Do you wish you had your children younger

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have them when you are 20, out of the house when you are 40
Then go and travel the world

With what money? If you have kids at 20, when do you go beyond a high school education?

[Anonymous]

I had my kids at 40 and 43. I actually am a great mom at this age and have two great kids, I have a successful career that allows me balance and am happily married. My sister had her kids at 29 and 33 and has has two great boys, now almost all grown up while mine are still quite young. She stayed home for many years, got divorced, remarried and found a second career after much effort. She will be an empty nester long before me and is likely less prepared for retirement but I am confident she will do just fine. My mom had us as 22 and 24 (after college), was not stay at home material even back in the 60s, and was pretty much a trail blazer in the engineering world my entire life and will probably work until she is not able as that is what she loves to do. She has the flexibility in her career at 70 to also be a really involved grandparent and make time for travel for herself as well.

There are lots of ways to skin this cat people and success does not require all other choices to have been wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have them when you are 20, out of the house when you are 40
Then go and travel the world

With what money? If you have kids at 20, when do you go beyond a high school education?

Oh the stereotypes
Did you know that being 40 does not mean you have gone beyond a high school education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have them when you are 20, out of the house when you are 40
Then go and travel the world

With what money? If you have kids at 20, when do you go beyond a high school education?

good grief. It's very possible to have children young AND a career. I had my kids beginning at age 32 but when I was in medical school (ages 21-25) I had 20+ classmates who had children at that age. Guess what? All of them are now doctors and make the same salary I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who needs an MBA to be a mother?

Maybe some 40 year old nuerotic with a child care manual in the armpit
You really do look ridiculous when you read and do everything according to the manual

Do you ever have the energy to take the kids to the park to play and kick a ball with them?

sure

At 45, I leave work at 11. (I work PT.), take an hour-long walk, and then pick up my 3 yo from preschool. We either go to the playground at my daughter's school, take a walk around the neighborhood or I have him jump around in our moon bounce. Then we pick up my daughter and either stay at the playground a little longer or head home to ride bikes if the weather is nice.

Sweetie, we WROTE the manuals, btw. So there's no need for us to read them.

You wrote the manual, yet you've not yet learned how to master properly quoting someone. Based on the many posts in the General Parenting forum, there are plenty of clueless 40+ Moms in the DC area.

This is the best you can do?

I know how to use the quote function. However, posting from an iPhone can sometimes be tricky.

I can't wait until you "young ones" reach 40. With your attitudes, you may as well plan your suicide on your 39th birthday. And I doubt anyone would miss your presence.

Why does it matter? Well, if you're going to insinuate that young moms are inept, it would behoove you to try to seem intellectually competent yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Why do you assume that most women want high-powered careers? I don't, BUT if I do, I'd much rather do it later when my kids are out of the home rather than trying to do it while shuffling child care. "

I can tell from this post that you don't have a high powered career. Do you really think most SAHMs who don't start their careers until they are in their 40s suddenly get high powered jobs? It's too late to wait until your youngest child is 18 to start a high powered career.

And I don't understand your comment about "shuffling child care." We had the same nanny for over 10 years. Shrug.

Who said anything about being a SAHM and reentering the job force? I'm not. I just have a position that pays pretty well and is not that time-consuming and/or emotionally taxing. If I want to ramp it up, I'd prefer to do it later when I'm an empty nester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had my kids at 40 and 43. I actually am a great mom at this age and have two great kids, I have a successful career that allows me balance and am happily married. My sister had her kids at 29 and 33 and has has two great boys, now almost all grown up while mine are still quite young. She stayed home for many years, got divorced, remarried and found a second career after much effort. She will be an empty nester long before me and is likely less prepared for retirement but I am confident she will do just fine. My mom had us as 22 and 24 (after college), was not stay at home material even back in the 60s, and was pretty much a trail blazer in the engineering world my entire life and will probably work until she is not able as that is what she loves to do. She has the flexibility in her career at 70 to also be a really involved grandparent and make time for travel for herself as well.

