what is a good age to have a baby?

Question

im fixin to be 18 and i really want a baby but i do want to wait until im finished with school but i just want to know what is a good age to have a baby.. i am with someone have been with him for 4 years...i mean is it a bad thing to be pregnant while still a teen 4 of my friends are pregnant one 16 one 17 and 2 18 year olds

Answer 1

My OBGYN said it's best to have a baby not before age 20 and not after age 30.

Answer 2

Don't follow the crowd. Today peeps are waiting til they're older. A co-worker waited til she was 30 or so even. Then again someone had a baby when she was really young. She's bout 31 I think & her daughter's 17. My sis (17) is gonna wait til she has a career to have kids. She's going to Uni in Aug. She'll be in skewl for 3 or 4 yrs. Maybe she'll even meet a guy then. If not, no rush.

My own personal opinion is to wait til you're done w/ school & have a career, & a guy who you've been w/ for a long time (which you have). Wait for the right time. Maybe he'll propose to you soon too. So maybe wait til after marriage. :) I think that's the ideal time. So since you've met a lot of this criteria, well, maybe I'd say maybe when you're 25 or 26. Do you plan on going to coll or uni ? Cuz I think most courses take 3 or 4 yrs. I'm 26 & have no kids. I'll be 27 in Oct. No bf anymore so I don't plan having a bf for a while yet. I was kinda hoping to find the one b/f I was 30. I'm guessing that's prob not gonna happen :( Have you talked to your bf bout marriage ? Maybe if you brought it up he'd give it some thought & think bout WHEN to propose & hopefully think of a very special way of proposing to you. Good luck !!!

Oh yeah, & I have a 22 yr old sis who got prego when she was 21. It was an unplanned pregnancy but she went through w/ it. My niece is 4 mos old :D Her name is Lexus Diamond <3 I love her soooooo much !!! Oh, & also, make sure that you can afford to have a baby. :) I'd even save up for a baby b/f having one lol.

Answer 3

I don't think that it's as much of an age question as it is a maturity/responsibility question. I think you should definitely wait until after you've finished college and have established yourself and can take care of yourself. For some women that's 21, for some that's 30+. I do think that 18 is too young for a baby because you are still a baby yourself and haven't had a chance to experience life yet. I'm 30 and am just starting to try for a baby. When I think back to my early 20s, those were some of the most exciting times of my life, and I wouldn't have been able to do half the things I did (travel the world, go out with friends, finish college, move out on my own, etc.) if I had a child.

Answer 4

are u kidding? Don't have a baby to be in the IN crowd with your immature friends. Babies are HARD work. 24/7. You aren't even out of school, nor have you attempted college! There are too many people on WIC and welfare just b/c they can be. You should strive to not be and have a GOOD job and a GOOD man to start a family. I was with someone for 6 years, 3 years in High school and 3 years out of high school and I thought I would be with them FOREVER! I wanted a baby too b/c I thought that is what would have kept us together. Thank god I knew better. we split up and I got married to a wonderful guy 3 years later and have been married for 8 years with 3 wonderful kids! Sometimes you have to thank god for unanswered prayers. What you want in the moment may not be what you want tomorrow. Enjoy your child hood. B/c 18 28 38 you will be responsible for this person. It takes a lot of money to be a parent and a lot more to be a smarter one. ( planning for their future as well as your own) Just a break down. The cost of formula is about 22-30 dollars a can. You will need at least 1 a week 120 a month. Diapers 15-20.00 a week probably more in the begining 100.00 a month. when 4months of age baby food and cereal. at least 50 cents a jar some times more depends on stage ( stage 3 85 cents) you need fruit and cereal for breakfast fruit and vegetable for lunch and fruit and vegetablt for dinner. so simple break down ( for stage 1) 3.00 a day x 30 + 90.00 a month plus 2.50 for cereal a week is a nother 10.00. So a little math for you 320.00 alone just to feed and diaper your baby. Not to mention clothes and creames and bath stuff and toys! DR's! ( shots along can be 5-600 a visit. they need these at 2-4-6-9-12-18 & 24m ) That's 3000.00 alone for the first year. Babies aren't cute little puppies you can take to the park and socialize. they require work and loads of money. not to mention your undivided attention. In between all this you have to work. So day care is another issue. with out a good job you will be working just to pay day care.
You need to think this thru FULLY and don't bring another unwanted child into this world just b/c all your friends are doing it. they don't ask to be born. But when they are they deserve to be loved and taken care of ( this means by you not by the state or your mother!) I would say a good age to settle down and have a baby would be at least no earlier than 25. Give yourself time to grown and change. See who you want to be and become that first!

