Are You Prepared?
By: Rachel Stephenson and Nilab Hamkar
Why do you need to prepare?
When having having a child, you need to remember that it is a life long commitment and you need to prepare yourself physically and mentally. To take on the parenting role, you should make sure you are as healthy as can be. Talk to your family doctor about specific meal plans and vitamins to take daily to ensure that your body is baby ready. Also, another thing to consider is to make sure that you have the support needed to take care of the baby either through your spouse or family.
Skills Needed for Parenting
- Patience - you have to be understanding and remain calm during stressful times
- Perseverance - You have to have the motivation to keep going and not give up
- Time Management - you have to be able to balance responsibilities for your baby as well as make time for other responsibilities in your life.
Factors that influence parenting
- Family - Being able to balance time with taking care of your baby and spending time with your spouse and family.
- Finances - Being financially stable so you can support your family and your money on the right things.
- Work - Having a job that gives you that financial support and has a good plan for maternity leave.
- Health - Taking care of your body so your baby can grow to be healthy and strong.
- Housing - Living in a house that you have space to grow as a family and wont cause problems.
The wrong reasons for having a child
- Selfishness
- Loneliness
- Uninformative
- Jealousy
- Think the baby will fix your problems (bad marriage)
- Peer-Pressure
- Mid-life Crisis
- Family Traditions
Family-planning considerations
- Savings (money)
- Child proofing
- Buying necessities (bottles, crib, clothes, etc)
- Maternity leave
- Finance management