How do you know if you're ready to have children?
Choosing whether to become a parent is one of the most important decisions you can make in life. Psyche has a comprehensive guide to help you address key factors with exercises like listing your internal and external fears (age, finances, fear of regret, etc.); spending a day or two acting as if you’ve made the decision, then pretending the opposite; and asking yourself what it would take for you to say yes. The Skimm also suggests asking these five questions:
- Do I truly want the day-to-day of being a parent?
- Would parenthood fit my identity and lifestyle?
- What would it take for me to say “yes” to being child-free or “yes” to being a parent?
- What do I value most? Would being a parent (or remaining child-free) compromise those values?
- What are my reasons for having a child?
Getty Images