h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think that up to a certain age there are pros & cons to the 'best' age to have children.
Young Mums still have a lot of active life e.g. for a career, travel, when their children are independent. More time to have a large family if they want, grandparents available for child care.
Older Mums will perhaps have more financial stability & experience to draw on.

One problem for older Mums is at Toddler groups & the school gate - they'll have more in common with Grandparents than other parents.

I used to think that 40 was quite old to be starting a family, but with improved health & longevity, that no longer seems to be the case. If a child is conceived naturally at an older age & wanted, well, you make the best of it. Things may not be ideal, but when are they ever?

I'm not so happy with the idea of IVF for 50 yr old post-menopausal women though. Having a child is a priviledge, not a right & sometimes a choice has to be as to who is eligible for treatment.

well my parents my dad was 40 my mother was 42 when i came along ,i did not have that much time with my grandparents ,my point is 40 is old to start but people should take into view about health, how old they will be when the child needs them most ,will they be able to cope with teenage problems when they should infact be grandparents at that time of there life .

My sister was (and still is) 38 when she had her son. Her husband is in his sixties. They seem to be coping OK so far...obviously can't comment on what they'll be like when he's a teenager.

RF

well at that age they should be taking it easy , i found it hard missing not having grandparents like my friends at school did .

Shifty - I didn't miss having grandparents (my family seem to be fairly long lived and my grans died at 86 and 96 respectively, and my great uncle at 100)

Perhaps I'm a bit thick skinned, but I never really took much notice of the age difference until I was about 11, up until then I just accepted that Mum & Dad were Mum & Dad. When I hit the teenage years the fun really started though.....imagine coping with a stroppy 14 year old into Marc Bolan, David Bowie and Alice Cooper when you're 75 and had been a 14 year old in 1913....culture shock all round!

yes someone 70 coping with them when they should be chilling out , but i have a 16 14 12 years old, and there music well il leave that for a other day lol

Mind you - my mum must have been tired out all the time, her mother (my gran) lived with us so, as well as doing a part time job, looking after me (ages 0-7), house keeping etc, she also cared for gran who was bed-ridden.

( and by the time I'd flown the nest and she was a sprightly 60 year old....Dad was 81 so guess who Mum was caring for then???)

Should I be taking it easy myself, then, seeing as I'm older than my sister? Now, where did I leave that pipe and those slippers?

RF

RF - I think this is one of those cases where it all depends on the individual(s), so if you want your pipe, slippers and Ovaltine....who am I to deny them???????

Personally - I'll stick with the vodka and tonic..........

The woman I was working with is more financially secure than I am, because she's had all those extra years to build her career. But, it's been a shock for her to have to sell her sports car, and to suddenly have to lose her salary and be on maternity pay. Her partner works, but of course, you live to your means. I certainly can't afford to suddenly be back on £100 a week - or I'd be enjoying my enforced unemployment a lot more.

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could she not have returned to the job afterwards ?

She intends to, but her income is being reduced for at least six months - her bills won't go down though.

I am 51yr old grandmother & personaly after I have spent a day looking after my 2 grandaughters ages 4yrs & 8mnths I am so glad that I do not have to do it more than a day or night at a time.
I love my grandkids to bits but it is so nice to be able to say goodbye to them after a full day & see them return home to their own parents.
I had 2 children in my 20s with an 18mnth age gap between & to be honest looking after 2 children is hard work but when your young you have the energy & patience to cope relatively problem free.
Now at the age of 51 you find that your not as patient & lively as you would like to be.
So no personaly I would not like to be bringing chilren of my own up once again,but that is just my opinion & peoples differ.

<Now at the age of 51 you find that your not as patient & lively as you would like to be.
So no personaly I would not like to be bringing chilren of my own up once again,but that is just my opinion & peoples differ.>

agreed