There are lots of ways to skin this cat people and success does not require all other choices to have been wrong.

The only truly sensible statement I have seen here. Young mother or old mothers we all (hopefully) try and do what is best for us and our families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had my kids at 40 and 43. I actually am a great mom at this age and have two great kids, I have a successful career that allows me balance and am happily married. My sister had her kids at 29 and 33 and has has two great boys, now almost all grown up while mine are still quite young. She stayed home for many years, got divorced, remarried and found a second career after much effort. She will be an empty nester long before me and is likely less prepared for retirement but I am confident she will do just fine. My mom had us as 22 and 24 (after college), was not stay at home material even back in the 60s, and was pretty much a trail blazer in the engineering world my entire life and will probably work until she is not able as that is what she loves to do. She has the flexibility in her career at 70 to also be a really involved grandparent and make time for travel for herself as well.

There are lots of ways to skin this cat people and success does not require all other choices to have been wrong.

Yes, I totally agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have them when you are 20, out of the house when you are 40
Then go and travel the world

With what money? If you have kids at 20, when do you go beyond a high school education?

Oh the stereotypes
Did you know that being 40 does not mean you have gone beyond a high school education

When do people who start having kids at 20 go to college, generally?

[Anonymous]

" If I want to ramp it up, I'd prefer to do it later when I'm an empty nester. "

How old will you be? You don't worry about age discrimination? When I'm an empty nester, I'll be 55 and I want to be ramping down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"As someone with a "career" even I understand that not everyone is definied in life by their "career" or what school they attended. "

So your mom is defined by her kids? Hobbies? Volunteer work? What? And my career means much more to me than just taking care of my kids financially.

its kind of sad to be defined by your career.

I don't know what defines my mom, but she is a happy person and a kind person, and has 4 children and a husband who appreciate and love her immensely, so I'd consider her life a wild success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have them when you are 20, out of the house when you are 40
Then go and travel the world

With what money? If you have kids at 20, when do you go beyond a high school education?

Oh the stereotypes
Did you know that being 40 does not mean you have gone beyond a high school education

When do people who start having kids at 20 go to college, generally?

My mom had me her junior year in college. My dad started college the Fall after I was born and my mom continued on to get her Masters. We lived on campus in family housing until I was 5. Granted, times were different in the 70s/80s.

[Anonymous]

"good grief. It's very possible to have children young AND a career. I had my kids beginning at age 32 but when I was in medical school (ages 21-25) I had 20+ classmates who had children at that age. Guess what? All of them are now doctors and make the same salary I do. "

Ditto for some of my college and law school classmates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"As someone with a "career" even I understand that not everyone is definied in life by their "career" or what school they attended. "

So your mom is defined by her kids? Hobbies? Volunteer work? What? And my career means much more to me than just taking care of my kids financially.

its kind of sad to be defined by your career.

I don't know what defines my mom, but she is a happy person and a kind person, and has 4 children and a husband who appreciate and love her immensely, so I'd consider her life a wild success.

I think that's great for her, but I want all that and more (okay, not the four children, but all that plus a great career).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so tired of all you old bitches acting like anyone under age 40 is incompetent as a mother. Jesus Christ. I don't care that your hair looks like shit, I don't care that you now have three asses instead of one, I care that you sneer at me because even though our kids are the same age, I'm under 30 and you think that makes me a piece of white trash.

Point taken. So where DID you get your MBA, and how DID you manage to get that and have a career while still having two kids by age 25?

New poster, here, but HUH? I have a MA in economics from Georgetown and had two children before my 30th birthday. I actually finished my masters program when my first was 4 months old. I'm still a FT working mom. Having children at a "young" age has not at all hurt or held back my carrer as women like to zealously imply here. We are living in the new Millennium and I can have my cake and eat it too!

Please take a step back from the early 80s.

Oh really? Do you make a lot of money?

Um, there are plenty of degrees in which people go to school for many years and the salaries are not a lot of money. Money doesn't define success in life, but you must be a typical DCUM poster, so it's not unexpected that you would equate 'a lot of money' to success.