Questions to Ask Before Having a Baby

Having kids is a life changing event, and I know this firsthand. Everything you do right now is going to change, even if you think it won’t (and boy does every childless person think their life won’t change with kids). There is no more spur of the moment anything, because kids take a little extra time and attention. There is no more sleeping in and staying out late and meeting up with friends five minutes after the invitation was extended. If you’re thinking about having kids, you should ask yourselves these questions first.

Public or Private?

Your kids may not start school for the next five years, but you have to start thinking about paying for school right now. Whether you want your future little ones in a private school from the time they are two months old until they graduate or you want them in public schools until it’s time for college, you have a lot to pay for; and thinking about it now is a good idea.

Does a Baby Fit Into the Budget?

Aside from your future baby’s education, you have to think about other slightly important things, like paying for her birth and feeding her and putting diapers on her and making sure you can afford clothes for her to wear and a roof to put over her head. Kids are expensive, and they start being expensive the moment you decide to have one. You have to pay the OB and the hospital and buy all that stuff to put into her nursery. Can you afford that?

How Many Kids is Enough?

Now this is when things get tricky; before you have kids you probably want a lot more than you actually have because once you have one you realize that they’re expensive and time-consuming and wonderful and tiring and they sometimes make you crazy. Of course, if you want three and he wants one, go ahead and meet in the middle. You’ll probably change your minds anyway.