September 30, 2011, 7:23 pm
Evann and I advise married couples not to postpone the pleasures of parenthood. “We can’t afford kids right now, we’re just not ready yet” is a frequently heard refrain. We counsel against such rigid pragmatism. If you wait ’til you’re “ready” to have kids, you may never have any, we warn. We certainly weren’t ready for our first child when Maria was born just two weeks shy of our first wedding anniversary, and we weren’t ready for our son either, when he arrived a year ago last November. We were broke when the stork first came, and we’re broke still. The only difference is, we now have five beautiful children who give meaning to our lives in more ways than we can ever describe. — “Pleasures of Unplanned Parenthood,” F.R. Duplantier
It’s been 13 years since I wrote the commentary excerpted above, and the only thing that’s changed is that we now have six beautiful children “who give meaning to our lives in more ways than we can ever describe.” Our advice remains the same: Don’t postpone the pleasures of parenthood. You’ll never be “ready.” Practice unplanned parenthood!
December 10, 2008, 10:08 am
Evann and I advise married couples not to postpone the pleasures of parenthood. “We can’t afford kids right now, we’re just not ready yet” is a frequently heard refrain. We counsel against such rigid pragmatism. If you wait ’til you’re “ready” to have kids, you may never have any, we warn. We certainly weren’t ready for our first child when Maria was born just two weeks shy of our first wedding anniversary, and we weren’t ready for our son either, when he arrived a year ago last November. We were broke when the stork first came, and we’re broke still. The only difference is, we now have five beautiful children who give meaning to our lives in more ways than we can ever describe. — “Pleasures of Unplanned Parenthood,” F.R. Duplantier
It’s been ten years since I wrote the commentary excerpted above, and the only thing that’s changed is that we now have six beautiful children “who give meaning to our lives in more ways than we can ever describe.” Our advice remains the same: Don’t postpone the pleasures of parenthood. You’ll never be “ready.” Practice unplanned parenthood!
