate this now!

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BettyConfidential.com

4 comments so far...

Being in my late twenties, the clock is ticking and I am realizing that if I wait to be set financially and I have the best career, I may be past my child-bearing years! I know also understand there are other factors important to being parents, that don't just involve career or money: having a strong marriage foundation (we have been married for 8 yrs!), having family close by is a plus, having a plan for raising them bilingual, and just having that strong desire to do the best you can with your children and love on them no matter what...
Plus I have been a camp counselor, baby-sitter and au pair for several years in my late teens/ early twenties and feel well-prepared (see "About" at http://nprice.aupairnews.com).

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nadia Price on 6th February 2010
Mid-thirties worked for me- I can't imagine having kids earlier when I wasn't established in my career! Glad I waited. But, I didn't meet my husband till I was 30 yrs older, so it wasn't really a choice, it just happened that way!
http://www.thebecauseshow.com

Flag as inappropriate Posted by jerilyn on 31st January 2010
I can't imagine starting now, and this is the age many of my friends did/will start. But it is hard to go back and imagine something different for those years.
I do wonder at the women in the article who assume the careers will be there - is it they are happy to start from the bottom when their kids are in school, or do they expect to naturally pop back in at mid-level?
Dealing with school schedules isn't always much easier on a full time career than daycare is.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mich on 24th November 2009
Anecdotally, I am seeing a trend toward women starting their families younger -- even the expensively educated, professional young women who were the types pushing the age of first birth higher before! There are several good reasons for this. For starters, most women do want to become moms at some point, and it is profoundly easier on your body to do so when you are younger (easier to get pregnant, easier to chase after the little ones). Second, when you have your babies younger, you build your career in a way that works for all of you, and so you don't wind up having to suddenly shift gears at age 38 after 10+ years of climbing the ladder in a way that doesn't involve children. That makes it a little bit more likely that you'll find a way to have it all.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by lvanderkam on 27th March 2009