At what age would you feel that you would like to have a child?

[Sharop]

In relation to the "How old were your parents when they had you" thread, I wondered, for all of you who want kids, how old would you like to be when you have your first? What do you consider (for yourself) to be an acceptable age?

I see nothing wrong with people having babies at younger ages (say 16-22) as long as they properly care for their children and love them, and I know there are many that do. I'm not sure yet if I want children, but for myself, I would want to be at least 25 when I had had my first, and would prefer to be a bit older than that - say 27/28.

Part of the reason for that is that I wasn't very social in my childhood and didn't properly start socialising and going out until I was about 18. I feel that I missed out on a lot of the "social life" and, now that I do go out with friends, I would like to keep that up for some years.

I also don't think I would be ready for a child until I was in my late twenties. I'm 20 now (I will be 21 in August) and at times feel like a 13-year-old. I have a very strong inner child, but I often feel very young. I certainly don't feel very grown up.

[YoliUSA]

Like you Sharop, I'm 21 and still feel very young. I still have lots of things that I want to accomplish and having a child at this age would ruin it, not to mention that I don't even have a boyfriend and the only way I would have a child is if I am in a stable marriage or relationship. I see myself having my first child at the age of 28-30. My parents had me, their firstborn, in their early thirties and they don't regret it.

[MickeyMac]

What age I want children 0


No children for me

[Furienna]

I'm 24 years old now (my 25th birthday will be in June). And if I only had a man in my life, I wouldn't mind having a child now.

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

Not til I'm about 30. I can't imagine having kids in a few years or even now like many people do. I still feel like a kid myself, and I can barely take care of myself let alone someone else. On top of that, I simply don't want to until I'm older. I want to live my life for me first and do my own thing before I settle down because to me, it's just that, settling down. I won't be ready to do that for a long time yet. I don't even want to get married until my mid to late 20's.

[LuLu Rogers]

I'll be 22 next month and I'd love to have a child when I'm 26 or 27, but the way things are going, I'll probably be close to 40 before that happens.

[dawsongirl]

I still feel like a teenager despite being almost 30. Plus, I have hundreds of kids at work. I'm good for now.

[Nighthawk76]

Originally Posted by dawsongirl

I still feel like a teenager despite being almost 30. Plus, I have hundreds of kids at work. I'm good for now.

You are only as old as you feel, Cathy. I still feel like a kid at heart too!

[Liza]

I'm nearly twenty-seven and all of my friends have kids already. When do I want kids? Sometime after I meet a halfway decent guy.

I wouldn't trust any of my ex-boyfriends to look after my cats, let alone a child.

[Schmoopie]

I'm 41 and back in 1990, after having a bad experience working in a day care, I decided never to have kids. Over the years, I thought maybe I would change my mind but my determination NOT to have them has only grown stronger. About half of my co-workers have at least one kid and probably a third of those are unmarried and in their early 20's.

What gets me is how everyone thinks you're supposed to have kids. Like it's a requirement. I get drilled on that every day at work by coworkers. Sometimes I've even lashed out at them. I'm serious! I get angry when people constantly hound me about how "Oh you'll have kids one day". It seriously makes me want to smack people that do that to me. I know that people in their 40's can have kids, but I just don't want to go through all the trouble. Fortunately, my husband has always felt the same way.

Plus, my husband and I travel a lot, and we couldn't do that if we had kids. So I have to laugh when people at work ask how we can afford to go to places like Australia and Hawaiil. It's simple. NO KIDS!

[Waterston_Fan]

I have decided at a young age to not have kids. Well, I'm not really a social type and it's hard for me to find a guy but then sometimes I'd rather stay single.

Those who get criticized for not having kids, you should tell them, wait till your kid starts misbehaving then we'll talk.

Okay, maybe not do that.

[Brad Russ]

NEVER. I don't ever want to take the chance of passing on my mental disabilities to my child. I see what hell it's been, and continues to be in my life, and would never want to put a child through that. Also, this is a scary time in the world, with scarier times ahead, and I wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on a kid.

[Furienna]

I have mental disabilities too. But still, I think we have the same right to have children as anyone else. If I had a child, it would hardly be a "normal" kid. But still, disabled people have a right to be born too, even though we have problems. If you really don't want a child, then you of course shouldn't have any. But don't let your fear of passing on disabilities stop you from having a child.

[robyrob]

I would like to have a child that is at the age of 23, that way they are past both the awkward and the annoying stages of life.

...for now though I prefer to just borrow my nieces and nephews (who range from 6 months to 11 years old) for periods of up to 145 minutes - less if they are cranky, sticky or smelly.

[Theda Bara]

NEVER. Even though, I do love children. I decided a long time ago, that I am too much of a free spirit to become a mom; and besides I am way too selfish and flighty; and being pregnant and giving birth never appealed to me.