[PB2K]

So when would you be ready for it?

Personally, this topic just drives me nuts. It's a topic I just can not feel really weird about. My life is so chaotic, there is no way I can change into a responsible father in a short time. The idea of me pushing a babycart..GGGGG overload beep beep beep

I know I will have some one day, I just can't imagine when.

[macroy]

I felt the exact same way (maybe 10 times more) about a year ago. Today, I have a 13 week old son. It still feel weird - but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was like without him.

Its one of those things that just consumes you.. and the next thing you know.. it's just a part of you.

Still can't get over the lack of sleep though...... when people said "you'll get no sleep" - you think, yea, I've had no sleep for days... but this is entirely different. You have this little thing that is dependant on you for his/her survival, its mind boggeling. You are at their beckon call day and night..... and you don't mind.

[BlueSky]

I have two cats.

[wallinbl]

You may be more ready than you realize, especially if you are wise enough to think that you are not ready. What you have to be ready for is a nonstop responsibility that you can't just decide you don't want anymore. As far as feeding and diapers, you'll figure it out when it happens. If you think you'll reach a point in life where having children will not be a sacrifice, you're wrong. Having kids is an enormous sacrifice. Most people will tell you that it's more than worth it.

[goMac]

No.

My girlfriend says she never wants to ever have kids. I think that's a bit overkill.

[DeathMan]

They're pretty easy, all you need to do is keep them fed, and reasonably clean, they sleep on their own, and thats pretty much it. The hardest part is you can't really just go do whatever you want, whenever you want anymore.

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by DeathMan

They're pretty easy, all you need to do is keep them fed, and reasonably clean, they sleep on their own, and thats pretty much it. The hardest part is you can't really just go do whatever you want, whenever you want anymore.

Obviously, you're not a parent!

[dav]

Originally Posted by DeathMan

The hardest part is you can't really just go do whatever you want, whenever you want anymore.

that's marriage.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by goMac

No.

My girlfriend says she never wants to ever have kids.

ummm....whats her number ? i just want to talk. also is she hot ?

Originally Posted by dav

that's marriage.

*shudder*...the 'M' word. im gonna be up all night now.

[Hawkeye_a]

*double post*

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by DeathMan

They're pretty easy, all you need to do is keep them fed, and reasonably clean, they sleep on their own, and thats pretty much it. The hardest part is you can't really just go do whatever you want, whenever you want anymore.

Thats pretty much how it is here, I work so the wife takes care of the baby all day, but she is a very good child and it has been a real joy so-far with her.

There is a LOT of work, I have had the child all day a few times and it is not easy, they want to play and be entertained and loved all day which is cool, but they want ALL your attention sometimes which can be very draining.

We have all of our families around so someone is ALWAYS begging to babysit so it really hasn't changed the "do what you want" thing too much.

Being a dad is amazing, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

There's enough people already. PLEASE STOP BREEDING!!

Thank you.

[SeSawaya]

Ireally thought I didnt want to have kids, then one day, we were!! I wouldnt change a thing though, the tiny person is AMAZING. She has really changed my life for the better. I dont require as much sleep and my wasting time has decreased as well!!!

See the tiny girl here http://homepage.mac.com/sonordrum/PhotoAlbum82.html

If I was 10 years younger, I'd be stronger but not emotinoally ready I dont think. I also simply couldnt afford it. I dont know how people do really at lower levels of income than I have. Help is always a good thing too.

[Maflynn]

I got twins on the way, well I don't my wife does

I'm in my 40s and I have to say the prospect of having kids now is a little daunting and well scary, but I wouldn't trade it in for all of the Macs in Cupertino.

We went for the first diagnostic ultrasound back in August and it was amazing. A diagnostic ultrasound is when they measure arm, leg lengths, skin density, skull, size, brain development and the heart.

First the that ultrasound can show that much stuff at 16 weeks is amazing, but then seeing them move around in there was down right awe inspiring. I saw one picking her nose (yep girls) and of course my wife said awe she's taking after daddy

Mike

[PBG4 User]

Originally Posted by macroy

I felt the exact same way (maybe 10 times more) about a year ago. Today, I have a 13 week old son. It still feel weird - but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was like without him.