Answer 5

the best age to have a baby is when all of these things are true for you:
your body has finished growing (usually between 18 - 20 for girls)
you have a stable home for yourself and the baby
when you are in a stable supportive relationship
you have finished your schooling/college education
you feel ready to have a baby
you have a stable income to support the baby
your partner wants a child

I had two kids in my teens at 16 & 18 and although I was a good mother to my children, I had no family or partner support, and when my second child was born with a heart defect I realised too late that there are no guarantees on how things will work out.

Answer 6

Don't have a baby because your friends are going to have one, Finish school and find other stuff to do besides thinking about getting pregnant. You might be 18 but you have your whole life ahead of you, I had my first child at 24 and 2 more after that

Answer 7

Wait until you are AT LEAST 25 ,,,,,trust me,I have 4 kids,I started when I was 20 and at the time I thought I was old enough but I wasn't .
Babies don't stay babies.They grow up and the older they get,the harder raising them is.
Children are a life time commitment,you can't just get tired of them and get rid of them.Once they are here they are your responsibility for the rest of your life no matter what.
Take my advice and wait,finish school so you can provide a better life for your child.Raising kids with just a GED is not easy.
I Thank God every day for my kids, but I also pray to God every day and night for strength cause it is hard being a parent.
Enjoy your life now,you are young,you have plenty of time later to start a family

Answer 8

These are just my own ideas of when to have kids. Your ideas may differ, but this is seriously something that you need to consider carefully.

1. Not till I'm done with school. There's no way that I'd be able to handle a baby and college classes, and there's no way in this day and age to get a decent job without a college degree, and since I've decided to go for a PhD, that puts my reproducing off for quite some time. (I'm 23)

2. Not till I'm making enough money to support myself and the child without help from the father. I've dated too many jerks to be tied down with one person just because I can't afford to get away. I need to know I can make my own money, to support myself and my child(ren) if I need to run from a bad situation.

3. Not till I can give the kid the kind of childhood I'd want to have. I don't want my kids to grow up in a seedy little apartment, listening to squabbles over money, while I worry about how the heck we're gonna pay for food and clothes and school supplies. I want my kids to grow up free of those worries. Not totally spoiled and getting whatever they want, but comfortable and free.

None of that is a definite age, it's more a decision to have kids when my lifestyle can support them. I'd urge you to do the same; hold off on having kids till you know that you're ready for the commitment and can provide for them. One of my friends had a kid when she was 21; she wasn't ready, and the kid is mainly being raised by his great-grandmother while his mom runs around with a motorcycle gang. Some people aren't mature, no matter how old they are; make sure that you and your boyfriend are mature enough to handle it.

Answer 9

Having a baby is a life-time commitment, Wait till you're 30 and enjoy the next twelve years. Personally, I don't know why a woman would want to go through 9 months of discomfort and pain just to end up with a sucking screaming poop-machine. If my wife and I ever have a kid, we will name it Houdini. If it gets past the pill, the condom and the surgeon's knife, it will have to be an escape artist

Answer 10

28

Answer 11

i just had a baby 3 months ago and I'm just turned19. i found out i was pregnant in June 1 month before my 18th birthday.me and my boyfriend had kinda been trying for a minute but nothing. then we moved in and 2 months later it happend. i was so happy because i was the only one i knew that didnt have a baby.after that i guess you can say i wasn't that happy i was sick all day long for the whole 9 months, then at the end i had to have a c-section because he wouldn't drop and i was already due. at the end it was worth it and i love him so much. but know i wish i would have finished school because i was pregnant my senior year of high school and was so sick in school i had to stop going. its harder for me know that he is out to go to school because he's out . the only advise i can give you is finish high school and then decide if you are ready for that kind of committed because once your pregnant you might not feel your self and not like it like i did and their is no turning back once he/she is in your belly. so good luck . also i really dout that eny one can tell you when a good age is to have a baby its really up to u and if YOU feel ready for it because it really dose change alot.