How old were you when you had kids?

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Replies

  • drgooch
    drgooch Posts: 68 Member
    I was 17 when I had my son and 26 when I had my daughter. I am kinda torn by waiting and not waiting. I guess it depends on when you really want your freedom. When you are young or when you are older. It was hard when I had my son but I wouldn't change a thing!
  • scythswife
    scythswife Posts: 1,100 Member
    1st kid 20 yrs old
    2nd kid 24 yrs old
    3rd kid 27 yrs old
    4th kid 29 yrs old
  • HealthyLivingKathy
    HealthyLivingKathy Posts: 190 Member
    21 and 24

    I am able to enjoy them as adults as I was early forties when they became adults.

    Daughter waited until 29. I think she is a much better Mom than me as she has more maturity to deal with a little one.

    Other daughter waited until 33. She has 3 now. Again much more mature. Also probably less energy than I had at 21. LOL
  • sjmgde
    sjmgde Posts: 381 Member
    Pregant at 21 and gave birth at 22 and loved every minute of it. I will be 40 when my son is 18 :) Thani can stillplay. I loved having my son at a young age. I wasnt financial stable though but i still would not change it. I love being a mom so for me it just came natural and there was not a struggle
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    Just turned 21 when I had my first and hopefully be 33 when I have my second (starting fertility treatment this year) I don't think I was too young but I do think I will be easier this time
  • SmallMimi
    SmallMimi Posts: 541 Member
    25 when I had my first and 27 for the second. Enjoyed my early 20's and being just a couple before the kids made an appearance. Everyone is different, do what feels right for you.
  • Rachelito
    Rachelito Posts: 119 Member
    I had my daughter when I was 18 and my son when I was 22. I should have waited longer to have my daughter but Im still very thankful for her. She made me grow up and I dont think I would be in as good a place as I am without her. We planned my son and tried for a few years to have him.
  • trishgrace
    trishgrace Posts: 279 Member
    I was 22 when I had my first child. A month shy of 25 when I had my second. A very dear friend of mine waited to have her first child until she was 30. She is an excellent mother. You can't go by everyone else, you have to make up your own mind on parenthood.
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
    i was 29 when I became pregnant. I felt that was a good age....and it was, for me.
  • BibiFit03
    BibiFit03 Posts: 38 Member
    I had my son at 28 and hope to have another in another year (I'm 30 now). At this stage, I figure even if we push for 3, I"ll still be finished having babies by 35 or 36. I am so happy to have waited. My partner and I have the maturity (and the money) to provide a wonderful life for our little man. And I had my whole early 20s to have fun, go to uni, travel, date, etc. I couldn't be happier with my timeline.
  • BringingSherriBack
    BringingSherriBack Posts: 607 Member
    I was 29 when I had my daughter. My hubby and I got married when I was 26. This worked out pretty well since we had had our fun in our youth, college was behind us and we were ready to settle down and start a family. We both had decent jobs (very important because children are expensive).
    Wait until you are ready because once you have children you can't go back.
  • elenathegreat
    elenathegreat Posts: 3,988 Member
    I was thirty when I had my first, thirty-three for my second. We had been married for almost six years before we became parents--made everything much easier adjusting to an infant since we had adjusted to eachother first!
  • brandyj89
    brandyj89 Posts: 29 Member
    Im 23 years old. I had my daughter when i was 18. I wouldn't change being a mom for the world. I love every minute of it!! But if i could go back i would have waited. I was with my daughter's father for 5 years before i actually had her and of course we didn't work out. A LOT of issues on his part. So i am a single mother and its a struggle more emotionally for me though. I think you should wait and live your life and be very stable before you have child. They are the best gifts in the entire world but they also need A LOT!! emotionally, physically & financially!! Your still young. You have plenty of time to become a mommy!!
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
    Weirdly, I felt my "maternal clock ticking" a LOT more after high school as opposed to (now) after college! Not sure if it was a feeling of not having a purpose or what... but now that I am with my boyfriend of 3ish years, working on purchasing a house, having a full time job... I feel LESS emotionally invested in having a baby. I mean, I still want them SOME day but perhaps I'm just more rational now and know that I'm just plain old too poor to have one, lol. I'm 23, financially stable, and in a stable relationship (though not married) but somehow being 18, working part time in a kitchen, and in a terribly emotionally abusive relationship made me want a baby more?! What?!
  • twistofcain
    twistofcain Posts: 190
    I was 25 when our son was born and 28 when we had our daughter 4 months ago.
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    I had twins at 22.
  • 7funnygirl7
    7funnygirl7 Posts: 1,176
    I just turned 36 when I had my first child. I was 39 when I had my second . Turned 40 two months after she was born. I would have preferred children at a younger age but didn't find the right person to settle down and have children with til I was 32.
  • kapeluza
    kapeluza Posts: 3,434 Member
    31
  • I was 21 almost 22 when I had my first, 24 with my 2nd and 27 with my 3rd. Some days I love that I had kids young because when they are leaving the house, I'll be 46 and still have many years to "live" and do what I didn't when I was young. Then there are the days I wished we had waited 5+ years into our marriage to start having kids. I feel like I was a better mom at 27 than 22. Not that I was a bad mom, but I did things that I cringed at when I had my 3rd. My 1st went in a baby swing at the park at 5 months, she ate baby cereal at 6 weeks, etc. It really is a personal choice and I wouldn't trade my kids for anything, but I do wish I had waited.
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
    So this is probably personal but I'm curious as to if I'm the only one who is holding out! I'm twenty one. My boyfriend (future husband) is 22. My mom was 20 when she had me. She's an amazing mother. All of my friends are pregnant and/or having kids. Literally, everyone. I feel like I should NOT have a kid at 21! I feel like I am still a kid...but then there are those moments when my maternal clock starts ticking and I really want a baby.....(that only happens when I'm drunk....haha.)

