Most young people don’t understand what they’re getting themselves into when they start thinking about starting a family. We have to have licenses for all sorts of things like, driving, teaching, hunting, fishing, doctor, and dentistry. When it comes to driving a car, you need to have 200 hours of driving school and you have be pass a written test in order to drive.
There are no such requirements for becoming a parent. I’m seriously thinking about creating a brochure with some tips. Like; poop comes in 39 colors, you must feed a baby every 4 hours hour’s (whether you like it or not). They are going to spit up and throw up all over you, you’re going to have to run the wash every day. Intimacy as you know it will almost stop completely. Once they start crawling they will get into places you never dreamt they would. And then, there’s all the trips to the Pediatrician (who needs a license).
When they get to be about two years old, they will go to day care. You’ll have to drive them there and pick them up and it costs a lot of money. Then there’s grammar school, middle school, high school and college. The cost of all these things almost always requires a second income. For the women, that means you get to do the lion’s share of everything, because you can.
About the time they get to be 18 or so, you’ll wish they’d come home and tell you they’ve found a job (out of town) that comes with room and board! YOU WILL HELP THEM PACK IMMEDIATELY AND DRIVE THEM THERE IF NECESSARY! There will be days where you’ll want to scratch your name off their birth certificates too. Be ready.
So maybe you should go baby sit for someone else’s kids for about 3 days, to make sure what you considering is the right thing to do. Or you could do the egg test. You take an egg and it’s your baby. You must sit down with your egg every four hours for 20 minute feedings, and you cannot leave your egg alone, you must have someone baby sit it should you leave. And if you drop your egg, you have killed your baby.
Every one I’ve ever ask to try this experiment has decided against being a parent at that time, generally within a few hours. If you ask a 12 year old boy or girl if they’re ready to be a parent, the boy will say absolutely not, but the girl will say of course. No one is ready to be a parent at 12! Your body is not even finished growing.
If you’re lucky you’ll find someone who brings something into a relationship that you admire. Someone who finished school, has a job, has respect for others, admires you and has similar values. Don’t be in a hurry to have children. Enjoy each other and don’t get into debt. Have lots of fun together before you start a family. Your children will be the big winners if you wait.
