LIFE ADVICE
“When is the best time to start a family?”
There is never really a “best” time to start a family. Some start young, some start a little later.
A thing that is often overstated is readiness. It is rare that a person will ever feel “ready” for such a big thing as having a family, or getting married. These, on the other hand, are often driven by fleeting passions and emotion.
If you believe that in your heart, having a family is what you want, then don’t wait till you’re “ready.” You need to take a deep breath and dive in.
This isn’t a suggestion to do blind action, without having considerably weighed your options. It is rather advice to keep you from paralysis. If one waits till he is ready, he may never come to realize his goal.
One thing you should keep in mind is that planning is key. It’s not a requirement, but it would certainly help make your life easier. It will help you mitigate mistakes and avoid costly errors.
Consider your finances — Let’s face it, in our capitalistic society money is an important resource. Raising a family is an expensive endeavor. At every stage of your family, there will come specific financial challenges.
Studies have shown that finances remain to be the top stressor when it comes to the average family.
Don’t jump in without checking how deep the water is. Understand your financial situation and plan accordingly. Trust me, you do not want a financial crisis you could’ve prevented in the first place.
Assess your commitment — Raising a family is a 24/7 task for the rest of your life. Just because your children are grown up and fending off for themselves, doesn’t mean you stop being a parent.
There are certainly rewards to raising a family, but these require sacrifices from you. You don’t have to lose yourself in the process but there will be things that you will have to give up.
Starting a family requires commitment and a significant level of maturity. You can’t just start one and walk away halfway through because the going gets tough.
Start a family when you have the genuine desire to start one.
Marriage — Marriage is not a requirement to start a family. You can start one without needing to be married.
However, we have to admit that married couples enjoy benefits that unmarried ones just can’t.
These are more bureaucratic benefits like parental leaves (some laws require the man to be married to his spouse before he is eligible for parental leaves), Insurance dependent packages, bank loans, etc.
Marriage as a symbolic act increases the weight of your commitment to the family.
My point is, you need to consider the pros and cons before you decide you want to start a family. Planning goes a long way. Be as thorough as you can, because once you have children, there will be no turning back.
Source: Quora
