Having Children Later in Life

In today’s world, it has been observed that people across Suggested change: all social milieusall social milieus1all social milieu do not have childbearing intentions until much later in their life. This phenomenon stems from several factors and in my opinion, is generally a negative development. Several factors can be attributed to the decision to delay childbearing but the biggest one has always been financial concerns. Child-rearing is a costly process involving Suggested change: astronomicalastronomical2astronimical expenditures from food, education, child care to clothing and many other miscellaneous expenses. Such spending does not stop when the child reaches maturity but usually continues well until he or she graduates from higher education institutions. This explains why couples nowadays tend to wait until one or both of them have become well-established in their career since it gives them a sense of financial stability. Loss of freedom, though not as significant, is also another underlying factor. People now have burning desires for novelty. Many aspire to travel the world, meet new people and Suggested change: broaden their horizonsbroaden their horizons3broaden their horizon, all of which are not achievable should they become parents and thus, many simply decide to postpone the task Suggested change: to a later stageto a later stage4for the later stage in their life. Admittedly, having children Suggested change: laterlater5latter enables parents to be better prepared both in terms of knowledge and finance. Raising a baby is not a simple task since Suggested change: parents needparents need6parents needs to be equipped with lots of knowledge such as baby sitting, nutrition, psychology and so on so that they can successfully raise their kids. A strong financial foundation is also required to bring up a well-rounded child. These factors are more strongly present in older parents. Having said that, mothers having children late in life are often blamed for miscarriages, birth defects from chromosomal issues and the child’s poor overall Suggested change: healthhealth7heath due to their significantly lower fertility rate, hence their poor chance of conceiving a healthy baby. Such problem far exceeds any benefits that having a child late in life can bring about since it can result in a lifetime of suffering for the child, disregarding all the aforementioned advantages. In conclusion, although the reasons behind couples having children later in their life are best explained by their financial worries and desire for freedom, the disadvantages of this trend still overshadow its advantages.