How do you know if you are ready to become a parent?

What things should you do before or know before you decide to have a child? Please be as specific as possible!How do you know if you are ready to become a parent?
No one can be ready to become a parent! If everyone waited until they were ready to become a parent than no one would have children! IMO. I am 21 with a 3 year old, a 16 month old and another one on the way. Trust me if I waited till I was ready, I would have never had children. Having children is a learning process, you learn as you go.How do you know if you are ready to become a parent?
Speaking from experience you can never really be prepared for a child no matter what you do but there are some things you can do to make it easier. Finish school, Get a job you like and is flexible (especially when it comes to family time), Meet a decent man who you will marry and values family whether or not you guys seperate down the line, Build a nice savings and purchase a home, co-op, condo with enough rooms. Everything else will fall into place after that.
When you no longer need to ask complete strangers how you would know; when you are married; financially, emotionally, and mentally stable; able to dedicate yourself entirely to the most important job on earth for the REST OF YOUR LIFE
I don't think anyone is ever really ';ready'; or as prepared as they'd like to be, no matter how much thought they put into it! Its such a big decision, as I'm sure you're aware and there is a lot of thinking and planning to do to make sure you are at your best so you can relax and enjoy your pregnancy :] Its great to see you putting thought into this, its always the best way for planned pregnancies, although many great Moms have come out smiling the other end from not planning as much, I'll have to say!





1. Financially ready - this is quite an obvious one but having a little one is going to cost you. Its obviously not just the clothes, food and diapers - its going to be the day-care [if needed], school trips etc etc. Think of the '18 year plan'. This is where your child is going to need the most support with money until they find their own feet. Even after 18 years you might find yourself helping out more than you'd planned!





2. Emotionally stable - this could mean being in a great relationship, making sure you've lived for ';you'; as you do need to make personal sacrifices for baby. For examples, holidays abroad CAN...[not always though!] become a thing of the past for a while, due to money and just while little one is small. Making sure you have enough support, be it from family, a partner or friends [ideally all three!] will stand you in a great place for enjoying your children.





3. Patience! Make sure you have plenty of this - don't worry, its a skill you learn to acquire! Babies take up a lot of time and a lot of your sleep! The sleepless nights don't necessarily stop when your baby becomes a child either! I think I'm being a little negative here - children are wonderful and mine never cease to amaze me :] Your child will learn from you, as you will from him or her.





4. Space/Housing - Is your current house big enough for baby to have their own room? If not, this isn't a major worry for the first couple of years if your own room is large enough.





5. Your career - This is a biggie for a lot of women making the decision, as it was for me and my second pregnancy. Sometimes it pays to wait a year or two to become more settled or stable. Obviously, don't let your job hold you back or decide your family plans! Its just something to think of.





Ultimately, you will know and feel within yourself you are ready :] If you are having doubts and questioning your reasons, I would hold out a little while longer to make a better-informed decision. Planned pregnancies can make you feel as if you have more 'control'. I know my second pregnancy was altogether more relaxed than my first due to this. Good luck and talk it over with your partner.
It all depends on you and what you know you are ready to take on. My husband and I started talking the other night about babies and where we want to be before we are really ready for us personally. Here's what we decided is important to us before we have children.





1. We want to give ourselves a little more time with each other. We have been married a year and a half, and while we know each other very well, we feel like we would be better if we gave ourselves at least another year to spend time with each. We have more time to live life how we want and we can stengthen our bond a little bit. We dont want to be one of those couples that when the kids leave home we don't know how to be alone with each other.





2. We want to be in our own house. Right now we are living in a family members house while they are abroad for a couple of years. Housing in our area is a little hard to come by and VERY expensive. So before we have a kid we want to be in our own house that way we don't have to worry about being kicked out (with a child) and no where to go. Plus, this way we can save up a lot more money before we need to buy a house than we could if we had a kid.





3. I want to get into a newer more reliable car and have it paid off before a child comes. That way I feel safer driving around with a child in the back seat (I don't have to worry about breaking down in the middle of no where). If we wait a year, not only will I have more of a reliable car but I can have it paid off. We don't have any credit card debt so this eliminates all of our debt we will have until we get into a house.





4. I want to get into better shape. I have horrilbe metabolism, which was passed on from both my mom and dad, and hashimotos disease (bad thyroid) run in my family. I want to get into the habit of eating healthy and excersising regularly. that way when I have a child I can be healthy and I can pass those good habits onto my child so that from the time they are little they learn how to keep themselves healthy and fit and hopefully they wont have to struggle with being unhealthy.





Those are just the big main things that we want to get out of the way before we really say we're ready for a baby. It all depends on what is important to you and you're sig. other. But good luck to you.
Just make sure you have some type of stable foundation on which to build your family. A good relationship with your husband, a good job and a decent home in which to raise them. Everything will fall into place after that. Oh, and PRAY for strength and wisdom!
You get a good education and a good job. You find someone to love you and your unborn baby as much as humanly possible. You should talk to them about it and see if they are ready as well. Make sure it is someone who you are willing to stand in front of a bullet for and they are willing to do the same.





As for maternal instincts those come natural. You know when it is time for you to have a baby. If you wait until a good time you will never have kids. Something is always bound to pop up.
Can I afford childcare? Do I have family support? Does my job allow flexibility if my child is sick? Can I handle staying up late nights for months?
first learn how to raise kids. manytimes kids are raised improperly and then adults are usually blaming the tv for the problems their teens are causing.





I know people think that I'm wrong, but if kids would be raised nicely, then I think there wouldnt be any horrible things happening in this world.
Be financially ready. It costs 2hundred thousand dollars to raise a child. Have a place to live. Not renting. Finish your education.
make sure you have the time and the patients and a career to be able to provide and give that child what it needs. I'm not saying all parents are this way but it's best because then you don't have to struggle in raising your child and to make sure you have back up cause believe me we do need a break and if possible do it as two parents and not one. cause believe me you want to be there for your children so they know you care and if you don't got time wait until you do.
I think a lof of people would say you should be married, be stable financially, and want to have a baby for the right reasons (ie. not to keep a man around, so someone will love you back unconditionally).





I tend to think these things also, but even being married and financially stable and ';ready'; doesnt necessarily mean you really are ready. I had no idea how not ready I was when my husband and I chose to bring a baby into our lives. And I dont mean that in a bad way.





A baby changes EVERYTHING! They change your finances whether you have money or not. They change your relationship with the father, hopefully for the better. They change your priorities completely. They change your whole perspective on life in general. Suddenly everything you do is all about the child (as it should be) because they depend on you and will for the rest of their life. Every decision you make will impact your child in some way.





So I'm just not sure if there's anything specific you should do or have beforehand. But these might be some things to consider when making the decision to have one.