How Old Is Too Old?

Out there in the world, people have babies at all different ages and some people prefer it that they have their children older. Some people would rather have their children younger. This was all sparked by me realizing that Tim Allen has welcomed a new baby into his home at age 55. He already has a 19 year old daughter from a previous marriage. Thinking of it this way, he'll be 80 years old when she is 25.

With having your children later in life, what's the sacrifice? Lessened time with your kids, maybe not being able to catch up.... but on the flip side, people who are older most often have the financial security and find it easier to provide for their families.

When you have your kids at a younger age, whats the sacrifice there? Maybe you're not so financially stable, maybe you need to give up your "party years" but on the other hand, hopefully you'll be able to enjoy your kids well into their older years, maybe it would be easier to keep up with them running at the park?

This post isn't difficult for me to write, because I can see both sides. My husbands parents were older when the had him, his mother in her late thirties, but his father was in his fifties. Now my husband will be 31 years old and his father is in his eighties. There was a plan there. They figured out their lives and decided when it was time. But when my husband hit his crazy, rebellious teen years, they couldn't keep up. They knew he was doing wrong, but the teen years for them were so far gone that they didn't remember how it was to be 15 years old.

My parents on the other hand, along with my grandparents, and myself, we've all had our children earlier in life. My mother was 20 when she had me, I was 22 when I had my daughter, my grandmother was 23 when she had my mother. We've always been able to do more active things together, yet money was always tight for my mother, just as it is for me. Not neccessarily does this mean that its due to having a child at a younger age, but I'm sure its a component. But at 10 years old, my mom and I used to hit the batting cages and race go-karts together, she was only 30 years old and we could keep up with each other, it was almost at times that we had the same interests.

Now at almost 27 years old, with my mother only being 20 years older than me, we're able to have more of a friendship and we are VERY close. I do occassionally wonder what it would have been like to have an "older" parent, like most of my friends growing up, though I wouldn't change anything for the world. I'm enjoying being in my twenties with my children, yes, it did change our financial situation, yes, it did change my schooling situation. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

What do you think? Where does the line get crossed for you? What age would you never want to have children before or after? Do you think you've benefitted from having older or younger parents or do you think your children have benefitted from having you as a younger or older parent?