    Seriously, ladies, how old were you when you had a kid, and was it worth it? If you could go back and wait would you? Or if you could go back and do it earlier would you? I have a job that I really love and it's my main focus.....I just feel like I'm kind of old fashioned and want to wait until we own a home, have a nicer car, make good money, settled down somewhere permanent, gone on vacations and partied without a kid....I feel like we just haven't lived enough yet, and having a kid would throw it all away....am I wrong??

    (I know it's a matter of personal preference in the long run but I'm just curious :)

    If he's your boyfriend, he's not your future husband. He's your boyfriend. Please tell me you don't call him "hubby" either.
  • SPBROOKS68
    SPBROOKS68 Posts: 561 Member
    23 and 29
  • cynthiaj777
    cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
    WAIT!
  • MissLuana
    MissLuana Posts: 356
    i was 26... i think that was a good age... not too young, not too old... if i had to do it over again, i wouldn't change a thing!

    I was 27 and I agree, not too young, not too old. I was stable financially and mentally...LOL
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    31 - I was married, in a stable relationship, in a stable job, educated, and I got all my partying days out of the way (well, aside from the randome girls night out). I was well travelled, and while I long for adventure still I know it's not because I didn't have the opportunity to have the adventures that I wanted to have but because I decided at the time not to take a chance on those adventures. I'm a pretty firm believer that it's better to spread your wings until 25 so you don't have to question what it's like later on. In many ways I know what the grass is like on the other side of the fence, therefore in every way I prefer to tend the grass over here.
  • annadavidson1984
    annadavidson1984 Posts: 22 Member
    I didn't get married until I was 29. I had my first child at 31 and my second at 34. Raising children is expensive, time consuming, and sometimes very frustrating! I would have made a terrible mother at 21, but that's just me. I think it is nobody elses business when you have children. That is a decision that you and your spouse/significant other must make. Having a kid because all your friends are isn't a good reason.

    I also think you should be somewhat financially responsible when you have children. In other words you should expect to pay the expenses associate with having and then raising children.
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,810 Member
    I was 21...I was definitely the only person I knew at the time having a baby. My son was unplanned, and I really hadn't planned on having kids until I was around 30ish, if ever (the whole marriage and kids thing was just never really something I thought much about ). I lost touch with a LOT of friends when I got pregnant. It was like as soon as we graduated college everyone was off to grad school or to these awesome careers, and I was figuring out how I was going to raise a baby. I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant until after graduation...I think lots of people were REALLY surprised too (I know my uber Catholic family was).

    Ideally, I'd have preferred to be older and have gotten my career started first, etc. But that's just not the hand I was dealt, and I think I've done pretty well considering! I've always done everything a year or two ahead of time, since I was always the youngest in my class (I was 17 my entire first semester of college), etc. Things were hard financially and I struggled a lot more than I'd wanted to in the beginning, but I think the experience made me a better person all around.

    Now at 27, I'm the mom of the coolest 5 1/2 year old I know, and I'm in a happy, and healthy relationship with a man that I love. Marriage and more kids are definitely in my future plans, and I'm glad that this time around I'll be much better prepared.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    36 He was a miracle baby as I had been told the chances of me getting pregnant were 1 in 1,000.

    Best thing that ever happened to me.:heart::heart: :heart:
  • jend114
    jend114 Posts: 1,058 Member
    I got married at 19 and had my daughter at 23.

    I wish I had waited a little bit longer to have kids but I wouldn't give her back for anything
  • alarae
    alarae Posts: 263 Member
    I was 30, 32, and 35. I enjoyed being older because I think it was less stressful. Now a lot of our friends are 5 or so years younger than us. Keeps us young I think. :)
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    I was 24. It was a good age for me. I don't think it's always about how old you are, but just about when you are ready. I def think 21 is too young. Go out and live your life, have fun, then have kids when you're really ready to settle down. I don't think anyone quite realizes just how much everything changes when you have kids until you have them. Make sure you are ready for that. My running is about the only me time I get these days. I'm fine with that, but if I were 21 I probably wouldn't be.