The desire to procreate is the most natural instinct that
almost every living being possesses, but the decision to have a child whether
it’s your first or fourth is a life changing, irrevocable and unchangeable
decision. It is important for you and your spouse to sit together and discuss
the pro and cons of expanding your family as well as weight the outcome of your
decision to bring a baby in your lives as an individual and as a couple.
Parenting is serious business; sometimes this decision may bring immense joy to
you and your better half and deepen your bond as a couple but another aspect
could also be that bringing a child may just be a very reckless, miscalculated
and ill-advised decision.
Consider the following aspects as your checklist to deciding
if parenthood is the next step for you.
1.
You are
bringing a child because you and your spouse want to, not because you have
succumbed to the pressures of your parents and the society.
In our society, the moment a couple is
married the elderly in the household begin to pester the newlyweds for a
grandchild. Although their advising may be well intended, it’s important to not
allow anyone to coerce you into having a child. The decision to bring a child
into the world should be yours and your spouse’s well thought out decision. If
you or your spouse is not ready to commit to full time parenting then it is a
reason enough to delay parenthood.
2.
You are
advised or you think that bringing a child would repair your relationship/
would strengthen the marriage.
Yes, bringing a child would surely
strengthen your marriage because it requires collective efforts at parenting by
providing care, attention, love, and patience to a child as well as it requires
great levels of understanding and cooperation amongst the couple, and a mutual
feeling of wanting to work together to become responsible parents of a child
and a spouse to the other. But it wouldn’t work in case you are facing issues
regarding lack of trust and respect in the marriage, if you are trying to
commit the other to a commitment or to the responsibilities of a marriage or a
relationship; or are trying to use a child as a tool that brings you and your
other half close to each other in the relationship. If the foundation of your
relationship is flawed bringing another being in the world is just going to be another
recipe for disaster.
3. Everyone else is embracing parenthood; you
are the only one left out.
This doesn’t seem reason enough for you to
want to parent a child because you find other couples in your family and friend
circles on a baby breeding spree. This is another kind of conformity which you
don’t have to succumb to. Perhaps these couples are already equipped with the
right components that are required to being sound parents to a child; you have
to make sure that you are too.
4.
Can you
afford a child?
Running a check on your finances is an
extremely crucial consideration to make. Although you know that apart from the
unconditional love that you would need to shower your baby with it, it would
also need food, clothing and shelter. The
decision to have a baby would cost money right from medical bills that would
mount during the Pre and Post pregnancy, to when the baby is born, and until
the child is an adult will all require considerable amount of finances to be
put aside from your monthly budget, your savings plan and your investments. Are
you and your spouse geared up with enough finances to sponsor a pregnancy and
with a concrete financial plan that would address all the needs of yours and
your baby’s which are never going to come to a halt but would only increase as
your child grows older?
5. You are willing to put the child’s needs
before yours most of the times.
There are going to be many sleepless
nights, changing nappies, feeding an uncooperative child, dealing with crying
spells and many other challenging and annoying experiences of being parents to
a newly born. And unless you are well off you may also have to forego many of
your own needs which could be of an exotic vacation, a better automobile or a
better mobile etc. over your child needs which could be putting him into a
better school, sponsoring his birthday party, new clothes, braces, a trip to
Disney world etc. Part of the being a good parent “deal” may sometimes sum up
to putting the needs of your child before yours, are you willing to do that?
6. You are willing to give up on your current
lifestyle.
Your current lifestyle may include late
night partying with friends on weekends, spontaneously planning a trek or a
vacation, eating out most of the times instead of putting together home cooked
meals, full time work etc. The two of you might just have to bid your goodbyes
to this lifestyle because babies need a predictable schedule and they have an
insatiable need for fulltime care, attention and love. Are the two of you
willing to reschedule your priorities to nurturing your baby? Are you willing
to compromise on full time work or going to a party because your baby needs
your attention and not regret about the shift in your priorities.
7. Do you think your relationship is ready to
handle the next level of commitment i.e. of being parents?
You may share a loving relationship with
your spouse but it could take a toll on your marriage. Great levels of patience
and understanding need to be harnessed between a couple when children begin to
make their presence felt. Do you think your spouse can handle the shift of your
attention from them to the baby, because every relationship is hit by a fair
amount of neglect when raising children which is normal but if the two of you
do not have strong communication and if you both do not work as a team this
could be a cause of stress in your relationship as a couple.
8. Are you physically fit to bear a child?
It is crucial to be aware that the mother
to be needs to be physically fit and free of any medical complications,
lifestyle diseases or any nutritional deficiencies. A check with your GP should
determine that. Giving your baby the best start in life means getting your own
health sorted first. It is worth making adjustments to your lifestyle like
eating a well balanced meal, stress management, exercising, cutting down on
drinking or smoking for the benefit of your health and the health of your
baby.
9.
You have
turned to parenthood because you have realistic reasons.
Realistic reasons mean, you
are not in it because you want to pass on your genes for heredity reasons. You
are fully aware that the little infant you have been idolizing about is going
to grow into an unreasonable teenager someday and when they are adults you may
have to deal with the empty nest syndrome. You have turned to parenting because
you have unconditional love to pass on to your children, and under no
circumstances would you see them as tools to support your old age, not that it
is wrong to want your children to be there for you when you are old but it’s
important to not see them an investment for your old age.
This article is published in the print magazine - The Living Local Andheri W. Edition, Mumbai, India.
https://issuu.com/livinglocalmag/docs/october_andheri_issue