It's amazing how quickly kids turn your life upside down isn't it? My son is almost 9 months old now. Watching him grow has been totally amazing, something new has happened every day since he was born.

Originally Posted by macroy

Its one of those things that just consumes you.. and the next thing you know.. it's just a part of you.

Still can't get over the lack of sleep though...... when people said "you'll get no sleep" - you think, yea, I've had no sleep for days... but this is entirely different. You have this little thing that is dependant on you for his/her survival, its mind boggeling. You are at their beckon call day and night..... and you don't mind.

Yea, I thought the same thing. Ooooh, no sleep yea whatever. Then I was introduced to "time to feed the baby" every 3 hours, day and night for the first 6 weeks straight. That time is still a blur to me. I can't believe I didn't wrap my car around a telephone on any of the manic food/diapers/formula/chores runs I did in that time.

Wouldn't trade it for the world though. My son has brought more joy into my then I thought was humanly possible.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

ummm....whats her number ? i just want to talk. also is she hot ?

You stay away from her. She's my hot girl.

And yes. This thread will stay worthless without pics. I don't know what you guys would do with her picture. Half of you are probably Photoshop experts, and the other half are... not trustworthy.

[ShotgunEd]

The g/f and I have been together 14 months, I don't think we are anywhere near ready for kids. Her nephew (aged 3) had a sleep-over at our's recently and it was hard work, constant questions;

What is this?

Why is it called that?

How does it work?

Why does it work?

Who's is it?

Repeat for every object in the house.

And this kid is well behaved.

We were watching Monsters Inc., his 2nd time in 12 hours and every 6 seconds he had a question.

<joke>
I reckon give the g/f and I 3 years to get bored of each other and then we'll save the relationship with an *accidental* pregnancy.
</joke>

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by ShotgunEd

<joke>
I reckon give the g/f and I 3 years to get bored of each other and then we'll save the relationship with an *accidental* pregnancy.
</joke>

Did you plan it this way when you registered your nick, ShotgunEd?

[nredman]

i'd like to have a few kids but not as soon as my wife would - i'd like my own kids but i dont really like other peoples kids

[goMac]

Originally Posted by ShotgunEd

Her nephew (aged 3) had a sleep-over at our's recently and it was hard work, constant questions

This is exactly why my girlfriend would hate kids.

[iDriveX]

I don't really understand the kid facination. Sure they're great and all, but I have no real desire to have children. I suppose if my partner really wanted to have children, I'd oblige, but I feel no need to replicate myself. I see a lot of people that have children for the glorification of their own self and that's not me. I can't think of a positive benefit of having one of my own children. I hope my brothers have children so I can be an Uncle and come around from time to time and take them out to amusement parks and movies. That way I can participate in the fun parts of having a kid, but not the feeding, clothing, and giving up half of my salary (maybe more) to them on a daily basis.

I look at my father, who makes easily a high six-figure income. If he had no wife and no children, the guy would have a house on the Pacific Coast Highway, with every gadget imaginable. He'd be driving an Aston Martin and be hitting the hottest spots in LA on a daily basis. Instead, he's forked over at least half of his fortune on my mom's Rodeo shopping sprees and my brothers' college tuitions, and while there have been momentary rewards for him, I would imagine that there was more hassle than reward. I don't have children so I don't know if that's true. But that's my perspective.

[PacHead]

Way too many dumbasses have children who clearly should not be having any at all. Maybe these people should get pets first and see if they can take care of that animal for a year or two. Stupid parents produce dumb kids. Also, for the horny women out there: don't sleep with losers, you'll get pregnant and the guy will leave you and your child. This happens all too often.

Originally Posted by PacHead

Way too many dumbasses have children who clearly should not be having any at all. Maybe these people should get pets first and see if they can take care of that animal for a year or two. Stupid parents produce dumb kids. Also, for the horny women out there: don't sleep with losers, you'll get pregnant and the guy will leave you and your child. This happens all too often.

Nah - leave the live animals out of it. Maybe they should, instead, get a Nintendogs game and work their way up from there.

[JoshuaZ]

Originally Posted by screamingFit

Nah - leave the live animals out of it. Maybe they should, instead, get a Nintendogs game and work their way up from there.

