You and your spouse might be thinking that it’s about time you start a family. Just imagine children running around the house, filling the space with fun and positive energy. Having a child will surely brighten up your life.
You probably hear this a lot, but having a child requires a great deal of patience and responsibility. And the key to being a good parent is being prepared for it. So before you even begin browsing for houses for sale in Manor Lakes, VIC, make sure you’ve handled vital aspects of your life. Only then will you be truly ready to start a family.
Career
A common problem faced by children is feeling distant from their parents. The culprit? Work. Most parents have full-time jobs that take up all their time. They end up having little time to spend with their kids. We see a lot of parents who fail to attend important events in a child’s life. Missing soccer games or school events are inevitable, mainly because of work reasons.
Studies show that when their parents work too much and spend less time with their children, it contributes to behavioural aspects of a child’s life. They develop poor cognitive skills and tend to have rowdy and undesirable behaviour.
Parents play a huge role in how the child grows up. And if your career is demanding too much time from you, you’re not ready to start a family. Raising a child is a job too. It needs your full, undivided attention and commitment.
Finance
Having a child means having someone who will depend on you emotionally, physically, and financially. You have to provide everything for him or her like meals, toys, medicine, and other essentials. Sooner or later, your child will be going to school, and you’ll have to provide for their education too. Not to mention extracurricular fees like sports or lessons your child would want to take.
Having a child is expensive. Before starting a family, make sure you can afford it. You have to sit down with your partner and calculate your income and expenses. Look ahead and consider how you think your income will look 5, 10, or even 20 years from now. Compute your finances and see if you have enough resources to give your family a comfortable life.
Relationship
One thing that many parents neglect to consider is their relationship with each other. It might sound a little cliché, but ask yourself if your relationship is strong enough. Data shows that almost 50% of marriages end in divorce.
This might not be something you and your spouse want to hear, especially now that you’re planning to start a family. But the strength of your relationship will affect how a child grows up. And a divorce will take a toll on the child’s emotional, psychological, and mental health.
Environment
The environment where a child grows up plays a crucial role in his personality and behavioural development. Research indicates that a negative growth environment causes poor language development, aggression, anxiety, impaired cognitive skills, and many others.
The environment where you raise your child is something that needs to be considered. And if you don’t think your current situation is good for raising a child, you should change that. Find an environment where your child can thrive.
Starting a family needs to have a lot of preparation and planning. It’s not something you can just dive into and hope things go well. There are a lot of factors to consider before you’re truly ready for this life-long commitment.