Judy Price is Writing

Today with women marrying later, if at all, they are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to have children, with or without a mate. 

A woman’s ‘biological clock’, in large part, will determine whether or not she will become a mother. 

Whereas, a man can most likely become a father at almost any age.

Of course, a woman, a man or a couple could choose to adopt, opt for fertility intervention or surrogacy if faced with the inability to procreate.

There are many alternatives available today for women and men to consider that were not accessible to previous generations.

The main issue is whether or not one is prepared to become a parent, with all of the sacrifices involved, as well as the rewards of course.

Educating oneself through reading, babysitting, and caring for and enjoying other people’s children does not give a ‘true’ picture of a ‘24-7’ parental responsibility, especially required in infancy, formative childhood, and adolescent years.

Subconsciously, the norm is to repeat the parenting behaviour of one’s own parents, as this is what was modelled in one’s own childhood.

It takes a conscious effort to change and learn new patterns of behaviour in order to parent one’s own children differently, if that is the appropriate thing to do. 

The other issue to consider is whether or not one would choose to be a parent without the ‘right’ partner.

It is difficult enough to parent a child while sharing the responsibility, and even more challenging to do so alone. 

Without a loving, committed relationship with a partner who is capable of assuming a parenting role, one needs to think carefully before becoming a parent oneself.

This is an individual decision; however, one needs to be realistic before entering into the lifelong commitment of parenthood. 

There is no option of ‘divorce’ in the parent-child relationship.