Leave the virtual pets out of this. Get a pet rock. If that doesn`t work out you have major problems.

[ghporter]

It only takes two dumbasses of opposite sexes and some cheap beer to create new, little dumbasses. It takes hard work over a LONG period of time, and work that never stays the same from one month to the next, to raise a child. Our son turned 18 in July, and boy was that a challenge for us! But getting him to that point was the object of having him in the first place.

Good parenting is the product of intelligent people thinking things through before they happen, and being consistent (and brave) enough to do what is necessary. Whether that means cleaning up baby barf (yuck!) or poop (YUCK!) or explaining why he's never going to see grandma ever again because she died (that was very rough!), or any other difficult issue.

If you don't think you are up to the challenge, be intelligent and DON'T. But if you choose not to have children, you have to accept that you'll NEVER understand what it's like to have that responsibility-because you certainly won't.

[PB2K]

i like kids. i like how they can play with everything they can get their hands on, i still consider myself not adult, while i am 30. i just want to be as ready as possible. i don't want to be without a job, a drunk, a deadbeat dad who is a bad rolemodel. anyway, i just see what happens.

my parents have 6 children, just because they love them so much. as far as i can remember they were always home to help us out. our clothes were give-aways, but we had so many friends that there were always the latest toys to play with, so i never had the idea that i missed something. that's what i want to be able to give a lot of attention. i don't want to be a dad who earns the money and sees his children only when he is tired after work. that way the time would just go too fast. my father says he already had the idea that it all went so fast, and then he was always home (he is a professional artist).

at this moment, and as far as i can see, the next years, i will be too much busy with myself, my career and securing my position.

also, i don't think you ppl should judge too hard on people who take children too soon. sometimes you will have to accept things don't go as planned. as long as you can provide a stable environment in which to raise that child, you have done enough already.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by iDriveX

I look at my father, who makes easily a high six-figure income. If he had no wife and no children, the guy would have a house on the Pacific Coast Highway, with every gadget imaginable. He'd be driving an Aston Martin and be hitting the hottest spots in LA on a daily basis. Instead, he's forked over at least half of his fortune on my mom's Rodeo shopping sprees and my brothers' college tuitions, and while there have been momentary rewards for him, I would imagine that there was more hassle than reward.

Dude, none of that is worth S H I T.

Imagine how much money he'd have if he'd lived on the street, not paying rent, or only eating scraps and leftovers! He'd be a millionaire!


Kids aren't your possessions. They are your life.

[Cubeoid]

Babies are great. They grow and then become real people who do things.

[rickey939]

Originally Posted by Cubeoid

Babies are great. They grow and then become real people who do things.

[/wdlove]

Fixed by r939.®

[andi*pandi]

the trick is not so much being ready, but to think you can't possibly be good enough for a baby. Then and only then are you prepared to try to be the best you can be, because that's what baby deserves.

[iDriveX]

Originally Posted by analogika

Dude, none of that is worth S H I T.

Imagine how much money he'd have if he'd lived on the street, not paying rent, or only eating scraps and leftovers! He'd be a millionaire!


Kids aren't your possessions. They are your life.

Unless you value that. Maybe kids are your life, but MY life is MY life. I would get much more appreciation out of life to be able to treat myself and a very hot babe to a vacation in France and stay at a Castle for a week then to watch my offspring graduate from 3rd grade. I think it'd be nicer to lay out by the pool in my multi-million dollar estate than hear about my kid's good grades in school.

Your analogy doesn't make any sense. I was comparing two rewarding things together and making a point that I don't find one of them rewarding. You were just being retarded.

[iDriveX]

also, i don't think you ppl should judge too hard on people who take children too soon. sometimes you will have to accept things don't go as planned. as long as you can provide a stable environment in which to raise that child, you have done enough already.

No we don't have to accept things that don't go as planned. Preplanning is key, always use a condom and you will never go wrong. And for those rare times that condoms do break, there's the morning after pill that you take up to 48-hours after the incident. And for those times that you didn't know the condom broke, and you didn't take the morning after pill, there's abortion. About the only people I feel bad for when it comes to having children when they aren't prepared is when the partner of that person ditches them with the child and leaves them high and dry when they both decided to have a baby.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Cubeoid

Babies are great. They grow and then become real people who do things.

