Unicorns.

Kids. Why do people have them?

Sometimes I’m starting to see why people have kids. They want to have mini version of themselves. Imagine how your life could be different if you were raised differently. How you would have done things differently. How you want to be a better parent than what your parents were once to you. If you are lucky, you’d want to be great parents like the ones that raised you.

Fact is, I still don’t know the exact answer.

What I do know is why I shouldn’t have kids. At least at this point in my life. Kids are a huge responsibility. They depend on you for life quite literally. So, when I see friends my age having kids, I don’t envy them. I wonder. I wonder do they know what they have signed up? Are they ready to be parents? Or did they want kids just because they want to have children. Everyone wants to have kids. But to be a parent though. Do you think you are ready to do that? Do you even know how to do that? Heck, I’m still a kid. How do I take care of another human being if I can barely take care of myself?

So, tell me, why does it seem like having children is such a menial task to people lately because it is absolutely not.

You see, I think it takes a certain level of maturity to even fathom the idea of having children what more the act of actually having them. Yes, we should have kids when we are young because if we are older, it will be harder to have kids and whatnot. But have you ever considered the fact that if you are not mature or ready to be a parent, your kids will only end up as collateral damage?

Having a child is very different from raising one.

Anyone can have a child. But to raise one though, that’s another story. Yes, you can have as many children as you want but if you don’t have the capability to raise your children to become the adults you want them to be… what’s the point really? It’s true that there is no such thing a being the perfect parent and some people might say you can always learn to be parent but do note a child is not a piece of writing that you can do over and restart if you fuck up. There will be repercussions that would affect the rest of their lives.

So, tell me, do people actually think about such things before having kids?

To be perfectly honest, you will never know if you are ready to be a parent, but I think age does play a part in this equation. The level of maturity you’d expect from a 20-year-old parent and a 30-year-old would be distinctly different. I think a certain level of maturity is required to raise a child properly. It’s a bonus if your parents raised you well, some people don’t have that luxury.

I’ve come to realize that the environment that a child is brought up in vastly impacts the person that he/she becomes in the future.

I think when you have kids, you have to give up your inner kid- at least in front of the kids. Its no longer about all about you. If you want to behave like a child whilst raising your kids, then I honestly hope you don’t have them. It will do them a service seriously. I personally wished I wasn’t born into this world at all.

If I had to go through the hell I had to call a childhood. I’d choose to never have existed.

That’s how much I detest and abhor immature parenting. Quick note, if you can’t take care of your partner, please think twice about having children because you can never ever juggle a family if your marriage is not stable in the first place. So there, environment matters.

Sometimes I envy people with seemingly perfect families. If only mine was like that.

But someone once told me that every family has their own set of problems we don’t know about, so we shouldn’t be too quick to judge. But still you can’t help but wonder. How things could have been different. I suppose it is nice to think about having a family of your own but are you ready to take on that kind of responsibility. That is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.