writerboybc

Hi, Lin,

Wow...what a question!

Well, the canned answer to your question would be that the right age to have a child is when you are in a position to be able to financially support both yourself and the child, and when you are emotionally ready to take on the responsibility of a life that will be around for the next 60-80 years and calling you mom.

My answer, though, is that there is no "right" age to have a child. The above answer is ideal, but doesn't always happen that way.

In my case, I'm 22 and I recently became a father to a baby boy. Me and my girlfriend are not together, so we wouldn't have raised our son together anyway, but she saw fit to place our son up for adoption without really caring what I thought. I, however, feel that I am ready to raise a child, and thus I'm very much in the mindset that I'd like to meet a girl soon who I truly love and who is interested in having another child with me. As far as my son goes, it is an open adoption, so I still get to see him and have contact with him, and, thus, I'm still a dad, even if I don't raise my son full-time.

I'll tell you, Lin...whether you think you're ready to have a baby or not, having one changes you in so many ways. I'm a father and I honestly love the feeling of it, knowing that there's a child out there that is mine.

So, I guess there is no straight answer to your question, except to say that you should wait until you have, at least, the stability of a financial grounding and the love of your boyfriend around to help you, before you think about having children.