Yeah, that's what they said about my sea monkeys. Instead they just floated around like...I dunno, brine shrimp or something.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by BlueSky

Yeah, that's what they said about my sea monkeys. Instead they just floated around like...I dunno, brine shrimp or something.

Remember, don't eat the Sea-Men!

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by PB2K

also, i don't think you ppl should judge too hard on people who take children too soon. sometimes you will have to accept things don't go as planned.

Sorry, children are not accidents. You can't expect people to accept the fact that you accidentally had a child. Not taking the pill or forgetting to wear a condom has significant potential consequences.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by analogika

Dude, none of that is worth S H I T.

Imagine how much money he'd have if he'd lived on the street, not paying rent, or only eating scraps and leftovers! He'd be a millionaire!


Kids aren't your possessions. They are your life.

You and I rarely see eye to eye, but you speak 100% the truth here. Thank you for putting into so few words what I would have a hard time explaining in pages of text.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by iDriveX

Unless you value that. Maybe kids are your life, but MY life is MY life. I would get much more appreciation out of life to be able to treat myself and a very hot babe to a vacation in France and stay at a Castle for a week then to watch my offspring graduate from 3rd grade. I think it'd be nicer to lay out by the pool in my multi-million dollar estate than hear about my kid's good grades in school.

Your analogy doesn't make any sense. I was comparing two rewarding things together and making a point that I don't find one of them rewarding. You were just being retarded.

You just don't get it dude.

I would rather watch my son drool all over my shirt then spend a year in a castle in France with the hottest chick on Earth.

The best memory of my life so far is hearing my daughter say "I love you" for the first time. I cried for about 5 minutes. Makes my eyes misty just rememebering it right now...

You just don't get it dude.

[Cubeoid]

Originally Posted by BlueSky

Yeah, that's what they said about my sea monkeys. Instead they just floated around like...I dunno, brine shrimp or something.

Correct. When I was a child, I purchased sea monkeys. They didn't build anything, no cities, or transportation of any kind, although they did wiggle around and move while in the water. That made me happy for a short time.

[JustAnOl'Broad]

Originally Posted by BlueSky

Yeah, that's what they said about my sea monkeys. Instead they just floated around like...I dunno, brine shrimp or something.

OMG I loved my sea monkeys;
at least I did 'til they started to stankoutLoud.

Never did understand why they didn't look like the ones on the packaging.


On topic:
I have no kids, never had the "time".
If I had it all to do over - I'd have at least one.
One of my only regrets in life.

[Cubeoid]

Children are the fruit of ourselves. Please enjoy and love them because they will rule the world when you're dead.

[11011001]

Originally Posted by wallinbl

Sorry, children are not accidents. You can't expect people to accept the fact that you accidentally had a child. Not taking the pill or forgetting to wear a condom has significant potential consequences.

Thank you Captain Obvious. (no offense to the real one)

[demograph68]

Originally Posted by Cubeoid

Children are the fruit of ourselves. Please enjoy and love them because they will rule the world when you're dead.

More like the McDonalds of the world...

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by iDriveX

Unless you value that. Maybe kids are your life, but MY life is MY life. I would get much more appreciation out of life to be able to treat myself and a very hot babe to a vacation in France and stay at a Castle for a week then to watch my offspring graduate from 3rd grade. I think it'd be nicer to lay out by the pool in my multi-million dollar estate than hear about my kid's good grades in school.

Your analogy doesn't make any sense. I was comparing two rewarding things together and making a point that I don't find one of them rewarding. You were just being retarded.

If you don't find the opportunity to have a lasting impact on mankind, or have a hand in the future to be rewarding, then you're certainly not ready to be a parent. And if your life still revolves around YOU, then you're certainly not ready to be a parent, maybe not even someone's partner.

Developmentally, children are supposed to get past the egotistical thinking stage by about three years of age. Not everyone gets there, and part of that has to do with parenting. A parent that substitutes material things for attention and emotion can set a child up for a lifetime of egotism-and isolation. If you're just still figuring yourself out, then you're not "egotistical" as much as you're still figuring yourself out-a very different thing entirely.

I was not ready to be a parent at 20, and I doubt most people really are at that age. Technically, we aren't truly mature until about 25 in most cases because of the brain development that finalizes the frontal lobes' control of risk taking and impulsive behaivors is the last stage of neural development, finishing at about 25... But a lot of younger people get through just fine by TRYING THEIR BEST with their children. Raising children certainly involves sacrifices, but isn't the future worth a little sacrifice?

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by 11011001

Thank you Captain Obvious. (no offense to the real one)

Perhaps it was obvious to you, but it apparently wasn't obvious to the person that said "accidents do happen".

[iDriveX]

Originally Posted by ghporter

If you don't find the opportunity to have a lasting impact on mankind, or have a hand in the future to be rewarding, then you're certainly not ready to be a parent. And if your life still revolves around YOU, then you're certainly not ready to be a parent, maybe not even someone's partner.

Developmentally, children are supposed to get past the egotistical thinking stage by about three years of age. Not everyone gets there, and part of that has to do with parenting. A parent that substitutes material things for attention and emotion can set a child up for a lifetime of egotism-and isolation. If you're just still figuring yourself out, then you're not "egotistical" as much as you're still figuring yourself out-a very different thing entirely.

I was not ready to be a parent at 20, and I doubt most people really are at that age. Technically, we aren't truly mature until about 25 in most cases because of the brain development that finalizes the frontal lobes' control of risk taking and impulsive behaivors is the last stage of neural development, finishing at about 25... But a lot of younger people get through just fine by TRYING THEIR BEST with their children. Raising children certainly involves sacrifices, but isn't the future worth a little sacrifice?

I never said that I did not want to have a hand in shaping the future. I have the things and charities that I do care about and do support: Outlawing Capital Punishment, Supporting a Women's Reproductive Right to Chose, etc. As someone who will have a lot of money I will be able to make more of a difference in those social arena. Kids are hit and miss. You can have the best parent with all the resources under the sun, and the Kid will still turn out to be a druggie rapist. At least the way I plan on doing, I'm not potentially unleashing the kid that will one day impregnate your teenage daughter, instead I plan on making a social impact with my own life.

But I do need all of you to keep having children. I will need my pick of a trophy wife and based on my age of 24....I would say that she's just a glimmer in one of your eyes right now

[capuchin]

If you're going to have kids, do it sooner rather than later. I'm 32, and have a two year old and a 9-month old, and while they're great, I don't think we'd be in half as good shape if my wife and I had waited a few more years.

There's never a good time to have kids, so don't wait - that fictional moment in your life where you've reached a point of stability that guarantees certainty and smooth sailing doesn't exist. It's tough work, but rewarding. I can't recommend it highly enough.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by iDriveX

Your analogy doesn't make any sense. I was comparing two rewarding things together and making a point that I don't find one of them rewarding. You were just being retarded.

It comes across as valuing money over life. And lest you think I'm attacking you:

Should anything ever go wrong and you should ever end with a child of your own, I sincerely hope your world would turn upside-down.

You may not want it, and cannot imagine it happening that way - and it's perfectly okay not to want to give that up. But if it were to happen, you'd probably find that the adjustment was well worth it in the end.

Either that, or you'd bring up some really ****ed-up kids...


BTW, I say this as someone who doesn't (to my knowledge) have kids of his own - yet. I find that my views have changed over the past few years.

Alas, having children, for me, also involves a rather significant factor: finding someone you'd want to have kids with...

[analogika]

Originally Posted by iDriveX

I never said that I did not want to have a hand in shaping the future. I have the things and charities that I do care about and do support: Outlawing Capital Punishment, Supporting a Women's Reproductive Right to Chose, etc. As someone who will have a lot of money I will be able to make more of a difference in those social arena.

A perfectly valid choice in life.

Please do.

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by iDriveX

Outlawing Capital Punishment, Supporting a Women's Reproductive Right to Chose

It's okay to kill the young, innocent ones, just not the old, evil ones

(It's a joke - I'm not interested in an abortion or capital punishment debate; I just like the goofiness of the conservative and liberal positions - kill them early or late, but not both).

[PB2K]

That would be very lame, to bend this discussion about having a baby to a discussion about not having a baby..

i just like children. the idea of having one sooner or later intrigues me at the moment.